| CARVING OUT WRITNG TIME IN YOUR BUSY LIFE |
There’s a story out and about having to do with filling a gallon jar. Let me explain. It has to do with a management seminar. Apparently, the main speaker began his lecture by placing a gallon jar on the table in front of the group. He proceeded to carefully place some fist sized rocks in the jar until no more would fit inside. He asked the group if the jar was full. They agreed it was. “Are you sure?” he questioned and began pouring gravel from a pail into the jar, shaking the jar to help the gravel settle in between the spaces left among the big rocks. When he asked again if the jar was full, he had raised enough skepticism that the listeners quickly decided it probably was not full. “You’re right,” he said picking up a bucket of fine sand and beginning to pour as he shook the jar, until it filled in the tiny spaces left by the rocks, and the gravel. This time when he asked the audience if the jar was full, a resound “no” echoed through the room. “Good,” he said as he poured water from a pitcher into the jar until it was filled to the brim. When he asked what lesson they had learned from this little demonstration, one eager participant volunteered, “The point is no matter how full your schedule is if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in.” Though it seemed like a valid point to most of the group in the room, they were shocked when the presenter said that was not the message he wanted them to take away from the lecture. “If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.” He went on to explain. The implications for your writing schedule should be obvious. If you think you don’t have time to write, perhaps it’s a matter of scheduling or prioritizing your days, of putting the big rocks in first--the things that you want in your day. Many of our notably famous writers didn’t have the luxury of uninterrupted writing time and they made it. If it seems like there is no “extra” time in your day, let’s look at a few ways you may save enough time to carve out ten or fifteen minutes, perhaps a half hour a day to write. Television can be addictive and a huge time waster. There is no dead air space to give you the split second you need to say “enough, I’ll use this 10, 15, 20 minutes before bed to write.” You don’t have to cut out all television, but give yourself a schedule of must see television, programs you really want to see. Don’t let that cut into your writing time though. Your writing time is one of the big rocks that need to go in your jar first if you want to become a writer. Look for small ways that will add up to big time savers. Let the answering machine or Call Wave take your calls while you write. Tell family and friends you are unavailable for the time you have scheduled as your writing time. Get organized. Being organized will help you stay on track and avoid wasting time. When you write up your to do list, schedule in your writing time. Plan your day, or week if you can and stick with it. Soon you’ll see a steady increase in your productivity and perhaps even some other areas that you can use to write. Get the kids and the hubby or significant other to help out with daily chores so you have more time to write. And don’t forget to schedule in some time to relax, also. You don’t need to change everything at once, but one small thing at a time like a water dripping on granite can become the Grand Canyon and will grow your career as a writer. |
| By Billie A Williams © 2006 |
| About the Author
Billie A Williams is an award-winning author and freelance writer. In addition to an array of other projects she is the owner of the Word_Mage group and their monthly ezine for writers. She is also author of a series of How to Write – for mystery and fiction writers of other genres. Her most recent mystery suspense novel “Bed and Breakfast Murders,” released January 2006 from Wings ePress, Inc. Visit Billie’s website at www.billiewilliams.com. |