This is from my book, Write NOW!.
You’ve probably heard the expression that everyone has the same amount of time. It’s how we schedule it that is different.
If you are working full time, of course it will be more difficult to find time. It was for me. But it can be done.
If you have a husband or wife and maybe some children, you’re obviously going to want to spend some time with them because that’s what a spouse or parent wants to do.
So, I’m not going to tell you that you need to ignore everything else in your life to write a book. What I am going to say is that no matter how busy your life is with your family, friends, job, etc. there is always a little time that you spend by yourself or can carve out of your schedule to work on your book project. This book will help you get the organization, writing and formatting processes down but you need to provide the time.
So, let’s look at some ways you can do that.
If you work full time, look at getting up an hour earlier than you have been if that’s possible. I found that time spent first thing in the morning can be very productive time because your brain is sharp after its rest and there may be fewer interruptions. Of course, this all happens only after you have your first cup of coffee (or tea, in my case). That could potentially provide you with five hours per week to work on your project.
Lunch hours are another opportunity. If you have a laptop and have things organized as I will show you in this book, you can easily crank out at least a few pages or maybe even an entire chapter during your lunch period.
Evening hours can also be available after family obligations, of course. Review how much time you spend watching TV and whether you really need to watch the programs you do. I got my TV watching down to less than ten hours per week and sometimes down to almost nothing during repeat season.
Some time on the weekends should be a given. Whether it’s still in the early morning or at some other time, you should be able to get a few hours of work in on the weekend. This obviously doesn’t apply during football season.
Just by thinking about your current schedule and then about your book project, you should be able to carve out ten to fifteen hours a week for your project.
It’s best if you write down your schedule and let your spouse, children, coworkers etc. know about it and what you will be working on. That way, they will eventually start to realize you’re serious.
Just so you’ll know, I’m retired now but still only spend about 15 hours a week on writing projects.