[Smart] Time Managing for Creative Writers
Choose one strategy to organize your writing routine
Time management strategies are many, and most articles repeatedly describe the same: Pomodoro, task delegating, to-do lists, avoiding distractions, etc.
Been there, done that.
“Why not be more specific?” I told myself and decided to gather tips on time management for creative writers.
Indeed:
It’s one thing to keep a clear schedule when dealing with technical tasks you can automate and foresee completion time; creative work is a different thing, requiring extra flexibility and focus to balance everything.
❓What time management struggles do writers face?
❓What are their issues depending on their time management style?
❓Which time management strategies may work for people whose daily tasks require imagination, idea generation, creative thinking, and constant motivation to continue?
I’ve got the answers.
Why is it often so challenging for writers to manage time?
Spoiler: It’s not because of their creative nature some people use as an excuse for their procrastination and inability to meet deadlines.
Due to the nature of their work, writers struggle with a few obstacles when trying to manage their time more effectively. These obstacles are five:
✅ Multitasking: Often, a writer, especially a freelancer, works on multiple projects simultaneously.
✅ Balance: A writer needs to meet writing deadlines and, at the same time, manage the organizational work and communication with existing and new clients.
✅ Focus: Switching from text to text or project to project without distractions is hard.
✅ Flexibility: A writer must be loose enough to deal with unforeseen circumstances yet maintain the work structure and balance to meet deadlines.
✅ Expectations: It’s hard to predict how much time one text may take to complete or how many words you’ll write in a day, given that the writing process takes much more than writing itself. A writer needs time for idea generation, topic planning, research, outline creation, writing the first draft, proofreading and editing, revising according to the editor’s (client’s) notes, etc.
It’s critical to consider all these obstacles for stellar time management and choose techniques that suit your time management style.
A time management style is a prevailing method of dealing with work.
What is yours?
And now, to time management in writing:
I know you’ll find dozens of universal strategies, tips, and techniques on time management online, so I did my best to focus on those suiting creative writers in particular.
🌟 Organize a Writing Area
Ah, all those inspiring stories about writing on the beach or freelancing in a bed with a cup of coffee and a cat at hand!
Sure, you can do that. But it has nothing to do with time management.
For productive and high-quality work, you need a writing area. It’s a place specifically designed for work, which you’ll use for nothing but writing. Even if it’s a small corner in your room, do your best to organize it as a workspace:
- Put a table.
- Ensure good lighting: Daylight is best (if possible, place the table close to a window), but a desk lamp with color temperatures around 3500–4000K will also work.
- Have an ergonomic, comfortable chair to support your back.
- Put a plant.
- Add a pinch of inspiration. Think of what inspires you and makes you feel positive emotions: motivational quotes, pictures of your family, beautiful views of seas or mountains, books, etc. Decorate your writing area accordingly.
❓ Why have a writing area for better time management?
It’s a signal to your brain: When I sit here, I work! It’s a psychological trick that helps you focus on work, avoid distractions, control time, and stick to your working plan.
🌟 Plan Everything and Stick to That Plan
Yes, I know:
Sometimes, it’s hard to plan writing because you can’t automate the process and count how long it will take to complete a writing project. Some write an article for 3–4 hours, while others need 2–3 days to complete a draft.
But:
You need to plan every step and stick to it.
The trick is to have to-do lists for a month, a week, and a day, where you’ll break tasks into small, manageable sub-tasks.
Bad: “Write a blog post for Medium by the end of February.”
Good: Feb 20–25: Blog post “Time Managing for Creative Writers.” Feb 20, 10 am-12 am: topic research, references, outline. Feb 21, 2 pm-6 pm: draft writing. Feb 23, 2 pm-6 pm: draft writing. Feb 24, 10 am-1 pm: proofreading, editing.
How to plan:
Make a to-do list at the end of each day when you see where to resume the following day.
Start a day identifying MITs (most important tasks) and completing them first.
🐸 Eat that frog! 🐸
Set a deadline for every sub-task in your list: It will help focus and motivate you to finish on time.
🌟 Prepare Topics and Outlines Beforehand
That’s how most non-writers imagine the process:
You sit at a monitor, see the title of a story (blog post, article, you name it), and start typing it. Word by word. Like this:
The ugly truth of life:
🤪 First, you create a content plan, deciding on the topics that will interest the audience and be relevant to your content strategy. For that, you research the market:
- Examine what others have written on those topics.
- Check if your target audience wants this content from you.
- Decide on its keywords, format, and presentation angle.
🤪 Second, you create a list of topics that might (potentially!) work.
🤪 Third, you search for references and create an outline for each topic.
🤪 And finally, you sit in front of a monitor, see the outline and references, and start writing a draft. You build a text block by block — word by word.
The point:
Topic research, content planning, and outlining take a lot of time! To organize it for more efficient work and better productivity, make it a separate task in your to-do list: Prepare topics and outlines in advance to save time while writing.
100+ Writing Ideas If You Don’t Know What to Publish
Originally appeared at Writing Breeze.
medium.com
🌟 Forget About Inspiration to Come
This one is short yet clear:
Writing is not about inspiration but discipline.
You will never finish that book, short story, or blog post if you sit and wait for inspiration. Bestselling writers like Stephen King agree: They develop a writing discipline because writing is also a work for them, not just an art.
Writing web texts for clients, you can’t rely on inspiration, either: “I had no mood for writing today” will hardly work as an excuse for missing deadlines.
🌟 Find Your Perfect Writing Time
Have you ever heard of a golden hour?
It’s time when you feel most creative and productive to do your best work. It’s two or three hours when you are the most focused and energized. Often, it’s somewhere around:
- 4 am-7 am, for early birds who wake up before sunrise and start working while others still sleep.
- 11 am-2 pm for afternoon athletes who need time to finish a morning routine before jumping into action.
- 11 pm-2 am, for night owls who find it more comfortable to work in silence when others get asleep.
Your golden hour depends on your circadian rhythms. When do you feel more productive: mornings or evenings? Once you identify your golden hour, plan your working day accordingly:
Do the most challenging or creative writing tasks during that time.
🌟 Shut Up Your Inner Critic While Writing
The simple yet so often-ignored rule of productive writing:
When you are writing, write!
Nothing special, but most creative writers forget about it: They doubt which word to use, how to start a passage, or whether their skills are enough to engage a reader. They recheck every sentence while writing.
If you are such a writer, then stop doing that!
Perfectionism and impostor syndrome are your two most evil enemies here. When writing a draft, do not focus on how you write: You’ll have time to revise it later. Writing and editing are two tasks, so you can’t do them simultaneously. Multitasking doesn’t work.
🌟 Use Procrastination to Your Benefit
While most consider procrastination bad, blaming themselves for it and trying numerous techniques to beat it, creative people can use this monster to their benefit.
How can your procrastination help you manage time and be more productive?
Use it for:
- Generating new writing ideas: When you feel stuck and unable to write, brainstorm fresh topics for your future texts.
- Advancing your existing ideas: Don’t hurry up to approve the first writing idea coming to your mind; procrastinate a bit to follow up on it, see its pros and cons, and understand how to enhance it for better results.
- Destressing: You know that you need breaks to stay productive, right? Twenty minutes of procrastination after 90 minutes of working will help you destress, recharge, and continue writing with a fresh eye.
Ready to Revise Your Time Management?
Now that you have so much information in your pocket, stop for a moment and check your writing schedule:
How do you organize and use your working time? Do your time management strategies work for you?
Once you understand your time management style and all the issues it brings to your self-organization skills, you’ll know which time management strategies will work for you.
Thanks for reading! Please don’t hesitate to clap and comment, and you’re welcome to follow this publication or my personal account for more stories, writing tips, and reflections!
