In a way, I’m lucky. \u00a0My day job doesn’t come home with me. \u00a0I go in, I deal with people, and I go home. \u00a0It’s not something that I can bring home, nor is it something that I have to really schedule (lucky me, my day is scheduled for me). \u00a0So articles about how to “work smarter, not harder” are ones I read with an eye towards my second job – writing.<\/p>\n
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What brought this up? \u00a0I’ve been thinking a lot about writing lately. \u00a0I belong to several writers groups, and all of them feature folks who write faster than me. \u00a0I don’t write fast. \u00a0A good day for me is about 2k and it generally takes me all day. \u00a0I’m not someone who is going to be regularly pulling a Lowell (10k in a day) or more. \u00a0I don’t win NaNo on Day 3. \u00a0And sometimes, watching these word counts, I feel (a) jealous; (b) like a fake; (c) like I should be doing more; (d) a total failure.<\/p>\n
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Now, before everyone rushes in to tell me it’s okay, trust me, I know. \u00a0I’m not a failure. \u00a0I’ve got a full series published. \u00a0I can finish stories. \u00a0I know I’m not a fake, and that everyone writes at their own speed. \u00a0But it also got me to looking at HOW I write, and what I can do to maximize the writing time I have.<\/p>\n
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I confess, I’m an internet junkie. \u00a0I love to have a writing chat room up while I write, and I’m constantly checking Facebook (I fell off the Twitter wagon when I didn’t have an Android phone for a year, and still haven’t really gotten back into it). \u00a0I’ll write with the TV in the background. \u00a0I’m a true multitasker – which really isn’t good. \u00a0(Case in point – while writing this blog post, I’m eating breakfast.) \u00a0And I’m sure it affects my writing.<\/p>\n
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One of the things I recently read (and of course, now I can’t find the link, oh well) was talking about scheduling rather than making a to-do list. \u00a0I don’t do this, because I am terrible at estimating how much time something will take me. \u00a0Seriously. \u00a0So what do you do when you’re me and terrible at something? \u00a0PRACTICE!<\/p>\n
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Starting tomorrow (because I will be out all day today, hence the blog post while writing breakfast before I run out the door), I’m going to start scheduling my time, and then seeing how close I came to it. \u00a0I expect the first few weeks to be hysterically inaccurate, but that’s okay. \u00a0That’s how I learn.<\/p>\n
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How do YOU maximize your writing\/crafting time? \u00a0Any hints?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a way, I’m lucky. \u00a0My day job doesn’t come home with me. \u00a0I go in, I deal with people, and I go home. \u00a0It’s not something that I can bring home, nor is it something that I have to really schedule (lucky me, my day is scheduled for me). \u00a0So articles about how to …<\/p>\n