Let’s face it, we are all busy. How do you find the time to write? I am a teacher, an author, a business owner, a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a homesteader. You get the picture. I wear so many hats, and I guarantee you do too. How do you find the time to write amidst the chaos of work and life?

The answer is both simple and complex.

You just make the time for it.

I know, I know. Much easier said than done.

Make the time for it? Yeah right. The second you sit down, something else demands your attention.

Sometimes that is just life, but doing these ten things everyday helps me stay organized and increases my productivity when it comes to my writing and life in general. 

1. Block Time
   • I have a set routine that I follow everyday. I know to some that may sound boring, but it is how I can fit in all of my to-dos. If it is a work day, I typically write on my lunch break or in the evening after dinner, sometimes both if the chaos allows. If it is a weekend or day off, I will spend the morning in my garden and then come inside to write for about 30 minutes to an hour. Having a set time every day to write helps get my mind in the write space to use that time as efficiently as possible. Plus my family now expects that I will be writing during that time and the interruptions tend to be minimal.
2. Leave a notebook out
   • One thing I have found that works great is actually leaving my notebook out, or at least very easily accessible. This reduces the amount of set up I have to do to get in the zone and I spend more time actually writing.
3. Set Small, Achievable Goals
   • When I was new mom, I would set these big lofty goals for myself, like write four books a year, only during my babies’ 2 hour-a-day naptime. But during that time, I also wanted to shower, work out, read, clean the house, pay all the bills, and eat something. Needless to say, it didn’t quite work the way I had hoped. Not to say I still don’t aim for those four books a year, I am just much more realistic about what I can achieve in a particular amount of time. Now when I block time to write, it is usually a shorter amount of time (about 30 minutes) and I set small, achievable goals. Maybe I’ll write the monthly blog post, or the subscriber email. Sometimes I will have a scene in mind and just write that. Setting up my writing time like this has helped me feel more accomplished in a short amount of time, therefore giving me the motivation to show up every day.
4. Write Everyday
   • As I said in the last point, show up everyday. Sometimes the words will flow out of you. Sometimes you will be stuck staring at a blank screen or page. Either way, write something. Somedays, you can write a blog post or the subscriber email. Somedays you will write a scene. Somedays you are researching, taking notes, and brainstorming. Either way, put words on the paper.
5. Do Nothing, But Write
   • This one is simple. When you show up to write, do nothing but write. Put your phone down. Shut the door. Forget the dirty dishes. Just write for that block of time.
6. Focus on one thing at a time
   • When we say we are not good at multitasking, it is for good reason. What happens when you are multitasking is you aren’t really doing multiple things at one time. Your brain is actually jumping from one thing to another very rapidly, never really giving you time to focus on what you are doing. During your writing time, just write. Set a goal for the day, whether it is write the blog post, the scene, or the email. Don’t jump in trying to do your entire to-do list, do one thing at a time and check those items off one by one. You will be more efficient and successful.
7. Get Rid of Distractions
   • In the days of social media, your phone can be the biggest distraction keeping you from writing. But distractions can come in many forms. Kids, spouse, work, phone, internet, books, you name it. In order to get rid of these distractions, there are a few things you can do. Try closing the door. If you don’t have a door, try finding a place that is away from the majority of distractions – away from the tv, a separate room if you have one, or just out of the main path of travel. Turn off your phone or flip it screen side down and on silent, at least while you are writing.
8. Have an idea of where the story is going
   • When you sit down to write, having an idea of what you are going to write about will help get those juices flowing. Plan out the scene or the characters before you sit down to write. You don’t have to know all of the details, but having an idea is a great place to start.
9. Read everyday
   • To be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. Try to read a little everyday. Read in the genre you are writing, read books about writing, just read. The more you read, the easier the words will come when you sit down to write your own.
10. Something has to give
    • Just know that life happens. A balanced life isn’t doing everything all the time. A balanced life is where the most important things are attended to the most and some things take precedence over others. If you are trying to do it all and you feel frazzled or overwhelmed, something has to give. Life is made up of a series of phases. If this phase is busy, it will slow down. If you have to let the dishes sit while you write, that is okay.