There's No Time!

That's the excuse every single would-be writer employs when asked why they haven't written "the next great American novel." And it's true, life in these modern times demands a huge amount of our time. As a college student, I've experienced the same hopeless feeling. One day, after finishing one enormous pile of homework only to be confronted with another stack, I was curious how much time all of my commitments really took up. Ignoring my giant literature textbook, I grabbed a piece of paper and outlined my daily schedule. It looked something like this:

Class: 4 Hours
Homework: 8 Hours (4 classes x 2 hours per class)
Job as Teacher's Assistant: 2 Hours
Sleep: 7 Hours

Total: 21 Hours

That left me with three hours to eat, shower, have a social life, shop for groceries, and travel to and from campus. With all these demands, when on Earth was I supposed to have time to write? Many other people most likely feel the same way. If I had the absolute solution for scheduling time wisely, I wouldn't be spending my time blogging. I'd be out there making millions of dollars teaching people how to do it. But through trial and error, I have come up with a few guidelines that may be helpfully for the totally-inundated.

• Make a list. I know, it sounds obvious, but sometimes the most obvious things are what people neglect to do. The list will give you something to work with so you know exactly what you have to get done that day and you are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment every time you check something off.
• Prioritize. Again, obvious, but maybe all those innumerable things you have to get done don't need to be done all at once.
• Weed out. If you're truly interested in writing a book, you will have to make some sacrifices. Instead of watching Family Feud or The Price is Right you could dedicate that time to sitting down and pounding out a page or two.
• Write. Even if you didn't have time to add to your novel that day you should take five to ten minutes to sit down and just write. Keep a notebook in an easy-to-access place. Who knows, the random "stuff" you write down today could be food for thought or even a new book in the future.
• Share. Tell you husband, kids, friends, etc. what it is you're trying to do. They will form your support group on days when the creative juices refuse to flow and encourage you when it's been a week and you've barely added another paragraph.
• Be patient. Writing a great book or short story or poem doesn't happen all at once. Realize at the start that your writing is a road trip with lots of blown-out tires, spike strips, and construction detours along the way.