Saturday, August 18, 2012

Making Time to Do What You Love

Unfortunately, there is no fool-proof method to writing. I'm of the "when I can" variety. Simply meaning I take advantage of little windows when I get them in between my other responsibilities (aka my desk job, daughter's competition schedule, husband's golf games, etc). For instance, I'm standing up writing this post in my kitchen while breakfast is in the oven (I found a new recipe earlier in the week for bacon, egg and toast cups that I've been wanting to try). Nearly every day during my lunch break at work, you're likely to see me with paper and pen in hand scribbling away on whatever WIP I'm working at the time. This usually results in many, many scraps of paper littering a notebook or a folder and I'm left to piece everything together when I have a moment to sit down at the computer and start transferring longhand to the computer.

Why do I do this?

The answers easy: See, I learned a while ago that if I wanted to do something, it wasn't that I didn't have the time, it was that I had to MAKE the time. Instead of sitting in front of the television at night mindlessly watching sitcoms, I could transfer anything I'd written on paper during the day. I could eat my lunch while staring at my cubicle wall or have a pen and paper handy to write ideas and thoughts down. I've installed an app on my phone and my computer and seamlessly syncs together so something I jot down in my phone will appear on my computer the next time I power it up (fantastic time-saver!)

The technique has been a wonderful lifesaver for me as most of my books wouldn't have gotten written without it. So, authors/writers: how do you make time to do something you really want to do? Readers: how do you make the time to read the books & stories that you love?

1 comment:

Tina D said...

As a reader I always do all my errands during the week. I don't care how late I am up working on things. The weekends are my reading time. I sometimes have to do things I really can't get out of but for the most part I sit and read all weekend. I have been taking my computer to work and working on blogs during my breaks and lunches so I have more time to read.