Like any emerging or seasoned writer whose work has yet to pay the bills, I make time for writing around my full-time job, which in my case is bookselling. I write on my weekends, during the morning stretch before my shift starts, and sometimes (to my body’s disapproval) at night. It’s easier than you think to get in the habit of writing whenever and working on whatever, but having a writing practice with no structure will amount to a lot of frustration, from unfinished projects to missed windows of opportunity. While the phrase “time management” evokes the opposite of creativity, it’s precisely what’s needed to develop a fruitful writing career.
If you cringed or felt a sense of dread while reading the previous sentence, you’re not alone! Time management feels like a tool someone would use as a productivity hack rather than a way to enhance your creative practice. After all, a writer can’t force a story to its natural end just because they have a 30-minute time block to do so. Creativity needs the space to meander and swell and figure itself out. But also, there’s a fine line between giving a story the space it needs to blossom and using that as an excuse to procrastinate. Creativity will never neatly fit into the confines of a schedule, but that shouldn’t deter you from having one.
The following are tips I’ve learned along the way to get better at time management. (Please note: I wish my time management skills were something enviable, but I’m constantly learning and relearning my own advice!)
Take stock of your current and upcoming projects
Unless I write something down, I’m prone to forget it—or remember it at an inopportune time. Having a running list of creative projects you’re starting, in the middle of, or someday wish to pursue will open up space in your brain for thinking and reflection, for creative input and output. This may seem like an obvious step, but it’s easy to forget. The mental running list will only work until it doesn’t.
Set priorities
Once you have a list of projects, understanding their immediacy and importance is critical so you know where to spend your time. For instance, my novel is my top priority. I build out time to work on it every week. So short story ideas or story revisions will take the back seat for now. However, when it’s my turn to write a kernel, the immediacy takes precedence, and I’ll map out time alongside my novel writing to knock it out.
Even with a solid understanding of my priorities, I am prone to anxiety and procrastination! I will add tasks to my to-do list that simply don’t matter, and I will convince myself that they do. Writer Oliver Burkeman says in Four Thousand Weeks, “One can waste years this way, systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most.”
Break down each project into bite-sized tasks
Our brains have a tendency to think holistically when it comes to projects. I’ll often find a task on my to-do list that says “work on novel.” But what does that mean? Do I want to hit a specific word count or edit a certain number of scenes? Will it count if I worked on it for five minutes versus three hours? This ambiguity is a set-up for failure. As Walter Mosley says in Elements of Fiction, “the novel is bigger than your head, and it should be.” This means that we can’t ever hold every detail about our story in our minds simultaneously. But we can break down the story into consumable segments. We can find ways around our brain’s misgivings.
I’ve taken a note from
, marketing strategist and founder of Pretty Decent, who often asks, “What’s the least complicated next step?” To continue with my novel example, the least complicated next step might be to re-read the previous day’s edits, or to determine which scene to write next.Breaking your projects into bite-sized tasks will help you better map out its trajectory so you’re not overwhelmed one day by the mountain of work you still need to accomplish. It also gives you blocks that you can more easily build into your schedule. Determining which scene I’m going to write next could be a 5-minute task completed before work.
Body double
If you’ve read any of my kernels, you won’t be surprised that body doubling is one of my time management hacks! My neurodivergence thrives when it’s given a source of external accountability. I have multiple friends I do writing sprints with (our writerly version of body doubling), and I always make sure that they’re peppered throughout my week. I know that my friends won’t chastise me if I don’t meet my goals, but their presence is enough to signal to my brain it’s work time. Otherwise, I’ll tell myself I need to sit down to write but might instead scroll on my phone or dilly-dally around the house.
(Depending on the project) put it away and come back to it later
Sometimes a story requires time. If you are not on a deadline (i.e. you aren’t being paid to write it), then give the story what it needs. I’ve heard writers talk about short stories that they came back to years later and finally had an understanding of what it needed from them. On a smaller scale, I’ve experienced this over the course of several weeks or months. As emerging writers, the pressure to get our words out into the world right this very minute is palpable. But writing is playing the long game. If your story needs space from you, let it go. Work on something else. Consume creative input. Adjust your schedule and move forward.
Give yourself grace
Your writing practice will always have ebbs and flows, and that’s okay. What’s important is that you hold yourself tenderly throughout the process. The comparison game is tempting, and the never-ending rejections only add tinder to the fire, but you must stand firmly in your conviction. I know that I will never be the type of writer who can simultaneously work on a novel draft and a short story—and that’s okay. I learn my habits, I find my strengths, and I lean into them.
My kernel of advice: Get comfortable with the nitty gritty demands and details of your writerly life.
Inspiration, Information, & Insight
Natalia has read an absurd number of academic papers, political philosophy documents, and modern political philosophy books in the last week. Of all of them she found Fukuyama’s Liberalism and Its Discontents the most satisfying in its summary and analysis of the foundation of many democracies, like the United States, and the eventualities of these principles that we are seeing play out in modern political life.
Shelby’s mental health took a dip, so she spent a lot of time walking around her neighborhood and listening to boygenius. She’s also at the point in her novel draft where she feels like she needs to hold the whole thing in her head—even though she knows it’s impossible to do!—in order to figure out how to move forward with it.
Sarah finished an advance reader copy of Habitations ahead of her interview with author Sheila Sundar. They spoke at length about writing paths, abandoned first novels, and how to give a character the space she needs to reveal herself. She can’t wait to share the interview with you ahead of the book’s release on April 2. Stay tuned!
Neidy has continued to read the numerous books she is part-way through. Tuesday was the last night of the Deep Dive workshop hosted by The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast, and Neidy feels ready to apply all of her new knowledge to her writing. She also attended an accepted student event with an MFA program she was accepted into!