Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Busyness


I love Christmas, but during this time of year, busyness consumes our household. Sometimes it seems like I don’t have a moment to catch my breath between Halloween and New Years.

I’m currently editing the first draft of book two. For me editing takes large chunks of uninterrupted time and requires more undivided attention than writing. Trying to accomplish this during this time of year is a daunting task. How do we resist letting our writing commitments slide because of the busyness of the Christmas season?

Make Writing a Priority. Faith and family definitely need to stay at the top of our priority lists, but if writing is important to us, we need to make sure it’s not getting buried by less important things. After we identify what’s important, we need to share it with our families. I’m so blessed to have a husband who constantly helps me carve out writing time.

Be Realistic. My house may not be spotless, and I may not be able to host a big Christmas party. And that’s okay! If our expectations are unrealistic, we will only be disappointed. Learn to say “no.” Give someone else an opportunity to host that get-together or to chair that committee.

Identify Time Zappers. Sometimes I waste precious time without even realizing it. Keep a log of where you spend your time for two days. It may reveal time wasters you hadn’t noticed. After we identify those things, we can put measures in place to control them. Set a timer by your computer while you’re searching on the internet. Only allow yourself to watch shows you’ve recorded on DVR instead of surfing channels. Turn off your cell phone during certain hours of the day.

How do you protect your writing time?

5 comments:

  1. I'm between WIP's right now and Christmas shopping just keeps getting in the way of me logging some serious words. I've completed an outline for my new WIP and have been brainstorming for a decent title. I do love to begin my WIP with a good working title. ;) Good luck on the deadline!

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  2. More and more lately Twitter is sucking up my time. I need to be more aware of how much time I'm on there and popping around the internet.

    Great thoughts.
    ~ Wendy

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  3. I am pausing during these couple of weeks, writing some but not driven as usual. I am blessed to be able to be alone all day and write and write. But sometimes this Internet gets me:)

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  4. I agree that editing requires more uninterrupted time and undivided attention that writing. I don't have to try too hard to get to my writing because there's so little time for it during my busy day that I'm totally ready for it when the time comes! :)

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  5. This year I'm making less Christmas cookies and I put out less decorations. Something had to give!

    I'm very protective of my writing time. I try to run Christmas errands (shopping) right after I drop the kids off in the morning, and I make a plan of what I need to get done each day. Works for me!

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