Jen's Writing Journey

I’m still feeling the Tori Amos after going to her show a few weekends ago, so I’m using one of the lyrics from her cover album Strange Little Girls as my title today. (As a side note, I’m also using the song “Rattlesnakes” from that album as character inspiration for a space opera I am working on for a Samhain Publishing anthology call for submissions).

Anyway, I’m still kvetching and kvelling about time management. My deadlines are approaching, and I’m feeling the pressure to meet them. Thus time is one of my biggest concerns.

As I was reading up on writers and time management (read: procrastinating), I came across two great blog posts.

Is It Really about Time?

In this inspirational post, author Shirley Jump argues that time management isn’t really the issue. Instead, what we writers need to manage is our priorities.

Sketch out a rough schedule of your typical day. This schedule will give you a good idea of your current priorities. Rather than looking for ways to find extra time, look for ways to readjust your priorities so that you are spending your time on your most important and rewarding activities.

How to Keep Your Day Job from Killing Your Writing Career

In the other post, the intrepid blogger offered some good tips on how to balance your writing life and your day job. He suggested getting up a little early in the morning to start your day off with writing. Then go to your day job. After you get home, take some time to decompress, exercise, maybe take a shower. Then end your day with writing. By bookending your day with some sort of writing activity, your writing becomes your emotional focus and your day job is a daily diversion, rather than the other way around.

The important nugget here is the concept of making your day job less important without shirking your responsibilities. We spend a huge amount of time on our day job–not just the time we are at our desks, but also the commute, the time spent getting ready in the morning and decompressing afterward. And it is hard to spend that same amount of time on our writing. We have to be efficient when we write so that we can accomplish our goals.

What time management tips, tools, or guiding principles work for you?

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