How to Find Time to Write

You have this amazing idea that you cannot wait to put to paper, but it seems that you never quite get around to it. Believe it or not, every author has faced this conundrum: finding the time to sit down and write. 

To help you get over this hurdle, it’s important to remember something: Forget the ‘perfect time’. 
Like many things in life, you might have fallen into the trap of “I’ll do it when...”, and, like many things in life, you just never seem to get around to it. 

Now, the good news is that the universe does not have it out for you. The bad news, however, is that the ‘perfect time’ to write simply does not exist. Sometimes it really just comes down to sitting down and letting your fingers do the rest. Let yourself get into the flow of writing until you eventually wake up from a fever dream with the next Pride and Prejudice sitting in front of you. 
A helpful start might be to dedicate one time of the day to your writing; this could be anywhere from several hours to half an hour, depending on the pace you want to take. It could be at any point in the day, maybe after work while your mind is still sharp, before bed when you’re relaxed or even an hour before everybody else is awake where the only noise is coming from the little blackbirds outside. 
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• Build a writing habit 

You finally sit down and put pen to paper, maybe you even have the best writing session in a long time, that’s great—now the real challenge begins. Fighting back against the responsibilities of adult life every now and then is easy, the hard thing is doing it continually. If you are going to write the next classical masterpiece, one good writing session simply will not do. You need to make it a habit. If you do it enough, it will become just like walking a dog: you might feel sluggish to get off the sofa at first, but you will come to enjoy those walks, and even look forward to them. 

• Get rid of distractions 

The buzzing of the phone, the barking in the living room, and the inviting pizza in the kitchen, all tempting reasons to give it a 5-minute break, which turns into an hour and then into bedtime. Sometimes when you’ve finally managed to make some time for writing it feels as though all of these distractions take it up a notch. There are plenty of proverbs that can be used to describe what you should do to avoid these distractions, but I believe Patrick Ness’ spirit captures it best: “Turn your phone off, lock the bloody door, and let your husband mop up the spilled Weetabix. You’re writing, and that’s how it’s going to be.” 
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• Give yourself tiny deadlines 

When you start writing on a new project, partly because you discover your story as you progress through it, reaching its deadline comes down to theory with a pinch of wishful thinking. Sometimes, the uncertainty of the long road ahead can discourage you from even taking up the pen.  All you need to do, then, is give yourself smaller deadlines that fit around your schedule. These can be anything, really, from finishing a chapter, a scene, or even a dialogue, what matters is that you actually meet them.  

• Work on the go 

Say you have been sitting down to write for the past week, phone tucked away between the sofa pillows, significant other distracted somewhere in the house and one of your deadlines is but a hair away, yet you just cannot find the inspiration to go through with it. We all have those days sometimes, which can quickly become a downward spiral of discouragement. This is exactly when a notepad, or any digital alternative, full of notes comes in handy. Throughout the day, you will undoubtedly come across something, or someone, that you find interesting. Maybe you see a building with an interesting skyline, or someone with a cool hat who stumbled in front of you—just make sure you make a note out of it and, who knows, maybe they will feature in your novel in those times of need. 

If you follow these steps diligently, we can assure you that you’ll find time that much-needed time to commit pen to paper.