Scheduling that NECESSARY Writing Time

Man, is it really 4:10 in the afternoon? I'll be thinking of dinner soon. Where does the time go?

I've often heard that professional writers make an increased amount of money because they know how to schedule their writing time. They take it serious, like eating or going to see the dentist because the pain is winning the war.

How do we feel about our writing time?

Yes, I make time for mine every day, but sometimes I find that the time has slipped from my fingers (like today) because I haven't planned my day out ahead of time.

Photo by: Joe Lanman, courtesy of Flickr

So you know, each and every day of my life is different. It's hard for me to say that I'll have the same time in the morning on Monday as I will have on Tuesday, for example. My writing time comes in-between errands, and last minute emergencies, and the not so favorite grocery shopping trip. I plan my writing time around what is already graven in stone, but I wonder what would happen if I got up early every morning at the same time and wrote.

What would happen if I made time for writing; scheduled it out like a well-needed check-up?

You've probably heard of Franklin Day Planners. I used to have one of those, too, but found that the scheduling just made me feel as if I couldn't breathe. Maybe I wasn't using the planner right, but I found my life sort of lackluster, like the old ring that I thought was genuine silver plate.

I got rid of the planner. Now I have a nice calendar with big squares to write stuff inside. (No, I haven't yet converted to a cellphone calendar). I make mention of the most important stuff of the day, but usually neglect to record when my writing time will be.

I think other folks around here know that too. My daughter said today: "My mom has a hard time scheduling anything, her life is so crazy."

But crazy or not, it's my life. Still, the thought of planning out my morning and making time to write at the same time every day (It's now 5:07, had to do some last minute errands) sounds a bit refreshing, if you know what I mean.