Time Management Strategies for Writers

Time management strategies for writers can be tricky. If you have manuscripts in various stages, a freelance assignment with a deadline ten minutes from now, and maybe even a kid or two or worse, a day job, life can be a three-ring circus! (Ask me how I know.)

We grind ourselves to dust trying to be a one-person show who is able to spin All The Plates. Even though I’m still ironing out some of these issues myself, as it’s an ongoing process, here are my top 5 time management strategies for writers. Oh…but before we dive into the meat and potatoes, one thing: if you worked for someone else you’d expect regular time off, correct? Make sure to always schedule that in first.

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Time Management Strategies for Writers:

TIP 1: QUIT MULTI-TASKING

While it might seem like a smart idea to teach the Pythagorean Theorem while writing an article on wind power at the same time (a-hem, totally random example!) it’s just not. When you divide your attention between multiple tasks, you’re actually slowing yourself down—and making yourself crazy.

Instead, try giving your full attention to each task. Not only will you be able to finish more quickly by devoting yourself to one thing, but the quality of your work will go up.

TIP 2: ESTABLISH OFFICE HOURS

You already know this tip, but the question is, have you put it into practice? All legitimate writing businesses have established office hours. And you are running a legitimate business, right?

Office hours not only protect your business, but they protect your family life! Remember, we don’t want to multi-task, and if we don’t have office hours then multi-tasking is inevitable.

Look for patterns in your family, and then figure out what kind of hours will work best for you.

TIP 3: PLAN AHEAD

Everyone who knows me also knows that I’m a big fan of lists. Lists make the world go ’round!

Have you ever sat down to work and realized that you have so many projects that you don’t know where to start? DON’T fall into that trap! You have to know exactly what needs to be done in order to maximize the time you have available to write.

Prioritize your projects so you can jump right in when the moment presents itself.

TIP 4: AUTOMATE

When it comes to your writing business, one thing is certain—social media is not an option. But how much time you spend on social media is up to you.

Busy writers can digitally delegate certain tasks by using tools like BoardBooster, and Tailwind. You can also use tools like Hootsuite and Post Planner to set up your tweets and posts without you having to be tethered to the computer!

Also consider whether you might need a virtual assistant to take care of tasks that are tedious and repetitive.

TIP 5: LEARN TO SAY NO

This is a hard one for me, and if you’re a real go-getter then it might be hard for you too. But we don’t have to say yes to everything, even all the good things. As busy writers, we must prioritize!

*If you have a hard time saying no, try this phrase: in order to keep my current commitments, I can’t take on anything else at this time.*

The tips I’ve just shared will help you save hours each week if you are serious about implementing them. But what if you need more than a few hours here and there?

I’ve got a program for that!

Time Management for Writers is a 25 page PDF guide, complete with worksheets and a checklist, is for people who need more than a few hours. This PDF guide will help you reorganize the areas of your life that simply aren’t working for you so that you can reclaim massive quantities of time.

What would you do with extra DAYS each month?

Time Management for Writers is for people who:

• Realize their schedule is not working for them
• Need extra days each month for their writing
• Never seem to have enough time to complete writing projects
• Find that their writing gets shoved to the back-burner while they tend to life
• Realize their need for protected writing time

Time Management for Writers will help you:

• Analyze and track where your time is going now
• Align your schedule with your real priorities
• Identify and overcome the roadblocks to your productivity
• Establish office hours
• Prioritize your projects
• Discover more time to write!

If you’ve tried other time management programs before and not gotten the results you want, Time Management for Writers can help! We will dig in deep and get to the core reasons your schedule isn’t working for you.

The goal of Time Management for Writers is to help YOU reclaim massive quantities of time so you can fulfill your purpose. And isn’t that what we all want?

We all get the same 24 hours, but how we choose to spend them is entirely up to us.

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