What are you doing with your time?

Hourglass

One day.
24 hours.
1440 minutes in a day.

Time doesn't discriminate based on your gender, your height, your color or your economic status.

We all get the same amount of time - every day.

It's what we do with it that counts!

I think we're all guilty of saying and thinking there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. And while many of us DO have more on our schedules than we have the time to accomplish...sometimes it's about priorities and not wasting the time we have.

You say you don't have time to write? How many words could you have added to your manuscript in the time it takes to read this blog post? (Not that I don't want you to come and visit me, I'm just making a point.)

This week I loaded The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen to my Nook because I admit I often let too many minutes of my day go by without capturing them in a productive way. I realized I need some help in figuring out a plan to get more done.

Author Sage Cohen suggests we keep track our our day to see where those free moments can be turned into something more productive.

She also suggests stepping out our comfort zones. You think you need absolute quiet and six hour block of uninterrupted time to write - but is that really the case?

Maybe you think you can only be creative at the crack of dawn, drinking coffee and listening to Mozart.

Are you a night owl and think you do your best work after midnight with a glass of wine at your side?

These rituals may be comforting and you very well may do your best work under your own ideal circumstances...but being a productive writer means sometimes we HAVE to write when there isn't a full moon and the stars haven't aligned.

The question today is...what are you doing with your time? Can you write in a notebook or on a pad for fifteen minutes of your lunch break? Can you dictate a scene into your phone's voice recorder on the way home from work? Can you sneak in fifteen minutes to write instead of playing Farmville?

I think we can!

For the next few days why not pay attention to the moments that click by - the free minutes you might be missing to be a little more productive towards your dream of reaching The End. I think you might be surprised where you CAN find the time you thought you didn't have.

I know I did!

Good luck and happy writing!

** Because I love my readers and am grateful you choose to spend some time with me each week, all comments from March 1 to March 31 are automatically entered into my monthly drawing for a 3 pack of mini travel-sized handmade soaps. Details and the scents for the month can be found on the "contest rules" page.