When it comes to making time to write, there’s a difference between accountability, giving yourself a reality check and beating yourself up.
If you find you’re not writing as much as you would like start by examining your priorities. Is writing your book, that article or paper, your blog post or whatever else you’re working on (or not working on) really important? If your answer is no or if other priorities outrank this one, then put your writing on hold and get back to it when it’s top of the priority heap.
If, on the other hand, you realize that writing matters to you then you need to figure out how to make that happen. Way too often we spend our time putting out so-called fires or ticking off items on our to-do lists rather than accomplishing the vital stuff in our lives. Instead, we push that which defines us or lights us up to the back burner. What kind of sense does that make?
Next we make excuses. One of my very first clients told me she couldn’t focus on her writing because she was in the midst of a remodel and there was a toilet sitting in her living room.
“Have your workers move it,” I suggested.
That’s all it took.
Reality checks can be tough, but you need to examine your habits and your schedule, and then figure out how to make your writing the urgent priority no matter how many other people are clamoring for your attention.
“It will help if you understand that I’m a Mama Bear when it comes to my kids,” a writing coach client told me last week.
“You need to Mama Bear yourself,” I responded.
For her that means carving out the time to write no matter what. The idea of being as protective of herself as she is of her children had never occurred to her.
Just promise me that you won’t beat yourself up when you miss that writing time you’ve carefully blocked out in your calendar (because you’re all going to start doing that, right?). Berating yourself for not writing will only accomplish one thing. You’ll feel increasingly guilty and will wind up never writing at all. Why would you even try to tackle something that routinely makes you feel so bad?
“In order not to start hating writing, I’m going to make time for my writing,” another long-term client recently announced at the end of our session. “I know when I have time, I get into it and I love it.”
Here’s to loving your writing and figuring out how to fits it into your life.
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