It’s a common misconception that writers have the luxury of sitting at home working for hours in their pajamas. Wouldn’t that be nice! Sorry to burst your bubble folks, but we all know that is not the case for any writer. Most writers dabble in multiple projects while juggling family, home and real life. Timing is everything, especially when you are a writer. Here are a few tricks for your writing trade to keep you ahead of deadline and successful:
Plan ahead and set deadlines for yourself. Your goal could be two chapters a week, a certain word limit, or whatever you think would work for you. Also remember to set goals for building your platform. Ask yourself several questions, “is this a realistic deadline for the amount of work,” “what will this require me to do,” “how much research is needed” and so on. Once you have decided that the time allotted compliments the work load, start planning your work schedule. For best and quality work, split your time up.
So that means to prioritize! Decide which is most important by your due date and the amount of work you have to put into it. Obviously the projects that are due soonest, they are at the top. Following the due date priority, decide which one will require the most work, whether that is researching, interviewing, drafting, or connecting with potential audiences through social media. Figure out what should be at the top of your list and follow that by what doesn’t need as much time or effort and so on.
Once your list of priorities has been made, determine how much time you need for each listed goal. Remember to account for daily things like coffee, lunch and bathroom breaks, phone calls, and meetings. Then account for weekly things like doctor appointments, soccer games, and so on. Give each goal some wiggle room, it is better to overestimate your time then to be stuck rushing and digging yourself out of a hole.
In order to knock out your to-do list, avoid disturbances. Schedule time to check and respond to emails, answer calls and have meetings and, as with your projects, add some wiggle room for any unexpected occurrences. Here comes the not so fun part; get offline and stay offline. No checking your Facebook, personal email, or playing games. Facebook is an amazing time-waster and a wonderful way to get really behind in your work. So stay offline and save it for after your to-do list is knocked out.
There is a time and a place to be a ‘yes’ man/woman, especially for writers. There are always things to do like editing for the tenth time or brainstorming a project that someone needs you to do. Don’t be afraid to say no once in a while. Treat your self-imposed deadlines as if they came from someone really important, because they do…they come from you. Inform the person that you are under a deadline and that you would be happy to help once you have finished your needs. In most cases, they will understand and will be able to hold off and wait for your expertise.
Time managing for writers is all about prioritizing and organizing your day to fit your goals. Avoid anything that will interfere with your flow and keep that nose to the grind. If you follow these tips you will be completed before you know it!
Kate Croston is a freelance writer and holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing home internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to: katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.
Check out BookMasters on 
Follow us on Twitter 
Follow us on 
