Writing Update: How to Write When You Have Literally No Time to Write

Ah, the pain. It seems as though every time I have free time to write, I don't want to, but as soon as my schedule is packed with other obligations, all I want to do is write. 

So, how do you write when you have no time?

This is a question I've struggled with for a while, and my answer is simply this: make time or be content. 

How do you make time? I keep a planner in numerous forms to schedule the week's responsibilities, the day's, and then, if a particular day is very busy, I even schedule things down to the very hour I plan to complete them. It's a little chaotic and yes, I do spend a chunk of time simply making these schedules, but I think that they do more good than harm. Now, about scheduling in time for writing. 

Step 1: Prioritize. I identify the most pressing items on my schedule, then I set strict guidelines for myself according to when I need to complete those things. Trust me, as a graduate student and soon-to-be medical student who still lives at home and therefore balances school and family obligations, I can identify my priorities! [I'm certainly not the busiest person on earth, but I still think I'm decent at this]. Once these "MOST IMPORTANT" items are identified, I look at the rest of my obligations and assign them to "IMPORTANT" and "LEAST IMPORTANT" categories. How do I assign these categories? "MOST IMPORTANT" are items that must be done this week, or on a particular day. These include things due this week (although I rarely wait to complete a task until the week it's due) or soon to be due next week, things tabled from last week, things upon which other tasks are dependent, et cetera... Then, "IMPORTANT" items are things that I should do this week or on a particular day, in order to assure myself that I won't be stressed about them next week. These include things due middle-late next week, or things that I find myself thinking about regularly and would bother me if not completed. "NOT IMPORTANT", quite simply, are things that can be tabled without causing me much stress. I'll put my week's plan at the end of this post as an example. 

Step 2: Plan. Once I've categorized everything, I decide approximately how much time each task will take, and I always give it more time than necessary. I always find myself a bit behind schedule since I need time to eat meals, take the occasional break, and I am honest with myself about how much time I'll spend procrastinating. Then, I look at my week and fill each day with a reasonable assortment of tasks. The "MOST IMPORTANT" tasks are scheduled soonest, followed by "IMPORTANT" and then "LEAST IMPORTANT". 

Step 3: Do The Plan. This shouldn't require an explanation, but I'll offer tips anyway. Identify how you focus and then make that environment. For me, I need a cup of hot tea, classical instrumental music, and an organized workspace. Do yourself a favor and make the environment before trying to force yourself through the work. 

Now that I've explained how I set up my weekly schedule, I'll give an example (this week's schedule for myself) and then I'll show you how I incorporate writing. Here's my week's schedule:

Monday:
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings 
10 - 11:30 --- eat lunch; pack for lab
11:30 - 16 --- lab class 
16 - 18:00 --- begin lab report 
18:00 - 20 --- dinner; chores; exercise 

Tuesday:
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings 
10 - 12:00 --- finish lab report 
12 - 16:00 --- study for exam by summarizing lectures 15 + 16 
16 - 17:00 --- class assignment
17 - 18:00 --- exercise 
20:00 -------- go to bed early, since I have to get up at 4am tomorrow

Wednesday = field work (all day)

Thursday:
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings 
10 - 14:00 --- study for exam by summarizing lectures 17 + 18 
14 - 16:00 --- lectures + assignments for another class
16 - 17:00 --- exercise
17 - 21:00 --- Grandma's birthday dinner

Friday:
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings 
10 - 12:00 --- journal entry 
12 - 16:00 --- complete the review questions for the upcoming exam
16 - 17:00 --- catch-up
17 - 18:00 --- exercise 

Saturday:
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings 
10 - 16:00 --- study the lecture summarizations  
16 - 17:00 --- exercise 
17:30 - 19 --- Church 

Sunday: 
08 - 10:00 --- Bible readings
10 - 12:00 --- Church? (sometimes I go on Sunday mornings as well)
12 - 17:00 --- Study + TAKE THE EXAM 
17 - 18:00 --- 3 mile run

~

Alright, now that the schedule is all spelled out, let me make a critical point: be realistic. While my final daily tasks (which is usually exercising) typically end around 18:00 (6pm, please note that I use military time, aka the 24-hour clock), I know that I won't be able to do much after 6pm. During the evenings, I eat dinner, help with chores, clean up the house, et cetera... Also, for the items that I need to leave the house for (such as "lab class" on Monday), I write that the time I will begin the task is the time I leave the house. So, for "lab class", I leave the house at 11:30, but the class doesn't start until 12:30pm. Make sure to schedule extra time for everything. 

So, how does writing fit into this? This is a very busy week for me, given that Wednesday is fully taken by an all-day obligation and I have an exam on Sunday that I must spend most of the week studying for, so I'm using this as an example of how to schedule writing time when I have no time. 

Perhaps you do this differently, but here's my method: I plan to finish my tasks early, and I make a firm decision that, when I complete a task early, I will reward myself by spending the extra gained time writing rather than getting a head's start on the next scheduled task. This not only allows me to 'schedule' time for writing, but it also gives me motivation to not procrastinate.

Now, this is my method for a busy week. For a less busy week, I will formally schedule a block of time to write, and give myself anywhere between 1 hour (usually for edits or simply adding a bit to a chapter already started) to 4 or 5 hours (for a new chapter). On any given less busy week, I treat my writing like any other task, and I'll assign it to the category of "IMPORTANT" tasks - not urgent, but not something to table either. On busy weeks such as this one, I give it the category of "LEAST IMPORTANT", something that can (and should) be tabled if push becomes shove. 

However, there comes an exception every now and again. For example, this very moment. It's 11am on Tuesday and I've chosen to write this blog post instead of doing my lab report. Why? The reason I consider exceptions like these are because, now and again, my urge and desire to write is too great, so great that I can't focus on anything. All I can think about is how miserable I am because I can't write. On these exceptions - take a break and write. It's better to spend a short time writing than to waste a whole day on half-hearted studying. If I were to try and push through my misery, I would end up procrastinating and wasting as much time procrastinating as I would have spent simply writing and "getting it out of my system". So, I'm affording myself a bit of time (about an hour) to write this post, and then I'll hit the books hard and get on with my scheduled tasks. 

Be content. Don't be hard on yourself. This is a lesson I've taken a long time to learn. I've since decided that, rather than being regretful and disdain the time I spend writing as opposed to doing other things, I'll instead choose to be grateful that I had that time and, therefore, approach my studying time with renewed fervor.

All of this rambling simply boils down to this: plan wisely, be rational, and allow time to enjoy what you love while still keeping time to get done what is necessary. 

I hope something in this long-winded post either helps you or gives you peace about your own schedules. 💛

~

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With 
the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand 
years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping 
his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is 
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but 
everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:8-9

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