How I Find Time to Write

So, as you can see, it is very important to me that I write regularly. Blogging has the added benefit of being a social medium, allowing me to interact, inspire, and share with others. So I'm trying to find ways to integrate blogging into my daily routine more regularly and consistently.

Some ideas:

• Wake up before anyone else and write first thing in the morning: I like this one because it means I can focus, my mind is (relatively) clear from the troubles of the day, and it motivates me to get up early so I can write. The only problem here is that I coach at 6am two days of the week, but these can be my exception days.
• Set aside a specific time in the evening to write: This has worked in the past. The idea is to determine a time of night after which I am not allowed to do any work on things besides my personal projects. This means I wouldn't do research for Forbes, I would avoid updating Farm to Table, and I would stay away from planning workouts at my gym. The only problem with this for me now is that my work schedule is so erratic, I sometimes have to work in the late evenings.
• Give writing-in-the-moment priority: Basically, I write when I'm inspired, dropping everything else. This worked during the summer, though it infuriated my family. I'd be in the middle of a conversation and then sit down to start an article that was inspired, and I would insist on finishing it before doing anything else. Not very reliable, unless you have no outside obligations.
• Write shorter posts: Besides making it less time-consuming to follow me, this also frees me of the necessity to dedicate large chunks of time to blogging. If I know I only need ten minutes to generate quality content, I won't procrastinate. When I know it'll take me half an hour, then I am more likely to put writing off until a more 'convenient' time.

Please share your own writing routines and thoughts on the importance of writing in your life. Post to comments.

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Image Source: ChepeNicoli on Flickr