Organisation isn’t perhaps something you’d associate with the creative process. But for writers, particularly those who have a ‘day job’ and/or family commitments, organising writing time is a vital component of your life.

When you have a busy calendar, taking time out to write seems ever more difficult, and when you throw in the need to be active on social media daily, it seems insurmountable.

Woman sitting writing in a notebook organising an author business

However, there are some tricks that you can employ:

  1. Writing at the same time every day/week: I’m one of those writers who rarely has time or energy for writing during the week. So, 10am to 1pm on Saturday and Sunday is sacrosanct as writing time; to eat into that time, something major has to be going on! I’m fortunate that I don’t have children, so I don’t have that distraction. What it means is that I know that at 10am I’m going to be sitting down to write so I can get my brain into the right frame of mind.
  2. Being prepared for random writing moments: following on from the point above, as well as setting aside time for writing, be ready to use any periods of time that appear before you. Recently, I had an hour open up before me because of a delayed appointment; I wasn’t prepared, so I had to text my husband and ask him to take photos of my writing notebook, left at home, so I could write on my phone while sitting with a coffee. That time could easily have been wasted, so always be ready to make the most of them. A notebook or note-taking app is vital, but so is keeping details of what’s next in your work-in-progress close at hand so you can crack on. Michael LeRonn is an advocate for making best use of your time, so check out the tools he uses.
  3. Keeping a diary: forgive me for stating the obvious here, but for me it’s a great way to eye on any deadlines, appointments or events/awareness weeks coming up. You can also use it to track word counts or chapters edited as you work towards a deadline. Sometimes it’s a good idea to have a record of what you did as much as what you have to do – watching the words rack up is a great feeling. I record writing work in it, but also some Real Life stuff, like when I’m on holiday, so I don’t give myself a deadline during that time. Writing on a sun lounger in Seville is fun, but not when it’s on deadline!
  4. Batching your social media/content: if you’ve been using your diary, you can see when there are times you may need to post when you’re not around, whether that’s because of work or family commitments. This allows you to pre-write any content or design graphics ahead of time so that they magically appear even when you’re busy. This week, for example, I’m posting something on my blog every day for Indie Author Week, so my articles are written ahead of time and scheduled. I’ll be monitoring things to make sure nothing untoward happens, but it means I don’t have to worry about finding time on the day to do things.

In conclusion…

To make a writing business work, organising has to be your friend, whether or not it comes easily to you. Believe me, taking 10 minutes at the start of the month to check on anything and everything going on will pay dividends when you doing have to dash off an article or social media graphic when time is tight.

Stress is not conducive to the creative process, so make sure you’re giving yourself as much time as possible to do your best work.