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How To Create More Time For Your Writing (And Whatever Else You Want To Do)

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You know how sometimes time feels like it goes SO SLOWLY?! Like when you’re at your day job and hating life and all you can think about is getting home and finally having free time to work on your writing. Or when a really, really bad song comes on the radio, but you can’t change the station because someone else in the car with you wants to listen to it.

In moments like this, time feels like it’s moving at the speed of a snail.

And then other times you’re on vacation or at a concert or just doing something you really enjoy, and time feels like it speeds up. A two-hour event feels like fifteen minutes and you’re disappointed it can’t go on longer.

But how can this be? How can time speed up or slow down based on what you’re doing and how you feel about it?

Because time is an illusion.

Time is a manifested reality based on your thoughts, perspective and emotions in any given situation. If you’re bored, time drags on. If you’re having fun, it feels like two seconds. It’s all an illusion you’re creating for yourself.

I discovered that I could bend time just by deciding I was going to. I’d set the intention, for example, I’d be running late for something and only had 15 minutes left but way too much still to do. So I’d say, I’m gonna bend time for the next 15 minutes, and then I’d go about doing what I needed to do. And somehow I’d be able to get whatever it was done in that 15-minute period and I’d be out the door on time.

It was like I actually bent time.

Because I changed my experience of it. I decided that I was going to get everything done that needed to be done in that amount of time and that was that. I didn’t allow for any other possibility to be present.

Reality is simply a perception. And that means you can control it by what think and decide to believe is possible.

So if you find that you just can’t ever make the time you want for your writing and other creative projects, here are some ways that you can start to manipulate time and get it to work for you:

1. Set the Intention

Intentions are powerful, especially when you say them out loud. So set the intention that you’re going to bend time for the next however long you have available to you. Then sit down and get to writing.

Doing this can turn fifteen minutes of time into getting what feels like 30 minutes or more of actual writing done.

2. Use the Magic Phrase

The magic phrase is: I bend the fuck out of time (or I suppose you can say it without the f-bomb if you want, but it won’t be as powerful 😉 )

I write that statement in my journal almost every day. It’s a new belief I’m creating for myself. And I know that anytime I’ve used it, I somehow manage to squeeze a ton of stuff into a tight amount of time.

3. Figure Out What Matters

Before you can really start to bend time, you need to know what you actually care about and want to achieve or get done each day.

For me, that’s my daily mindset practice, blog post, working on my fiction writing and on my nonfiction books. Everything else is secondary to this.

What matters to you? What do you want to be getting done each day?

4. Do It First Things First

After you’ve figured out what really matters to you, start doing that stuff first things first, before you do anything else.

For me, doing my soul work first thing in my day, before I spend my energy on anything else allows me to bend time. After the soul work is finished for the day, everything else I get done is a bonus.

And I always get to the end of my day feeling fulfilled and like I got a shitload of stuff done and was super productive.

5. Keep Reminding Yourself that Time Is An Illusion

Reality is bendable. It’s all based on what you believe. So create the belief that time is an illusion and it will be.

Once you believe that time is in your hands, you can make amazing use of the time you have available each day.

I’m a purpose-driven, multi-passionate writer and creator who loves to write and create and make things and bring them into the world. So I need a lot of time in my day to get done all the things I want to get done. (And I do A LOT in a day most days.)

If you’re multi-passionate and want to make more time for YOUR writing and other creative projects, this is your roadmap for making it happen.

Dream life or bust,

 

 

#DreamLifeOrBust #DailyThinkDifferent

P.S. Doors to the Bestselling Author Mastermind are opening soon!! I can’t wait to invite you in to check out all the amazing trainings and resources you get access to, plus our private members-only Facebook group where we connect, share, learn and grow with each other as we work on achieving our writing goals.

Want in? Stay tuned…

A Useful Tool For Managing Your Writing Time

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By Jennifer Blanchard

In any given week, you have 168 hours of time in which to do everything you need to do—from sleep to exercise to work to take care of the kids to meet with your writer’s group to search for freelance opportunities to cook dinner to commute to go to the movies with your significant other, etc.

The problem with having what seems like so much time, is your schedule tends to fill up quickly. Then before you know it, you have two hours left until the new week starts and you still haven’t gotten much (or any) writing done.

Time management is often one of the biggest challenges writers face.

With so much going on in your life, it can feel overwhelming trying to squeeze it all in. And most days you probably still end up wishing there were a few more hours left in the day.

The good news is, with a simple adjustment in your mindset—and an effective scheduling tool—you can easily overcome the barrier that keeps you from managing your time effectively.

The Un-Schedule

The un-schedule was created by psychologist, Neil Fiore, Ph.D. This is one of many tools in his arsenal for overcoming procrastination.

In order to know how much time you have in your week for writing, you need to know what you’re already doing each week. This is where an un-schedule can be a huge help.

Once you know everything (or pretty much everything) you have to do each week, you will then be able to determine the maximum amount of hours you have each week to spend writing.

Here’s how an un-schedule works:

  • Using the un-schedule worksheet  (Note: there’s another link to download this free worksheet at the end of this post), fill in everything you already know you’re doing this week. Be sure to include things like sleep, eating and commuting time. These are all activities that take up many of the 168 hours you have available each week. Remember to only include the activities you know you’ll be doing for sure.For example, if you plan on exercising for sure at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, write it on your un-schedule. If, however, you don’t know for sure when you’ll be exercising this week, leave exercising off the un-schedule (there will be time to add it during a later step).
  • Once your un-schedule is completely filled out, take inventory of how many hours (or blanks) are remaining. This is the maximum amount of free hours you have available for writing.
  • Now make a list of all the things that aren’t on your un-schedule, but that you know you’ll be doing at some point this week (things like exercising, calling your mom and writing).
  • Figure out when your best available hours will be for writing, and set your writing schedule for the week. You may not make every session, but putting it down on paper (or in your smart phone) will help you keep it at the front of your mind as you go through you week.
  • Repeat this process again next week. And the week after. And the week after…

Share With Us

Have you ever created an un-schedule before? What was your experience like? What did you discover from filling one out?

FREE DOWNLOAD: the un-schedule worksheet (blank).