Writers On The Move: Time Management for Writers

Time Management for Writers by Deborah Lyn Stanley

Time Management is a frequent topic among writers. We juggle meetings and deadlines, step-out goal plans, and handle a myriad of correspondence tasks each day. How do we keep track of all of this? We need a flexible system, because most systems require modification to work well, and it takes testing until we find the system that fits.

Though we might want to create a most aggressive plan that causes our production to soar, “life happens”. Be flexible with yourself and relax your plan for a time if needed.

A writing friend mentioned her scheduling strategy—The Bullet Journal. She showed me how she was successful in using the Bullet Journal over several months. So, I tried it. I set up my Index, Future Log for 6 months, Monthly Log and Daily logs. I liked how it flowed for a month and continued. It worked, but I found it tedious, taking too much time noting here and there constantly. I needed to keep track of goals and schedule, BUT I needed to get to work first!
Check out the Bullet Journal: http://bulletjournal.com/.

Then, I set up a color highlighted Goal Plan Schedule on Excel to list:
•    Year End Completion Goals
•    Monthly Deadlines
•    Meeting Commitments
•    Weekly Progress
•    Notes
It worked well as a bird's-eye view for the year by week and month. I keep it open on my desk. Did it help guide my work day by day? No. I needed something more.

Finally, I have settled on a day/month/year planner. Daily I make entries that review the activities/accomplishments of the day briefly, similar to a diary. I use a journal for resolving issues and planning. Plus a digital calendar to schedule meetings & appointments with pop-up reminders.

Why does managing our time well matter to us?
It’s all about productivity, meeting deadlines & goals, and gaining a footing for our writing endeavors.

So, what does it take? It takes a careful review of what is working for us and what is taking us off track. Some questions to ask ourselves:
   *Do I need to limit email tasks? Would scheduling an hour each day avoid these interruptions?
   *What distracts me? Phone calls? Meetings? Schedule in blocks of time?
   *How can I reduce daily stress?
   *How can I improve my work flow and meet deadlines more effectively?
   *What is my goal and my destination?
   *Do I have milestones in place?
Katie Forrest, a guest for The Creative Penn, posted a helpful article here: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2020/02/13/9-time-management-tips-for-writers/

Since time management is a constant concern, and writers would appreciate some useful tips, the post was designed as a step-by-step guide through the journey. I appreciate Katie starts at where we are right now, analyzing what’s working and what’s not.

Are you looking for a writer’s community, with more tools and help?
Check out Good Story Company by Mary Kole
https://www.goodstorycompany.com/
Mastermind / blog / community

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author of Creative Non-Fiction. She writes articles, essays and stories. She is passionate about caring for the mentally impaired through creative arts.
Visit her My Writer’s Life website at: https://deborahlynwriter.com/
Visit her caregiver’s website: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/

Mom & Me: A Story of Dementia and the Power of God’s Love is available:
https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Lyn-Stanley/
& https://books2read.com/b/valuestories

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Timenye

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An ideal time-tracking App for freelancers who need to monitor the time spent on client projects and bill accordingly.

Benefits:
You can monitor your daily, weekly and monthly writing tasks in real time using the pie chart. You can also retrieve your daily activities. Timeneye learns your habits and tracks time for you.

Note: Timenye helped me to identify the extra time I spent to satisfy a client's growing expectations for a blog. This made it easy for me to estimate additional fees and to streamline tasks.

EVERNOTE

What:
EVERNOTE is a cloud-based App that lets you store and organize your research notes, urls, images, etc,

Benefits:
This app is a fantastic catch all for all your writing tasks:
- Take screen shots to capture ideas for inspiration, and add tags and notes.
- Find your notes, photos, etc., with the handy indexed, searchable, tagging feature.
- Use your phone to take screen shots of off-line research, receipts, etc., and upload to EVERNOTE.

Note: I have created notebooks for each of my writing projects, related marketing tasks, and monthly income reports. Before EVERNOTE, I wasted a lot of time bookmarking sites and creating files with urls and research notes in google docs. It was hard to keep track of all my research. EVERNOTE has made this process efficient and viable for me. But there is a lot more to EVERNOTE. I am looking forward to learning how to use it to its full potential.

More resources to help writers maximize their output

5 Steps to Preventing Scope Creep (and Still Keeping Your Clients Happy):
Advice for freelancers: What to do when client projects become bigger than what was agreed upon.

How to create an accurate estimate for your projects: Tools and strategies to reduce stress and efficiently manage your workload.

How to manage your time: Apply time management skills for a successful writing career.

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Deb Toor is a nonfiction writer and freelance blogger. She is the author of Survival Secrets of Turkey Vultures, a suspense-adventure story for grades 4 to 6 that is based on peer-reviewed science. She is also a ghostwriter for a health blog.