Most well-known writers have to meet deadlines. Either they have to finish an article by a certain time or they have to turn in a novel or nonfiction book by a certain date. In each case, they either have to or choose to set a certain number of words they need to write every day in order to finish on time.
Writers should focus on a few main things when they try to manage their time.
- Family and friends. This is related to the last time management tip, but your family should always come first. If you take out too many loans from this category, the damage can last for a long time.
- Do research on your topic. If you don't give yourself enough time for this, you'll have to use information from other categories and you'll probably fall behind on your writing.
- Market Research: Doing research on the people who will be reading your work can help you steer it in the right direction.
- Rest and play: If you don't set aside time for these two things, you'll lose them. Re-create is the root of recreation. When we have free time, our creative juices get a boost. If we spend all of our time writing, we may lose sight of the big picture, which will hurt our work.
- Writing: The first step to making sure your goal is part of your thinking is to figure out what it is.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is a true old saying. Most of the reason you want to write is to talk about the things that have happened to you in life. If writing keeps you from having a life, you may lose interest in writing. It's a cycle that many writers have been in when they focused so much on writing that they didn't have enough time to do anything else.
Balance
It is hard to find a good balance between life and writing. But once you realise that writing should be just one part of your life and not the whole thing, you can fit it into a schedule with more than one category.
Goals for Writing
Setting writing goals is important, but they should be done knowing that even writers need a life. Know your limits and try to always stay within them.
Deadlines are an important part of the publishing process because they must be met. A smart writer will learn to be honest about their skills and won't wait until the last minute to write something. They will also leave room in their writing for life.
"All men die, but not all men really live." - W.R. Wallace
