Blogger: Mary Keeley
In addition to the normal routine of life, the summer months usually include writers conferences, vacations, family reunions, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie . . . oops, there I go getting distracted. You’re going to need an extra amount of discipline and planning to stay focused on the work you feel God wants you to write.
Add to the list this year some special distractions—happenings that take place only once every four years. The 2012 Summer Olympics in London will capture our attention for two and a half weeks. On the heels of that global affair will be endless reports to watch or read as history is made from the national political conventions through November elections to the end of the year.
Everything on this list, including the Olympics and following the news, is significant so don’t feel guilty about spending time on these special occurrences. These once-every-four-year events are noteworthy and important because they can provide understanding of what’s going on in the world and in the lives of those who constitute your audience. And the exhilaration of special distractions refreshes and clears your creative brain to work more effectively when you go back to your computer.
Maintaining focus on your work during the coming season is a matter of adding a little extra planning and efficiency to your normal pattern. Look at it as practice in fine-tuning your time disciplines ongoing.
- View TV schedules and select special coverage you want to enjoy watching with your family. Adapt your schedule on a week-by-week basis as much as possible. There might be more Olympic events you want to view in the first week than in the second.
- Adjust daily word count goals each week to give yourself the added flexibility you need while still ending the week according to your writing schedule.
- When a deadline is looming and you are already behind, you may have to forgo these events. I blogged here on the effects of missing a deadline. Long-term planning doesn’t come easily to some writers, but as we know, everything about writing and publishing requires discipline. Use special events as a motivator to discipline yourself in planning ahead so you don’t have to miss out. If you aren’t yet published, practicing now will give you a head start for when the time comes.
- Guard your sleep time. Don’t add extras into your day by staying up late to work and lose sleep. That might have worked in college, but as we get older a sleep-deprived brain can’t work efficiently and produce great writing.
If you can incorporate these–and others I hope you’ll suggest in the Comments section–they’ll become natural practice for the future when life interruptions are your next “special event” that threatens to take you off-focus.
How are you planning to carve time for the history-making events during the next six months? Are there others you are planning around? How much cushion do you incorporate in your normal schedule to allow for life’s interruptions?
Sundi Jo
I’ve got to get better at this. Seems my time management skills have been slipping over the last two months.
Mary Keeley
Sundi, it can happen to all of us, especially when something special or unexpected occurs that interferes with our normal routine. That’s why it’s helpful to remind each other from time to time.
Jennifer Major
I watch very little TV and am more of a WInter Olympics viewer. Although I love gymnastics and show jumping!
I simply don’t watch very much TV. And being Canadian, I don’t watch the US political stuff, not up until close to the elections.
Depending where we are in the summer, there may not even be a TV. Which is good.
My word count goals veer more into chapters and scenes as opposed to numbers.
I’d need an agent (coughhintcough) before I’d worry about a deadline. Book One is done,(in case anyone is curious) except for some translations and I’m not going to query anything until late August.
I’ll be in South America for 3 weeks in the Fall. (… and have imagined getting an email with a sweet offer and having to phone the agency (coughhintcough) that I queried from a phone booth in Bolivia and yelling into the “telefone” like a psycho gringa.)..so I certainly doubt I’ll be worrying about word count then!
I know what events are coming, and I know where I’m at in terms of work, so I think I’m good. Unless I trip and break both wrists. Or lose my laptop.
Or get tossed into a Bolivian jail for yelling in a fone booth.
Mary Keeley
Jennifer, it sounds like your discipline is in place, functioning well and goal set for August. Ah, but those unexpecteds–like a life-changing email while in Bolivia, two broken wrists (watch those sidewalk cracks) and losing your laptop. Those definitely would distract for a while. You made a colorful case for planning cushion into a writing schedule.
sally apokedak
I don’t watch TV either. Haven’t for years. The Internet is my time waster. Speaking of which, I’ve tried to comment on your blog a couple of times, Jennifer and the comments don’t go through. Have you marked me as a spammer?
What I noticed when I was in Bolivia is that you might die in a traffic accident and miss your deadline. Yikes, those people drive like nothing I’ve ever seen.
Jennifer Major
Bolivian drivers are INSANE!!! When are where were you in Bolivia???????
I checked and today’s comment on “RED hair” went through. And heavens, I don’t even know HOW to mark people as spammers. And it’d never be you!!!
Some days I can’t leave comments here or on Rachelle’s blog. They do not go through at all. And other days it’s fine.
Lindsay Harrel
I had actually forgotten the Olympics were coming. Guess I stay in my little writing bubble too much sometimes. 😛
One thing I try to do weekly–doesn’t always happen–is take Sundays off to rest and recoop. I try not to write on these days or do much housework, etc. This helps me to stay focused during the week, since I know a respite is coming!
Mary Keeley
Great suggestion, Lindsay. Thanks for pointing out the balance. Sundays are less and less a day set aside for rest in our culture. But God knows we need it and gave us his own example in creation. We also need undivided time with our families and friends to stay connected.
Cindy R. Wilson
I’m excited about the Olympics! I know my whole family will want to watch.
I definitely agree with building a cushion into our week for events like these or unforeseen events that typically spring up in just about every week. I try to keep my word count at an attainable level and give myself one day during the week and the weekend open every week (that way I can use those days for catch-up if I need to). I also try to let my family know if it’s going to be a particularly heavy writing day or week so they have a heads up and can help with a few extra things around the house.
Mary Keeley
Cindy, you have a great plan already in place. Thanks for sharing these helpful suggestions. What a blessing your supportive family is.
Josh C.
I just got insanely distracted since my favorite NFL team’s QB was finally re-signed today! Now my writing time has to be shared with painting a big fleur-de-lis on my roof…
Mary Keeley
So Drew Brees is your favorite QB, huh? Perfect example of a surprise distraction. I hope you’re a fast painter. The Saints’ fleur-de-lis is pretty intricate.
Morgan Tarpley
go Saints!! Are you from Louisiana too?? 😀
Ann Bracken
My biggest distraction is my dog. She has a fondness for resting her head on my keyboard (she’s a big dog). I’ve sent some very interesting emails from her head hitting the wrong (or is it right?) combination of keys. I try to minimize this by pointing out the cat, but then the cat gets back at me by lying on keyboard and hissing at the dog. My children are old enough to no longer be a distraction, other than ‘can I borrow the keys’ or ‘I need money.’ Like Jennifer, TV holds little interest for me, although I do love the Olympics.
Actually, my biggest distraction is work. That said, my biggest distraction at work is my writing. I’ve managed to compose entire scenes in my head while doing something completely unrelated. I then write those during my lunch break.
Like Lindsay, I take Sundays off. Having that family time keeps the natives from becoming too restless.
My most productive time is the time I schedule for writing. I’ve found that after dinner works best for me. It also helps me to have a writing challenge on gchat or skype (my husband finds these amusing because we’re completely silent for an hour). Everyone not involved in the writing process knows to leave me alone during this time (except the dog).
Mary Keeley
Laugh-out-loud funny, Ann. I’m glad you found a way to work around your many distractions and still have family time. It sounds like the dog and the cat aren’t getting enough of your attention, though 🙂
Darby Kern
I needed someone (besides my wife) to tell me number four. My deadlines right now are all self-imposed, but I’m doing a lousy job keeping up. The upside is that I’m coming up with, and getting fired up about ideas to write about.
Now I just need a few more hours each day…
Amanda Dykes
Darby, I’m like you; my deadlines are self-imposed.
They’re hard to keep since they’re not affecting anyone but me, but the idea that they *could* affect someone else in the (hopefully near?) future helps. I need the structure, and it alleviates the feeling of having a giant project looming. Instead I just have those few thousand words beckoning. The deadlines keep the momentum going when the momentum wants to slow, know what I mean?
Anyway, good to know I’m not the only one out there working with self-imposed deadlines. 🙂 Now I just need to work on the “getting some sleep” portion… tricky w/ a newborn in the house!
Mary Keeley
I know what you mean, Darby. Number 4 is a tough one for me to maintain too. But it is very important.
Beth MacKinney
All true (especially number 4). I’m not able to write when I’m really tired, which is what I often am when I try to burn the candle at both ends. Rest is necessary for healthy creative juices to flow.
Mary Keeley
Amen, Beth. (I’m talking to myself as well.)
Gabrielle Meyer
I have a unique schedule because I stay home full time, but my husband owns a landscaping company and he accomplishes the amount of work in eight months that others accomplish in twelve, which require anywhere from ten to fourteen hour days. This leaves less time for me to write in the summer and much more time in the winter. Because I know my boundaries and limitations in the summer, I don’t have nearly as high of a word count, but in the winter months I can sneak in more than most people. I think just knowing what our limits and constraints are is huge in keeping the distractions at bay.
Mary Keeley
Great point, Gabrielle. It’s not only a weekly but a seasonal or yearly perspective we need to plan for.
Connie Almony
You are so right about that college thing. I used to see how many hours I could squeeze out of a day back then. I think I’m paying for it now!!!
Mary Keeley
I’m right there with you, Connie. Will we ever learn?
Michelle Lim
Great tips, Mary!
One thing I try to do is to stay a week ahead of my deadlines, personal or otherwise. That way if things get crazy (not that they ever do as moms), there is an extra cushion to make up for the roller coaster ride.
I also try to schedule my deep dive writing times around my kids’ schedule. For some of us summer is easier, for others the school year is easier. Learning the rhythm is half of the battle.
Mary Keeley
A week is a nice cushion, Michelle. And attainable with good planning and sticking to it as much as possible. Especially helpful for those who have commented that they have self-imposed deadlines, which are easy to slack off on.
Learning the rhythm of your family–that’s helpful and easy to remember.
Lisa
I LOVE the Olympics, so inspiring!
Sometimes, I keep going and going. My husband always reminds me that resting your mind is so essential. The funny thing is, every time I allow myself breaks, I return to my work refreshed and full of new insight and vision.
I often leave tasks that I can do while I watch television for special events.
My favorite verse ever Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
Mary Keeley
Funny how it works that way, isn’t it, Lisa. I’ve heard you need to get up and away from your computer every hour for ten minutes. It does help. Good suggestion: if you know you can get certain tasks done while you take time to watch the history-making events the rest of the year, they needn’t be a distraction while you are writing.
Thanks for adding that God’s direction in Psalm 46:10 is a vital part of “guarding rest.”
Wendy Heuvel
Great post Mary! I just readjusted my schedule a couple weeks ago to account for the summer.
One thing I’ve found that works is using ‘alternates’. For example. I have either Thursday or Friday afternoon as a time to schedule a play date for my daughter. So one day is for her, and the other becomes an afternoon of writing for me (or two afternoons if the play date is at someone else’s house!)
That allows me to be ‘flexible’ but still say ‘scheduled’.
I also touched on this topic this week in my blog where I talked about ‘How to Keep Motivated as a Writer’. Timely subject!
Mary Keeley
Practical win-win suggestion, Wendy. Summer and the Christmas season seem to have the most distractions. Realistic planning like that for this season and months ahead can relieve stress and help writers do their best writing.
sally apokedak
Good suggestions.
I’m a “Sundays Off” person, too. But I stay up way too late every night. And you’re right, Mary: That makes it hard to write great stuff.
The times I’ve really been thrown off writing are when my husband died and when my father died. And I don’t know that you can plan for those things. I mean…I knew a couple of months in advance in both instances.
I know of a writer who is in this position. She’s getting contracts and her husband is dying. It’s not an easy place to be. She’s having to leave him and go do speaking engagements. I couldn’t have done that with my husband or my father. Thank God I wasn’t in that position.
Maybe you can plan for some of these things. My mother will die this year or next, I’m sure. But I guess if someone offers me a five-book contract, I’d still be OK because I have several rough drafts already done.
But it would be hard to launch a book when someone you love is dying. I have another friend whose debut novel launched the week her mother died and her mother lived 3000 miles away. Not an easy time.
Elissa
Yes, death will throw a wrench into the best laid plans. All you can do is take it one day at a time and pray. Sometimes faith is the only thing that can get you through the rough times.
Mary Keeley
Yes, deaths, whether sudden or long in process, are not minor distractions or interruptions. They are life-altering. When things of this proportion happen, it’s time to surrender the schedule completely into God’s hands and as Lisa pointed out, “be still and know that I am God.”
Elissa
Haven’t had TV for 13 years, so that’s a distraction I don’t need to worry about. I would certainly plunk down and watch the Olympics if I could.
The internet can be a distraction, but I really don’t surf and I only follow a few blogs, so that’s under control.
I’ve spent nearly all of my adult life self-employed, so I’ve learned how to manage my time. Even better, I’ve learned how to deal with folks who are always wanting to impose on my time (“Since you don’t work, could you…?”).
But I do still have trouble with the sleep thing at times. Part of that is because my most productive times are early in the morning and late at night, so if I don’t get a nap in, I’m hurting.
Mary Keeley
Elissa, would you share some bullet points about managing time and how to respond to people who impose on your time from what you’ve learned over the years? But don’t miss your nap to do it 🙂
Elissa
Mostly what I do is map out schedules. I write important things on wall calendars, which I hang in places that will catch my eye (beside my bed, next to the computer screen, in the kitchen).
I plan as much ahead as I can. Some things, such as our monthly grocery shopping, don’t have to be done on a particular day, but still have to be planned for.
I have a daily routine that keeps me from wasting time trying to figure out what I’m going to do next, but which is flexible enough to allow for necessary changes. I schedule almost nothing for Sundays. Even non-church-goers should keep one day open for reflection and decompression.
Responding to people who want to impose on my time was perhaps the hardest thing to learn. We all want to be helpful, don’t we? The only thing that truly works is a firm, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the time right now.”
Because I want to contribute and help others when I can, I do say yes to some things. For instance, I could not be an officer in our Family Readiness Group when my husband was deployed, but I could help manage the phone tree.
I guess it all comes down to picking priorities and sticking to them.
Martha Ramirez
Great tips. Thank you, Mary!
Mary Keeley
You’re welcome, Martha.
Mary Curry
Hi Mary,
I saw a commercial for the Olympics the other day and was wondering about watching. I spent an evening with my sister watching the Gymnastics Qualifying Trials and it reminded me how easy it is to get caught up in watching.
For me, summer is my main writing season (I’m a teacher.) so I have to guard my time well. The best way I’ve found for staying on track is getting up early and meeting my word count. That way I don’t feel guilty for playing later.
Mary Keeley
Mary, it sounds like you have mastered the art of self-discipline. It isn’t always fun or easy, but the free time it can provide later is a great motivator.
Peter DeHaan
I’ve already been contemplating how I will navigate the Olympics — not too much and not too little, but just the right amount — and you’ve given me some good pointers. Thank you!
Mary Curry
I think we should call it The Goldilocks Principle, Peter. Not too much, not too little, just the right amount.
Mary Keeley
You’re welcome, Peter. Good assessment. To some degree watching the Olympics is a study of the cultures, which means the time spent is worthwhile.
Tianna Clore
I’m with Ms. Major on this one! My deadlines have been self-imposed based on the number of pages or chapters I want to complete at one time. Lately, however, I have been worried about not writing enough (with staying home with my one year old son and being in the midst of the time consuming querying process). So, over the last few weeks, I have been setting either daily or weekly word count goals for myself. Until I find the agent who is the ying to my yang, I am just going to go with the flow. 🙂
Donna Goodrich
My husband is disabled so we have a lot of doctors’ appointments. I plan my schedule on Sunday depending on what’s happening that week. When I’m home, I can work at the computer in my home office. When I’m sitting in doctors’ offices, I take editing with me. Many times I also work on rough drafts in the living room, just so I can be near my husband. In my new book, “A Step in the Write Direction,” I have a chapter that deals with Time Management.
Kathleen wright
Time management. What a concept. I have people tell me they are amazed at how much I get done. I wonder if I just tell the story of what I do get done in a very entertaining way? It sure doesn’t seem like I get that much done.
I record my Poirot shows, reruns of Murder, She Wrote, and Diagnosis Murder. (What? Never say I am living in the past!) so I can watch them when I want.
The idea of setting word counts is intriguing. That would have to be after the story is developed enough to continue writing forward, to me. Once I begin writing a draft, I don’t fix anything. I keep moving forward. Othewise, the story would never get done.