Time Management Skills

• I work in 2-3 hour blocks instead of one or two, big pushes. I get more quality work out of my day.
• I take breaks away from the computer (exercise, other) during the breaks.
• I plan my week ahead of time, if possible. I list out tasks and what order to do them in.

I do not work 7 days a week. I have a clerical day (setting up the next week) and a chores day. I focus on 5 days of working. Sometimes I half a work day and a clerical or chores day and split up the work.

When I wake in the middle of the night, I fix my thoughts on the specific things I need to accomplish (in my writing.) Thus, I fall asleep with those on mind and wake ready to tackle them.

Maybe, to help with the bad habits bit, you might want to list out your aspirations. These might help you stay on track. They help me.

Mine are:

Expectations: I expect to learn how to write a book.
Goals: My goal is to get an agent and become published.
Pipe Dreams: Sell my intellectual property.

I have terrible time management skills. For example, I'm browsing this forum and Facebook right now, when I should be editing.

However, I *do* find I'm most creative in the afternoon, so if I'm off from my day job I try to get some writing time in during the afternoon, and I tend to get a lot accomplished.

If there's a time of day that you feel more creative, and you have the ability to schedule your day around that, it might be worth a try.

I have a long commute, an Airbook, and no data plan on my phone. Probably the only reason I'm productive. I use the Self Control app when I'm at home, so there's no way I can sign on to the internet when I plan on being productive. Discipline is overrated.

But if you do choose discipline, might I suggest the Pomodoro Technique?

I used to be very organised. Then I retired and now I am very disorganised.

So I use a lot of different techniques to increase my productivity, including bullet journals (a glorified to do list for me, but there are endless ways of adapting them to your requirements) and Excel spreadsheets (Gantt charts, records of productivity). One of my most effective techniques is to make notes about the next few scenes/research topics/whatevs so I can work on them in spare moments. You can get a hell of a lot done in five minutes if you know what's up next.

I suck at it, so I have to trick myself into working. Setting a timer is a huge help. 20-30 minutes is my sweet spot. Sometimes I'll get on a roll and keep going after the timer goes off. If not, I'll break for 5 or 10, take the dog out, get more tea, then set the timer again.

I also have daily and weekly goals to meet. (for me daily = 5 day work week) More importantly, I set quarterly goals for big projects.

One of my writing groups has an online chat platform and I often do sprints with other writers, which is HUGELY motivating, because I want to have more words than they do at the end of the sprint. LOL

How many people draft outlines first before writing?

TrapperViper said:

How many people draft outlines first before writing?

Click to expand...

I don't outline, I prefer to figure it out as I go.