Wow first of all congratulations on writing a novel!! I'm in the process of writing one too and honestly I write the novel for about 1-2 hours a day. I figure if I get one page written every day I'll have 365 pages written in one year.
So exciting that you're writing a novel, Nicolle! <3 And I love your one-page-a-day approach. This is definitely a marathon-not-a-sprint situation, and I think your steady, dedicated pace is perfect.
Your color-coded calendar is an inspiration! I think I'm going to try doing one for my existing obligations and see where I can cut things to have more writing/editing time.
I'm so glad you've found this helpful, Lacey!! And this is exactly why I like this approach; putting all of my obligations on paper this way helps me see more clearly how I'm prioritizing each aspect of my life, and identify opportunities to make adjustments as needed.
Honestly thank you so much for this with the detailed breakdown of your hours! I've been wanting to start writing more and have been beating myself up over not being able to do everything - but it is in fact true that sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day, and that's okay. It's really about prioritizing the most important goals at that time in your life.
I'm so glad you've found this post helpful, Alix! Time blocking my calendar has really helped me come to terms with the limitations of a 24-hour day, and ensure that how I'm spending those hours aligns with my true priorities. It's definitely reduced my tendency to beat myself up over all the other things I'm unable to dedicate time to by reframing them in terms of their priority in my day/week/life. I hope you're able to carve out more writing time for yourself! ❤
Full time Marketing Manager, Volunteer Community Manager (x2) & mum of one (14 months old) here while trying to also write a novel! All of this used to work for me until I had baby. Now even when i do wake up at 5am there isnt much i can do because baby either wakes up with me or want to just feed constantly. I need to find some productivity hacks for getting stuff done while lying down in bed.
I can't even imagine trying to juggle parenthood on top of everything else you're doing. I believe one of the two authors who hosts The Honest Authors podcast is a mother to young children, and has talked about how she's tried to carve out writing time on previous episodes. There may be some helpful suggestions to be found there ❤
i was walking to pilates this week and said "im not stressed about my publishing schedule i just need more hours of the day" and then in the very next breath said "well you also woke up at 8 soo....". i mean the answer is just so obvious lol waking up early is the only way
Hahaha this is so relatable 😅 It's true, the only way I've found to try to add more hours to my day is to wake up earlier! Not exactly a "hack," but the closest thing to it.
Nice. I work 40 hrs a week but its def a lot less, but I'm supposed to be available for all the hours. My one girlfriend has a 4 day a week job. I'd love that sooo much.
I get up at 5:30 but hoping to work towards 4:30 as I need some me, my creativity, my work, my body time and it's hard to squeeze into the day. Appreciate you!
I gradually transitioned to a 4:30 wakeup from 5:30 over time, for the exact same reasons! It's not easy waking up that early, but the extra time and quiet brainspace it offers me makes it well worth it <3
Normalize the 9:30 bedtime! And you have helped me see that the only way to do all the things… is to decide which I won’t do. I look at your schedule and it makes so much sense. Three priorities plus a little bit of life is all a human with a job can manage. Thank you.
I have been listening to Anna Karenina narrated by Maggie Gyllenhall on long walks and I highly recommend it!
Yesss, my life wouldn't work without a 9:30 bedtime! I'm so glad you've found this post and my approach to prioritization helpful. And I had no idea that there is an audiobook of Anna Karenina narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal! I have to check that out - thanks for the recommendation!
omg how did substack know i needed to read this? i'm returning to a full time PR job soon and want to protect my writing / ish time too. love everything shared here 🤍
This is so helpful! Thank you for sharing. I love your color-coded calendar so much that I just made my own. I'm also encouraged by your "ish" accommodation. I can give up easily if I don't follow something to the T, so it reminds me that life happens and it's okay if we fall out of routines sometimes.
I'm so happy that you've found this helpful, Jennifer! :) And I totally relate; I can easily feel like giving up if I don't feel I'm able to execute something "perfectly." Leaving room for the "ish" makes this process feel so much more attainable. Let me know how the color-coded process works for you! :)
Time blocking is the ONLY way I get things done—but the struggle for me is consistency with my neurodivergent brain. 😭 I could do a task every single day for a month straight, then skip a day accidentally and have to restart completely; the all or nothing mentality can be a struggle.
Though, I do admire your wake up time—I’m trying to get to a place I have those early morning hours to myself. I teach, and so I usually use some of the time to prep for the day, but I want to get to a point where I have slow and luxurious wake ups where I can start writing fresh in the morning.
I totally hear you on this, Sam! Time blocking is the only way I get things done too, and I'm grateful that my brain CRAVES consistency (sometimes to a fault). And the obnoxiously early wake up times are the only way I'm able to get those morning writing sessions in!
I have been looking for the solution to get everything done as well. The result was getting up at 5:30am and have dinner ready within half an hour.
V.E. Schwab got an idea called 'Early Morning Goblin Hour'. She wakes up at around 4am, spends the time doing things that do not require brain power and goes back to sleep again. It is her way of rewarding herself before the day even starts. I think for those with day jobs can try the have 'Goblin Hour' on weekends.
I strongly relate to your early morning/quickly prepared dinner solution! Now I'm curious about giving V.E. Schwab's "Goblin Hour" a try. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is interesting - thanks for sharing. I’m trying to balance writing and law and it’s particularly hard when the day job bleeds into evenings so often!
One question: do you find you get what you need from books by listening to them? I find I get distracted by the other thing I’m trying to do while listening to audiobooks, and don’t get the immersive reading experience I’m looking for.
I'm glad to hear you found this post interesting, David! I can't imagine trying to balance writing with working in law - that's seriously impressive.
I think I have the opposite challenge when it comes to audiobooks...I sometimes get so lost in listening that I lose track of whatever else I'm doing! :) If I'm reading something particularly dense or literary, I tend to use a physical copy to do it. If I'm reading something really plot-driven, I sometimes find that the audio edition provides the most immersive experience possible.
I’m a working/writing mom too. This was so relatable and helpful!
I'm so glad you found this post useful! And hats off to you, tackling work, writing AND motherhood. That's truly impressive!
Wow first of all congratulations on writing a novel!! I'm in the process of writing one too and honestly I write the novel for about 1-2 hours a day. I figure if I get one page written every day I'll have 365 pages written in one year.
So exciting that you're writing a novel, Nicolle! <3 And I love your one-page-a-day approach. This is definitely a marathon-not-a-sprint situation, and I think your steady, dedicated pace is perfect.
Your color-coded calendar is an inspiration! I think I'm going to try doing one for my existing obligations and see where I can cut things to have more writing/editing time.
I'm so glad you've found this helpful, Lacey!! And this is exactly why I like this approach; putting all of my obligations on paper this way helps me see more clearly how I'm prioritizing each aspect of my life, and identify opportunities to make adjustments as needed.
Honestly thank you so much for this with the detailed breakdown of your hours! I've been wanting to start writing more and have been beating myself up over not being able to do everything - but it is in fact true that sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day, and that's okay. It's really about prioritizing the most important goals at that time in your life.
I'm so glad you've found this post helpful, Alix! Time blocking my calendar has really helped me come to terms with the limitations of a 24-hour day, and ensure that how I'm spending those hours aligns with my true priorities. It's definitely reduced my tendency to beat myself up over all the other things I'm unable to dedicate time to by reframing them in terms of their priority in my day/week/life. I hope you're able to carve out more writing time for yourself! ❤
Full time Marketing Manager, Volunteer Community Manager (x2) & mum of one (14 months old) here while trying to also write a novel! All of this used to work for me until I had baby. Now even when i do wake up at 5am there isnt much i can do because baby either wakes up with me or want to just feed constantly. I need to find some productivity hacks for getting stuff done while lying down in bed.
I can't even imagine trying to juggle parenthood on top of everything else you're doing. I believe one of the two authors who hosts The Honest Authors podcast is a mother to young children, and has talked about how she's tried to carve out writing time on previous episodes. There may be some helpful suggestions to be found there ❤
I keep a Mary Tyler Moore quote on my desk! 😊 she’s inspiring and so is this!
Ah, I love this! 🤗 Mary is endlessly inspiring, and I'm so glad you've found this post to be helpful, too!
i was walking to pilates this week and said "im not stressed about my publishing schedule i just need more hours of the day" and then in the very next breath said "well you also woke up at 8 soo....". i mean the answer is just so obvious lol waking up early is the only way
Hahaha this is so relatable 😅 It's true, the only way I've found to try to add more hours to my day is to wake up earlier! Not exactly a "hack," but the closest thing to it.
Do you get Fridays off? Not sure if I’m looking at your timeblock right since I need new glasses lmao but you’re working 7 hours a day, right??
No you're right -- I work 7 hour days on average for my day job, Monday-Friday!
Nice. I work 40 hrs a week but its def a lot less, but I'm supposed to be available for all the hours. My one girlfriend has a 4 day a week job. I'd love that sooo much.
I feel the same way — a four-day workweek would be a dream! Not having to be available/on call for a full extra day would be game-changing.
I get up at 5:30 but hoping to work towards 4:30 as I need some me, my creativity, my work, my body time and it's hard to squeeze into the day. Appreciate you!
I gradually transitioned to a 4:30 wakeup from 5:30 over time, for the exact same reasons! It's not easy waking up that early, but the extra time and quiet brainspace it offers me makes it well worth it <3
I am so so sure it does. Your (and my) time and space is worth quite a lot 💕
Normalize the 9:30 bedtime! And you have helped me see that the only way to do all the things… is to decide which I won’t do. I look at your schedule and it makes so much sense. Three priorities plus a little bit of life is all a human with a job can manage. Thank you.
I have been listening to Anna Karenina narrated by Maggie Gyllenhall on long walks and I highly recommend it!
Yesss, my life wouldn't work without a 9:30 bedtime! I'm so glad you've found this post and my approach to prioritization helpful. And I had no idea that there is an audiobook of Anna Karenina narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal! I have to check that out - thanks for the recommendation!
omg how did substack know i needed to read this? i'm returning to a full time PR job soon and want to protect my writing / ish time too. love everything shared here 🤍
Ah! I’m so glad you found this post at exactly the right time, Gayle! Best of luck on your return to your full time PR work! 🤍
This is so helpful! Thank you for sharing. I love your color-coded calendar so much that I just made my own. I'm also encouraged by your "ish" accommodation. I can give up easily if I don't follow something to the T, so it reminds me that life happens and it's okay if we fall out of routines sometimes.
I'm so happy that you've found this helpful, Jennifer! :) And I totally relate; I can easily feel like giving up if I don't feel I'm able to execute something "perfectly." Leaving room for the "ish" makes this process feel so much more attainable. Let me know how the color-coded process works for you! :)
Time blocking is the ONLY way I get things done—but the struggle for me is consistency with my neurodivergent brain. 😭 I could do a task every single day for a month straight, then skip a day accidentally and have to restart completely; the all or nothing mentality can be a struggle.
Though, I do admire your wake up time—I’m trying to get to a place I have those early morning hours to myself. I teach, and so I usually use some of the time to prep for the day, but I want to get to a point where I have slow and luxurious wake ups where I can start writing fresh in the morning.
I totally hear you on this, Sam! Time blocking is the only way I get things done too, and I'm grateful that my brain CRAVES consistency (sometimes to a fault). And the obnoxiously early wake up times are the only way I'm able to get those morning writing sessions in!
the idea of the "ish" is so helpful honestly--thank you for these!!
I'm so glad you've found this post useful! It's the "ish" that really makes this whole thing possible 😅
I have been looking for the solution to get everything done as well. The result was getting up at 5:30am and have dinner ready within half an hour.
V.E. Schwab got an idea called 'Early Morning Goblin Hour'. She wakes up at around 4am, spends the time doing things that do not require brain power and goes back to sleep again. It is her way of rewarding herself before the day even starts. I think for those with day jobs can try the have 'Goblin Hour' on weekends.
I strongly relate to your early morning/quickly prepared dinner solution! Now I'm curious about giving V.E. Schwab's "Goblin Hour" a try. Thanks so much for sharing!
The Goblin Hour feels like a treasure!
This is interesting - thanks for sharing. I’m trying to balance writing and law and it’s particularly hard when the day job bleeds into evenings so often!
One question: do you find you get what you need from books by listening to them? I find I get distracted by the other thing I’m trying to do while listening to audiobooks, and don’t get the immersive reading experience I’m looking for.
I'm glad to hear you found this post interesting, David! I can't imagine trying to balance writing with working in law - that's seriously impressive.
I think I have the opposite challenge when it comes to audiobooks...I sometimes get so lost in listening that I lose track of whatever else I'm doing! :) If I'm reading something particularly dense or literary, I tend to use a physical copy to do it. If I'm reading something really plot-driven, I sometimes find that the audio edition provides the most immersive experience possible.
Similarly I can’t imagine getting up before 5am most days - good luck with your next manuscript!