I don't know about you, but time is worth double its weight in gold to me. I never seem to have enough to accomplish all I want. Today, author Ralene Burke shares three tips on protecting your time for writing. -- Sandy
Ralene: We live in a
society that loves to fill its days with activity—lots of activity. All too
often, we pile on obligation after obligation. Our kids need to be somewhere,
the church needs a Sunday School teacher, our mother needs someone to trim the
bushes, the writers group needs a speaker for next weekend, and the list goes
on.
Somewhere in the
midst of all the activity, though, we missed any chance to do the thing we’re
called to do: write. Where did the writing time go? We were well-intentioned
when we said we would write 5,000 words this week, weren’t we?
While each
activity listed above is important, and while someone does need to do it,
here’s a little secret: it doesn’t have to be you. There may be a need, and you
may be able to fill it, but that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to. With a system
in place, you can keep the busyness to a minimum.
3 Keys to Protect
Your Writing Time
1. Know Your Priorities: Ultimately, your
priorities are between you and God, but it is important that you know what they
are! Spend some time in prayer, talk with your spouse, and then WRITE THEM
DOWN. Writing them down helps to establish them in your brain so you’re more
likely to remember and stick to them.
2. Set Your Schedule: With your priorities
in mind, go through the activities already in your schedule and determine if
they fall in line with your priorities. If they do, add them to your schedule;
if they don’t, throw them out! Then determine what time is available for
writing based on when you are most creative/awake and what is available in the
schedule.
3. Learn to Say No: This is a big one that
we hear a lot—but how often do we take it to heart?
Think
of it like this. If you were at a normal, 9-5 job with a boss and a paycheck,
what would you do? In non-emergency situations, you’d have to say no and then
address it later. For bigger needs, like being a Sunday School teacher or
speaking for a writers group, take the time to pray. Ask God if this is an
opportunity that He wants to use you for. Does it align with your priorities?
Can you balance your schedule or are you adding unnecessary obligations?
Our writing time
is so fleeting, it’s gone before we know it if we’re not making a conscious
effort to protect it. Priorities, a schedule, and the ability to say no give us
more control and help make room in our busy lives for that which we are called
to do.
Therefore, go
forth and write. Make the time to be the writer God called you to be.
How do you make time in your schedule for your writing? What kind of priority do you give it?
~~~~~
Whether she’s wielding a fantasy writer’s pen, a freelance
editor’s sword, or a social media wand, Ralene Burke always has her head in
some dreamer’s world. And her goal is to make it SHINE! She spins fantastical
tales to encourage people to SHINE BEYOND. She has worked for a variety of
groups/companies, including Realm Makers, The Christian PEN, Kentucky Christian
Writers Conference, and as an editor for a number of
freelance clients.
Her first novel, Bellanok, is being published as a 5-part
mini-series starting in August 2015!
When her head’s not in the publishing world, she is wife to
a veteran and homeschooling mama to their three kids. Her Pinterest board would
have you believe she is a master chef, excellent seamstress, and all around
crafty diva. If she only had the time . . .
