The Writing Schedule

Part 2

My biggest obstacle to meeting my writing goals used to be a simple failure to put it on the calendar. I just assumed that, because I was passionate about it, I would gleefully write any time I got a spare minute. After all, I didn’t have to remind myself to do other fun things, such as read or watch TV. Surely the urge to write would be all the motivation I needed to do it on a regular basis.

It turns out that, while writing is fun and I do like doing it, my brain also registers it as work. It’s fun…asterisk. Maybe fun is the wrong word. It’s more rewarding than fun - like eating a delicious salad. I enjoy a delicious salad, but I enjoy a pizza more. So when I don’t plan for the salad and also realize that grabbing a pizza on the way home (i.e., reading or watching TV) is easier than all that chopping, pizza will usually win out over salad (i.e., writing), and that’s how you end up with rotten greens in your fridge.

I think that metaphor got away from me. 

You get it though, right? I had to come to the point where I begrudgingly admitted that I wasn’t going to spontaneously develop a writing habit just because I recognized it was a good idea that would make me feel good. I had to actually make it a part of my schedule.

When I first started my part-time copywriting job in 2016, I suddenly had a lot of writing to do with real deadlines. I blocked out 3-4 hours every Sunday-Thursday night for writing. Most of the writing I did during that time was allotted for the work I got paid to do, but when I finished those pieces early, I spent the rest of the time I put aside on my creative projects. I got a lot of writing done, but together with my full-time job, that turned my standard work week into at least 55 hours. This was doable for a while, but it was not sustainable long-term, especially on days that were extra stressful or people-y at my full-time job. 

Now the schedule is a little more manageable. Less writing time means that I had to dial back how many hours I was spending on my copywriting job, which thankfully, I was able to balance by opting for fewer but higher-paying projects. I still write for 2-3 hours at least 4 nights a week, but I sometimes take Sundays off to give myself a real weekend.

I also used to use the nights when I didn’t have any other plans at all as long writing nights. Now, I purposely try to schedule my writing times on days when I have a meeting or outing of some kind planned in the early hours of the evening. Coming back home to write for a few hours makes for a long day, but means that nights off can truly be nights off, which is absolutely essential for my mental health these days (more on this next week).

The point is that it doesn’t matter so much exactly when or how much time you set aside to write as it does that you get into the habit of making it a real part of your weekly agenda. Getting a part-time writing job jolted me into a tough schedule, and I wish I had started smaller years earlier so that I already had a feasible habit built once the job came along. Starting at an hour a week on creative projects and building from there would have helped me avoid the inevitable burnout that came when I just couldn’t take the excessive hours anymore.

Do you have a writing schedule? If so, what does it look like? Is there anything you want to change about it?