How to make time to write your book

In a recent survey, 20% of people who completed it said that time was their biggest challenge when it came to writing a book.

There’s never enough hours in the day and it will never get to the top of your to do list unless you decide to make it happen.

That’s why I’d like to share with you my top 10 tips to make time to write your book.

1. Book time in your diary regularly. I generally allocate at least a half a day each week to write. And of course, you need to make it happen too!

2. Know when you’re at your best. There’s not much point in booking in an hour a day to write at 6am when you’re never at your desk until 9 o’clock. Be realistic first!

3. If you’re struggling to make time to write, then book a writing break. My writing retreat in Spain is the perfect opportunity to write your book – five days away from distractions to get it done.

4. Remove distractions when it is time to write. Closing down social media and emails, turning your phone to silent (and on its front so you’re not tempted to look at it – as if!), and removing any clutter from your desk.

5. Shut yourself away and if you’re in your office, close the door and ask people not to disturb you.

6. A really useful app for writing is the Pomodoro app as you can schedule time to write and time for a break, which means that you can focus for 25 minutes say and then have a break for 5 minutes when you can do thing like going to the loo, making a cuppa or having a sneaky look at Facebook.

7. Have a plan. When I work with clients, this is one of the places we’ll start. The clearer your structure for your book, the easier it will be to put the right words in the right places on your manuscript.

8. Don’t worry about things like your title. Although this is important, if you’re worrying about what to call your book, then you’ll never get down to the writing. Have a working title to start with and there are plenty of ways to nail it when you’re ready to share it with the world.

9. Stay hydrated and fuelled. When you’re writing, it’s easy to forget about the outside world, especially when the app is out of the window and you’re into flow – which isn’t a bad thing. Just remember to move regularly; get some exercise and a glass of water close by is useful too.

10. Write something… anything. You might choose to give yourself a word count deadline each time you write and you don’t have to start from chapter 1. As long as you have a good plan, your writing will flow, you’ll be inspired and it won’t be long before you’ve written your book!

What can you do to make time to write your book?

I hope you found these tips useful and I’d love to know what other strategies you can employ to help you to write your book.

Please pop your comments below and if I can help you to get your book done, just complete this short questionnaire to arrange to have a chat with me.