TIME MANAGEMENT: 3 WAYS TO GET MORE OUT OF LESS

by Angela Dawne

I bent over the keyboard typing furiously. In the last 5 minutes, I’d gotten interrupted three times by three different members of my family, and I could feel my inspiration slowly fading away. At a slight knock at the door, I stood up, enraged. How dare someone enter the premises when the artist was at work?

It was my mother.

I finally calmed down enough to come to a compromise with her. I’d get thirty minutes of alone time, followed by shutting down the computer for the night.

That was all good and well, but now what? I stared at my computer. I needed to work on my contemporary novella, my fantasy novel, some non-fiction articles, and a poem- all in thirty minutes. 

Or did I?

Time management is all about priorities. And managing your time (in case you didn’t catch that). 

Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned that help me when I’m on a tight schedule.

​

1. Prioritize 

Priorities, priorities, priorities. We hear this word all the time- is that why we’re so numb to it?

Believe it or not, I wasn’t able to do all the things I wanted to get done in those thirty minutes I had. Instead, I only got a thousand words in my fantasy novel. For me at the time, that was the best thing I could have done.

I prioritized. 

When you have a short amount of time to get a lot done, take a couple of minutes to list out everything. Then write numbers beside them, from least important to most important. Make sure the projects with deadlines are higher than the projects for fun.

Then, if you finish all the top priority projects in a short amount of time, reward yourself by doing a “fun” project.

2. Plan

I’ve recently gotten into basic bullet-journaling, and it’s helped me immensely. At the beginning of the day, I set a goal for each of my projects. This can be anything- 100 words in my contemporary WIP, brainstorming for a historical fiction, taking time to write some letters... The list goes on and on.

I also set aside specific days for certain things. I have non-fiction days, where my priority is to work on as many of my nonfiction projects as possible, then fiction days for my fiction projects.

I also have days set aside for platforming, and days set aside for beta/alpha reading and editing. 

This gives me breathing room for when I write. It keeps me from stressing about getting a ton done. When I look at my checklist, I can know that by writing a 1,000-word article, I’ll be fine.

And nothing beats checking things off a list.

​

3. Accountability 

Sometimes I do all the above. I prioritize what I really need to get done and I plan out how to do it. 

But then I don’t do it.

It’s easy to become lax and not follow up with staying on top of a plan and making every minute count.

This is where accountability comes into play. Sometimes I’ll find a writing friend and just tell them, “Hey, I’m going to write 500 words before I allow myself to get on social media.” 

Or maybe you can write together. Set aside a certain time of the day and write with your friend. It helps to know that someone else is out there in the world doing what you’re doing at the same time.

​

These are just a few tips and tricks to help you get more done in less time.