Time management is a challenge that most people think about how to handle well. We all want more time but there is no “more time” available. All we can do is learn to make efficient and effective use of the time we do have.
As writers and artists, we have special needs and demands that many other people do not face when it comes to time management.
Doctors and accountants
How many doctors and accountants go to work and charge for their time. The doctor charges for her hours and the accountant for his. Then they go home and relax.
You probably don’t know many doctors, accountant, lawyers, or dentists who take on a second job so they can continue to practice their professions? How many doctors, dentists, accountants and lawyers do you know who go to work every day at another job so that they can practice their professions early in the morning or late at night?
Not to bemoan the issue
I have made this comparison not to whine and have a pity party but to point out that we writers have a special issue when it comes to time management. Without acknowledging and resolving this challenge, we will not write and publish a memoir—at least not a quickly as we might like.
In conclusion
The articles below will offer you an insight into effective time management techniques. You will read advice and tips that are specially tooled for time management for memoir writers.
As Denis Ledoux writes in Writer’s Time: Management That Works, a download course to help writers take control of their use of time, “Writing your memoir does not call for more time than you have. You actually have more time than you think you have.”
Read the posts below, check out Writer’s Time: Management That Works, and, by all means, leave comments after the posts if you have a practice that you would like to share with us.
Scope: What’s Right for You?
In this video, Scope: What’s Right for You?, I ask how much time and energy are you willing to give to writing your memoir? The more honest and insightful you are in answering this question, the more pleasure you will derive from your writing and the greater the satisfaction you will find in preserving your stories. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]
We'd love to have you access this content. It's in our members-only area, but you're in luck: becoming a member is easy and it's free.
Already a Member?
Not a Member Yet?
How do you spend your memoir writing time?
Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This eprogram functions with an open enrollment. Register today to find more memoir writing time.
How do you spend your memoir writing time? Your commitment to your memoir is the engine that will propel your writing to completion. Awareness of how effectively you spend your time—and the increasing skill with which you make use of your time—is the vehicle that will get your memoir written more quickly. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]
We'd love to have you access this content. It's in our members-only area, but you're in luck: becoming a member is easy and it's free.
Already a Member?
Not a Member Yet?
Are you procrastinating? Time management tips for writers
Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment and registrations are being accepted.
Are you procrastinating? Putting off today’s writing until tomorrow is not an effective process if your goal is to produce a memoir in the foreseeable future.
Why do people opt to procrastinate? I suppose we can’t really say they “opt” as in they make an active decision. As with other addictions, people generally “slip” into procrastination as their thoughtless reaction—“thoughtless” as in “no thought given to it.”x
Are you “lingering”? Or are you “procrastinating”?
[Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]
We'd love to have you access this content. It's in our members-only area, but you're in luck: becoming a member is easy and it's free.
Already a Member?
Not a Member Yet?
Prioritize your memoir writing time
Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment.
How do you prioritize your memoir writing time? Time management calls for understanding how you think of yourself and what you are willing to consider as important in your life. It entails becoming conscious of your priorities.
Prioritize your memoir writing time
While you cannot say “first priority”—prior means first in Latin and there cannot be a “first first”—you can have a number of things that are in first rank in your life: [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]
We'd love to have you access this content. It's in our members-only area, but you're in luck: becoming a member is easy and it's free.
Already a Member?
Not a Member Yet?
Commit to writing your best memoir with a time management strategy
Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment.
The first step to maximize your writing time is to commit to writing your memoir—really commit. More than other choice, committing to write will focus you and make every other decision easier—and even sometimes unnecessary.
“But I already want to write my memoir!” I can hear some hypothetical writer protesting. “I am very interested.”
How “committed” manages time and how “interested in” does not
No, commitment is not about wanting to write a memoir, not about trying to write one, and not about being interested in writing one… [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]
We'd love to have you access this content. It's in our members-only area, but you're in luck: becoming a member is easy and it's free.
Already a Member?
Not a Member Yet?
Making time to write your memoir–Time management that works
Note from the Editor: The following post is taken from the introduction to Writer’s Time: Management That Works. This program functions with an open enrollment. Registrations are being accepted now. Make time to write your memoir—now! There’s no denying that writing a memoir takes time—a lot of time. In this program, you will learn strategies […]
Use Time Wisely to Write Your Memoir
Below, I share two ideas about how to use time wisely to write your memoir. Time has many permutations and I would like to take you on a coaching journey. We’ll make a couple of stops to help you hone your ability to use time wisely. I hope you enjoy reading these ideas and let […]