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Writing time wasters to aviod

Writing Time Wasters

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I’m no more immune than anyone else to the plague of time wasters. Time wasters are habits we fall into that consume the time we have allotted (or could allot) to writing so that we end up not writing! Here are some of the most insidious that take up too much time and squander my […]

Writing Time Wasters Do Not Elude Me

I’m no more immune than anyone else to the plague of time wasters. Time wasters are habits we fall into that consume the time we have allotted (or could allot) to writing so that we end up not writing! Here are some of the most insidious that take up too much time and squander my writing energy. Better time management is possible.

1. Checking on e-mail before I begin to write for the day. [Free Membership required to read more. See below. ]

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10 Responses to Writing Time Wasters

  1. Sue Mitchell August 26, 2021 at 7:24 AM #

    I think you’ve hit on the main time wasters, Denis! Really, the only way I get my writing done is if I create a time for it, preferably early in the day, and then protect that time like a mama grizzly bear. I actually just published a post on my blog about this very subject about an hour ago! If we don’t carve out the time and stay faithful to our plan, it’s so easy to put off writing until…someday.

  2. cmadsen August 26, 2021 at 7:36 AM #

    Reading the newspaper is the best time-waster, I am sorry to say. First the local rag, and it is a rag, unfortunately, full of poorly-edited articles from wire services and PR firms. Then it’s on to the New York Times, which can occupy me for much too long, depending on the day. Heaven forbid it’s Science Tuesday, or Arts Thursday. I’m lost!

  3. Denis Ledoux August 26, 2021 at 7:40 AM #

    Chris, I so totally understand you. I scan the electronic version of my local paper and then sometimes get snookered into replying to the political articles. When I absolutely must post a reply, I limit myself (in my better moments) to 3-5 sentences. I keep asking, “Will I be happy to have been doing this?”

    Thanks for your comment.

  4. Lynette Benton (@LynetteBenton) August 26, 2021 at 7:50 AM #

    Thanks for this post.

    I allow myself a few minutes of playing Shanghai on my computer, but my mind’s gearing up, so I don’t consider it a time waster. I work on my memoir in the mornings before doing any other type of work, and it’s paid off. I’ve sent the ms off to the editor, and await her pleasure.

    I’ve been keeping to this schedule while working on my second memoir, and the first draft is finished.

  5. Denis Ledoux August 26, 2021 at 7:56 AM #

    Lynette, you rock!

    We all have to remember to show up for the writing. Not showing up for the writing equals no writing. You are the proof of the value of daily writing.

    Great work!

  6. Sue Mitchell August 26, 2021 at 7:57 AM #

    I’d like to add a little nuance to what you said about wasting time talking about what you’re going to write, Denis. Contemplating and playing with ideas is an important part of the creative process, so sometimes talking about what you’re going to write can clarify ideas and inspire you to get to the writing. If you never do get to the writing, though, then yes, it was time wasted. 🙂

  7. Denis Ledoux August 26, 2021 at 7:59 AM #

    Thanks, Sue. Send your blog address so everyone can read post.

  8. Sue Mitchell August 26, 2021 at 8:00 AM #

    The post is A Juggler’s Guide to Making Time for Writing at An Untold Story. com

  9. Denis Ledoux August 26, 2021 at 8:30 AM #

    Thanks. Many good ideas.
    I like the suggestion to protect one’s energy.
    An extension is not to waste time talking about what you are going to write and to do the writing itself.

  10. Denis Ledoux August 26, 2021 at 9:16 AM #

    No, I’m thinking about people who talk their stories away. Lose their energy for the story by speaking. Ernest Hemingway said someplace that more stories were lost in the cafés of Paris than were written in the garrets. I belong to a group of writers and we get together periodically to read our stories in progress. Now this I do not consider talking away a story but, as you write, it is contemplating and playing with ideas, clarifying direction.

    Keep writing!

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