That Top Thing

Don’t have time to write? I think I can help with that:

1. Take a small notebook or piece of scrap paper and carry it around with you for a week. Record how you spend your time, making a simple log of the activities you do throughout each day.

2. On the following Sunday afternoon, review where you spent your most time. Tally up each activity type (work, family time, TV, exercise, etc.).

The item with the biggest number is your top priority. You have made it so by spending most of your time on it. That was your decision, for better or worse.
Now that you know this, you can own it. You can decide, you can choose that some of the time you spent doing that top thing can now be spent writing.
Do I oversimplify? No. It really is that simple. You don’t have a time management problem. You have a lack of priority clarification. Sure, there are discussions to be had about time well-spent, avoiding distractions, focus, etc.*, but finding the time to write is simple. Keeping this time sacred and empty of all else but writing will take practice and discipline.

*e.g. make a place for your writing, make a weekly writing schedule – things like this.