How to Keep Writing – Even Now
I have been thinking about this post for a while. I originally planned a post focused on setting a writing schedule and accomplishing your writing goals. Until a couple of months ago I had a pretty strict writing schedule that worked well for me. I took my kids to school, wrote for a 90-minute stretch in the morning, took a break, did some research, ate lunch, and wrote again in the afternoon until it was time to pick my kids up and take them to their various activities. At the time, I thought I realized how lucky I was to have so much uninterrupted time during the day, not to mention the ability to concentrate for prolonged periods. Then, the pandemic happened and everything changed for all of us in a million different ways.
So, like many others, I have had to reimagine my workday and workflow to accommodate our new realities. Here are some tips that have helped me keep writing since March:
1. Use the reality of your situation to reevaluate your schedule. Having two kids home and engaged in distance learning, as well as a husband who works in healthcare, completely changed the way I scheduled my life. I had to reevaluate my workday to support my family members in different ways while still prioritizing my work. This was a frustrating process for me and my rigid personality. Eventually, everyone reset their expectations and pulled together to help each other in various ways.
2. Pay attention to your mood. If you have an off day and no pressing deadlines, switch gears to a task better suited to your mood. Some days putting an original thought on a page is a challenge, so I’ve learned to shift to tasks that are still important, but less creative. For example, double checking footnotes, updating bibliographies, and formatting various texts according to publisher guidelines. I turn to these tedious tasks when the words are not flowing.
3. Take breaks. You may need more breaks depending on the specific writing project you are working on. I still try to write for 90 minute stretches when I can. But even 30 minutes is a good amount of time to spend writing. Also, I have discovered that the way I spend my breaks is important to my overall well-being. If I stop writing and check the news at my computer for 10 minutes, and immediately expect to go back to writing, it usually does not go well. If I get up, stretch, pet my dog, chat with my kids, or take a walk outside, I do better when I sit down to write again. You’ll find out what works best for you through trial and error.
4. Writing is not just putting sentences on a page. Outlines count. Brainstorms count. All of these tasks contribute to your final product and are important accomplishments on their own. Don’t get discouraged when you spend your “writing time” on these aspects of your project. You are still making progress!!
5. Remember why your project is important. You have a story to tell and it is important enough that you think others will want to read it. Your work has an audience that will love it and be grateful you decided to share it with the world. Think about that when you get frustrated or tired or mad that the sentences are not coming out the way you want. And then take a deep breath, take a break, and get back to it when you’re ready to resume.
6. Take time to process the world around you. Do not disengage with the news or your community. Support your friends and loved ones and causes you believe in. Wear a freaking mask when you go outside – it’s a selfless act that shows your community you care. Support Black Lives Matter and police reform. Oppose efforts to discriminate against LGBTQ folks seeking medical care. Think about why Covid-19 rates are so much higher among populations of color and lower-income Americans and ask your political representatives what they plan to do about it. Make or collect masks for Native American nations, which are being ravaged by this virus, and acknowledge how the colonization of Native lands has contributed to this situation.
And after all of that, keep writing.
