Making the Most of Time

[source]

Because of the pandemic, most of us must shelter in place.  Some of us still leave the home for work, but a lot of what filled our time before--sports, plays, movies, etc.--can't happen because of the current situation.  What does that leave most of us with right now?  Certainly not money, at least in many cases.  But what it does leave us all with is time on our hands that we didn't have before. 

[source]

How can you use that time?  It's easy to while away the time without accomplishing anything productive.  Any number of streaming services can fill the void left behind by entertainments of the past.  But if you want to make the most of your time, you need to take charge of that time.  Instead of letting life come as it may, set up a schedule that carefully budgets your time and most of all leaves time for writing, editing, and other activities related to furthering your writing career. 

[source]

How does this work? Step one is to set writing-related goals.  How much do you think you can get done in a day, a week, a month?  Figure out which tasks you can get done each week then by when you want to get some major goal done. For some, setting up incentives works.  Would you write more for a candy bar or movie standing by?  For others, they feel the need to penalize themselves if they don't get the goal done.  You could commit to donating to a charity if you don't fulfill your goal, for instance.  Find a way to hold yourself accountable for those goals. Maybe it will be enough to write your goals down and share them with someone who cares enough about you to check up on you. 

[source]

 
Step two is to write a list of all you need to do in a day, a week, a month.  Most of us have at least a couple of weeks to a month in the current situation.  Schedule your day in whatever increments work for you.  Figure out a time each day you can work on your writing-related activities.  For some of us, it works better to write in the morning, some the afternoon, some the evening, and some the middle of the night.  You know yourself.  What time works for you?  What time do you actually need to set aside for your writing?

Once you have your goals and your time budgeting in place, it's time to execute them.  It's not enough just to have them.  You have to use them.  What are your writing goals for this break?  How do you want to keep yourself accountable?  How can you budget your time to make sure those goals actually happen?  If you do all of this, you're far more likely to come out of the next month feeling fulfilled and like you spent your time wisely than wondering what you just did with your month in isolation.