A Full-Time Life of Writing & Work
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A life of writing can be rewarding, fulfilling, exhilarating, and inspirational. However, this can be difficult if you are not a full-time writer and you have to work as well. Despite this, you cannot just let your writing goals and aspirations just fall by the waist side. So how do you find a balance? It is simple and time management and accountability are the keys!
First thing first, know what you want to achieve. What are your writing goals? Long term? Short term? It is always important to write down your goals. It can be very informal or very formal. When you write down your goals informally, it can be as simple as “I want to publish a novel about a young girl who has endured a lot in her life”. It could also be written formally as a SMART goal. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time based. So if we took the same previously mentioned goal and write it as a SMART goal, it could be written as: “Within one year, I want to write and self publish a short novel about a young girl wo has endured a lot in her life that is available as a paperback and an e-book format.” To keep track of your goals, you can write them down in a notebook or a journal.
Once you have your goals written down, the next thing is to schedule it. Scheduling writing may seem simple, but when you work and/or have a spouse and kids, this can become challenging. The difficulty in scheduling will vary from person to person, but is achievable nonetheless. Scheduling is made easy when you just find a day and time that works for you. The length of time that is scheduled to write does not have to be a long period of time. The primary focus is not on the length of time, but to just do it. So for starters, a person can schedule to write once a week to start off and allocate 15 minutes where they do nothing but write. Then reconvene the following week for the same length of time. You may find that once you start writing that you get a good flow and write for longer than the 15 minutes. As you continue to write, you can vary the length of time and the frequency of how often you write. For example, 15 minutes once a week could turn into 30 minutes twice a week and then eventually to an hour three times a week. It is essential to keep scheduling a time and day to write so that it becomes a habit. Once it becomes a habit, it is no longer a chore and easier to achieve.
Last, but not least, accountability comes in by making sure you get a support system to make sure you are sticking to your goals. Your support system can be friends or family. Friends or family that have the same writing goals as yourself. If you do not have any that aspire to write, then they can be people that are just as ambitious and goal driven as you are to give you a reminder. If you do not have any friends or family that meet any of these criteria then there are always publishers, writing groups, and other authors who can serve as a form of support. However, these forms of accountability usually require a fee for their services. Accountability is not just about reminding the person of the task or goal, but to check that the task is completed. When the person ensures that they are actually seeing the result, it helps you know that there is an expectation that the writing should have been done as outlined. Accountability is complete when the person(s) holding you accountable also encourage, provide constructive feedback, and remain positive throughout the process. Life happens and sometimes writing goals have to be readjusted, revamped, rescheduled, or changed altogether. So it helps the process when your support system is understanding of these needs and meets the changes with grace and mercy. It is important to note that a change, especially delays in tasks and goals, will result in additional costs and fees when you are using professional services and groups.
A full time life of work and writing is achievable with a good balance of time management and accountability. The process may seem daunting and overwhelming in the beginning, but it will get easier over time. As it becomes second nature, it can serve as a form of therapeutic release. In addition, the joy and fulfillment of seeing a published copy of your own thoughts, ideas, words, experiences, hard work, and time will make all of the efforts well worth it. Happy writing everyone, you got this!
About Dr. Nishika T. Edwards
Dr. Nishika Edwards is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina. She has committed herself to giving back to her hometown, an underserved area, through education, social work, ministry, and most importantly through her leadership. As a transformational leader, she is committed to maximizing individual student performance, impacting the lives of learners, being a lifelong educator, and instilling a sense of pride among all. She is passionate about inspiring others and building a sense of confidence in academia and enabling youth to grow and succeed as learners. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education, two Master’s in Education, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Higher Specialization. She is also an author and Sole Proprietor of Kingdom Learning Interventions, LLC.
