⏱️ Finding and Managing Your Time: Preptober & NaNoWriMo 2024
the final week is upon us.
It’s the last week of preppingness. Are you ready? I don’t think I am, but, then again, I will always feel this way until I actually start.
So don’t worry if you don’t feel ready either!
Okay, we’re closing in on some important stuff. If you think you don’t have time for writing (or specifically NaNo), you’re wrong.
Because we actually have a lot of time on our hands, no matter how busy we get, there’s always going to be a bit of downtime that we can either put into our toolbox or waste to the empty pit of doom-scrolling (or your equivalent).
The key to harnessing downtime is to follow these steps:
Find out when you normally have downtime. This does not have to be something like “I have down time every day from after lunch to before dinner”. It can be something as crazy like: “On Monday I’m really busy, but I usually have 30 minutes after my soccer practice before I have to go to bed, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I often have a few 15 minute breaks in the afternoon…”, etc. You can have the world’s busiest life, but you’ll still have some downtime.
You might have to wake up early/stay up late. And that’s okay! My sleep schedule is absolutely wacked during November, but I have to remember that it’s just a season.
Take advantage of the little snippets. Waiting in line? Sitting in the car? Randomly have 10 minutes of free time? It’s time to write.
Big chucks of time need structure. Have an hour or two after lunch? Don’t just dive in! Make sure you structure your time so you don’t burn out. I highly recommend the Pomodoro technique so you can reach your full potential.
That’s it guys! Are you ready to write your faces off? :D
Your Quest: identify your basic weekly schedule and average pockets of downtime.
What are your pockets of downtime? How are you going to harness your writing time? I’d love to hear!
Happy writing,
eowyn