Ep33: Finding Time To Write A Book Inside Your HECTIC Life

[00:00:00] I'm going to talk to you about the biggest challenge we face when it comes to writing your book. And it's finding the time, finding the time to write your manuscript and really creating that room so you can thrive so you can write and really keep that momentum building towards the end of finishing your manuscript. This is especially important.

[00:00:19] If you're a busy professional, if you're a busy coach leader or someone with a story to share this episode, I'm going to pack it with practical tips and productivity hacks to help you carve out the time and stay on track. So let's get into it now. Writing a book is such a significant commitment and it's really important to figure out the right strategies and to plan and prepare, and it is entirely possible to fit it into your busy schedule. So I'm going to begin with a story about how I wrote the six pillars of rewarding life.

[00:00:52] And it took me three years to write this book three years without a plan. I had no idea. I had no direction and no idea how to create an outline how to structure my boot, how to do all of those things necessary to keep focused on the task at hand. And what I realized was, as I was trying to write this book, I got stuck in my own head.

[00:01:15] And what that meant was I'd put it off for a week and then all of a sudden I need to try and catch up and not have to write extra words. I put pressure on myself to get the book written, but it wasn't that healthy kind of pressure. where I was challenging myself. I was actually overwhelming myself to the point where I didn't want to be a part of it at all. I didn't want to ride it. And this is not where you want to be because you want to write your book and. One of the worst things you could do is spend years trying to figure it all out yourself.

[00:01:46] So I'm going to give you five different hacks you can use when it comes to writing your book and finding the time because when it came to my second and third book published the impact and evolve your skills. Uh, those two books took me six months apart to write it took me six months to write, evolve your skills. And then it took me six months to write, publish the impact from start to finish. And why did it take me this short amount of time? Because I found a system and that system is something I teach inside it to asset. And it's really the system that I've used to get clarity in my book and know exactly what I'm writing at, what point in time.

[00:02:21] And I want that for you. So let's get into these five hacks of how to find time when it comes to writing your manuscript.

[00:02:29] So hack number one is your environment. Now let's talk about setting up your environment. That's going to be conducive to writing. Where are you actually writing your book? Is your environment serving you enough that you can block out distractions and have that dedicated space where you can write freely and I have to think too much. It could be a home office. It could be an area of your living room or maybe a favorite coffee shop . For me, I don't necessarily enjoy writing too much at home, but it's more so coffee shops and outdoors for me. You want to make sure this space is comfortable and you want it to be equipped with everything you need.

[00:03:09] If it's a home, you want to make sure you're in a good chair. You want the adequate lighting and have all your writing tools ready to go and have your laptop charged. If you're writing heart tours.

[00:03:20] So having a dedicated writing space where you know that you're going to show up is really important. Everybody's environment is different. So creating the right environment that suits you, whether it's in the evening or the morning. Using that environment to maintain your focus and productivity while writing your book.

[00:03:38] You can do that by choosing a dedicated space and minimizing distractions because everybody's ideal writing environment is different and take the time to find out what's going to work best for you.

[00:03:48] And don't be afraid to make adjustments when needed. Because with the right environment. You're well on your way to really writing a powerful book. When you've got your environment sorted, you can then focus on being productive.

[00:04:03] And I've written a lot about productivity, but one thing I find that works for me is time blocking it's one of the most effective ways to manage your time. It means dedicating specific blocks of time to your writing. So block out some calendar time and treat them as a non-negotiable. So for example, you might set aside an hour each morning. Uh, whether it's before work or a couple of hours on weekends. Be consistent in your non-negotiable time because every time you sit down and write for an hour. That's another chapter of your book that you can potentially finish. It's really all about being consistent and productive in getting your manuscript written. And if you haven't listened to my previous episode, Five hacks to write your manuscript inside six weeks. I suggest you do this after listening to this episode, because that's going to give you an insight into

[00:04:55] how you can prepare to write your draft manuscript today, I'm talking about the big challenges we face when it comes to getting your book written. But episode 31, I talk about how to write your draft manuscript in six weeks. Now going back to those productivity techniques. So time blocking is very important. It's something that I will always encourage you to do. It's really what helped me write and publish, publish to impact and evolve your skills in those six month periods. I didn't do this. When I was writing the six pillars of rewarding life.

[00:05:25] Remember that took me three years. You can also use a technique called the Pomodoro technique, and this can be a game changer for you. So it really involves, um, working for 25 minutes and then taking a five minute break. You'll do that four times. And then on the fifth time, you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. This will help you maintain focus, and it's going to prevent burnout and overwhelm when you're writing your book. So you can put a timer down on your desk and let it go off.

[00:05:57] When it hits to that 25 minute mark, take a break and keep going back and working on that manuscript. So, so far we've looked at finding the right environment for yourself. That's hack number one, hack number two is time-blocking. So finding the time out of your calendar to focus on writing your book. Hack number three is the Pomodoro technique, which I just spoke about. So working for 25 minutes on your book, then taking a five minute break. You do that time after again, and you'll find your productivity we will saw.

[00:06:28] Hack number four is to be accountable to yourself. When did that having a coach, having a book coach or staying on track and keeping yourself accountable? Tracking your progress. Is significant to boosting your productivity. And there are some strategies. So like I said, you can have a book coach as well.

[00:06:49] You can join a writing group or find a writing buddy. Setting clear goals is important. So you want to break your book into smaller, manageable. Go whether that's a word count or whether that's a chapter account you want to set daily or weekly targets. So for example, aim to write 500 words a day or 3000 words a week, you know, how long your book might want to be. If it's a non-fiction book, it's usually going to average between the 40,000 to 60,000 word month. But you have a fair idea. Uh, what your book might be and what your goal was for your book will be so setting clear goals and breaking them into smaller, manageable tasks.

[00:07:32] Because over time, if you consistently work at this, this is what's going to get your book written and published inside six months.

[00:07:40] And finally hack number five and it relates to your goals, relates to the goal setting. It's setting very smart goals for yourself. Now I learnt smart goals back when I was in high school. Smart stands for specific measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. Setting smart goals is a way to improve your productivity and really keep you focused on your writing.

[00:08:06] And here's how you can set them up. So S B specific. To find exactly what you want to accomplish.

[00:08:14] For example, do you want to write the introduction for your book? In the next few days.

[00:08:19] Define what you want to accomplish. And whether that accomplishment is in a month, in two months, in three months,

[00:08:26] you want to have a timeframe of when you're going to get this book written, because that's going to keep you accountable. And for measurable, make sure your goals are measurable. Because that's, what's going to help you track your progress. Is it writing 500 words a day? Is that a measurable goal for you? I'm assuming writing 10,000 words a day, maybe too difficult to maintain, be consistent on. So set goals that are measurable and that you can achieve because that leads into a, which is achievable.

[00:08:55] So you've got specific measurable. Achievable set goes at a challenging though attainable because it's important to challenge yourself, but not set goals that are impossible to achieve because that's only going to lead to overwhelm and it's going to want to make he give up on writing your book. You also want your goals to be relevant to your overall objective of writing your book? Focus on the tasks that move you closer to finishing your manuscript. For example.

[00:09:25] And the, one of the biggest things I say when it comes to clients and people writing their book is they focus so much on the research that they forget to actually write the book. What I would always recommend is if you get caught up in trying to refer back to something inside your book that requires research and you can't find that research right away, put a placeholder in and keep moving forward. Because moving forward is what's going to move the needle is what's going to get your book written.

[00:09:52] If you're getting tied up and caught up in the nuances of trying to figure out where you can get the information and pull the information out from. You're only going to stop yourself in your tracks and stop writing your book.

[00:10:04] So make sure your goals are relevant to your objective.

[00:10:08] And finally T is time bound. So give yourself a deadline to complete each goal. For example, I gave myself six weeks to write my manuscript for my book, published impact.

[00:10:20] I completed that within six weeks and I was super proud because it just meant that. I enjoyed the process a whole lot more. I wasn't overwhelmed. I had really, measurable and achievable goals and I was in good stead to write and publish. and launch my book inside the six month timeframe that I set for myself. So there you have it for hack number five.

[00:10:42] Now let's just recap quickly to write your book is one of the biggest challenges we face to actually sit down and write your manuscript. And like I said, Elliot, if you are a busy professional, if you're someone who is on the go a lot inside working inside your business. But you really want to write that book?

[00:10:59] The key is to carve out the time and stay on track.

[00:11:03] So we had hack number one, which was finding the right environment for you. Where do you perform best when it comes to writing, you want to find that environment? Hack number two is to time block. So set aside an hour or two an hour and a half each morning or evening whenever it's good for you. So you can work on your book and be consistent. Treat these as non-negotiable times.

[00:11:27] Hack number three is to use a Pomodoro technique. So if you are time blocking, you can use this technique where you can write for 25 minutes.

[00:11:34] Take a five minute break. And do that several times and then that way you'll be able to maintain focus, not get so overwhelmed and actually enjoy writing your book. So use a timer for that. It really does help.

[00:11:48] Hack number four is to be accountable to yourself, whether you've got a book coach or whether you have a writing group or an accountability, buddy, make sure you share your progress with them because that's going to help keep you accountable because. If you're holding all this into yourself, it can get overwhelming and it's really easy to fall off track. And finally, number five, it's what I just spoke about. And it's being smart about your goals. So having specific measurable, achievable, Relative and time-bound goes, that is the key. I want you to get your book written and I'm excited for you to start writing that manuscript. I want you to share your progress with me and see how you're going. You can always get in touch with me on Instagram or in the show notes.

[00:12:33] There are ways to chat about your book with me. But if there's one big takeaway, I want you to take from this episode. It's actually a quote I heard back in the day and I can't remember who, said it to me, but the quote is by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

[00:12:51] And this is exactly this case. When it comes to writing your book, you need to have a plan in place as to what you're going to be writing. It's very hard to write a manuscript when you are writing aimlessly. When there's no outline when there's no content plan, it is very tough and challenging, and it will take you forever.

[00:13:07] You will get overwhelmed. So. It's important to have a plan when it comes to writing your book. If you need a plan to write your book, feel free to reach out to me I can help you out. Until next time. Thank you very much for joining me and I'll catch you again on the next episode.