Why you never seem to find the time to write your book and what to do about it
It’s so frustrating, isn’t it?
You wake up in the morning with the most author-like of intentions. ‘Today’s the day I’m going to darn well finish writing that chapter of my book’, you mutter to yourself. Your business needs that book and you’re going to finish it if it kills you.
Finishing your breakfast, you switch on your laptop. First of all you check your emails, discovering a client wants to rearrange tomorrow’s meeting for today. So that’s this afternoon wiped out. Then you remember you need to prepare a document for the meeting, so that’s this morning taken care of.
Never mind, you’ll tackle that chapter tomorrow.
Except tomorrow never comes . . .
Sigh.
Sometimes you find yourself wondering what’s wrong with you. Why can’t you just get this book written? Other experts don’t seem to find it hard – they’re bringing out books by the truckload. Which means you’ll be the last in the queue, picking up the dregs of attention that are left (by now you’re in full self-pity mode).
But I don’t mean to jest, because I know how hard this is for you.
What if I were to tell you there’s one main reason you’re not getting your book written, and it’s not because you’re lazy, unmotivated, or not smart enough?
It’s because you’re using will power to force yourself to write it. And will power is a finite resource.
Just think about it. The standard advice for writing a book is to get up at 5am, cram writing into all your spare moments, turn off every distraction, stop seeing your friends, and cancel your TV subscription. It doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? No wonder you feel resistance towards the idea of writing your book when it’s associated with so much negativity.
And it’s all unnecessary, too.
Instead, there are more natural and positive ways to complete what is, after all, one of your most important achievements. These methods mean you’re working with, rather than against, your innate human nature to ease you through the process naturally.
Once you’ve got your brain on your side, you’ll realise there’s way less to do than you thought.
‘Well that sounds nice’, you’re thinking. ‘But if it was that easy I’d have done it already. Show me what you mean’.
Challenge accepted.
You find time for what you love
If you enjoy cooking I bet you find the time to whip up a tasty dinner most evenings. If you feel energised by running, I’m sure you’d be found pounding the lanes in the mornings. And if you get excited by travel, I’d imagine your next trip is already planned out to perfection.
We all find the time to do the things we love.
Right now you’re far from loving your book, I’m sure. In fact it probably feels like a burden to you – something that taunts you every time you think about it.
But what if you were to learn to love your book? Would writing it feel easier then? I bet it would.
There are a few ways to make this happen, so pick the one that feels easiest for you:
- Focus on what you’re learning as you’re writing it. If you’re like most business authors you’ll gain a huge amount of clarity on what you know through the process of getting your thoughts on paper. It’s like having your own private trainer by your side but without having to pay for it. Take a moment now to jot down the new insights and ideas you’ve gained so far – you’ll be surprised how many there are.
- Visualise your book when it’s finished. Can you imagine holding it in your hand? Telling your friends and clients about it? Calling yourself an author? What a brilliant moment that will be, and the best thing is the effects last not just for one day but for the rest of your life.
- If you’re a visual person you can help this process by getting a mock cover designed on Fiverr.com and pinning it up on your wall. Now your book actually exists (well kind of)!
- Do you enjoy the process of writing, once you’ve got into it? If so, make a point of appreciating what writing gives you. Do you feel more energised after a spell at the keyboard, or more inspired? Proud even? There are lots of good reasons to enjoy writing for its own sake. And if writing isn’t a joy for you there are a couple of tips later on that will help you with this.
The secret ‘find more time in your life’ method
You know how the usual time management advice is to cut out the nice little extras, like watching TV or going out with friends? Lo and behold, several hours a week are freed up. And it’s true – they are – but it’s impossible for you to sustain because there’s only so long you can go without your little comforts.
That’s because to successfully deny yourself these treats relies on an endless supply of will power.
How about this technique for finding hidden hours in your week instead? It’s a process I tried myself and it was totally liberating. I’ll warn you now, it looks like it won’t work but it totally will. The coach who taught it me says every single person she’s done it with has been astonished to discover they had more free time than they’d originally assumed. Here’s how it works:
- Go through everything you have to do for your work and personal life, and add up the hours you spend on them over a week. For instance, you might spend 20 hours a week in client meetings, 56 hours a week sleeping, 3 hours a week learning for your work, 5 hours a week shopping for food and cooking it, and so on. Try not to miss anything out; a friend can help.
- There are 168 hours in a week, so deduct your total above from that.
- What’s left is your discretionary time. These are the hours you can choose to spend how you like, and some of them can be for writing your book.
When you see your writing time as part and parcel of your total time available, you’ll feel in control. You’ve lost your inbuilt assumptions about ‘having’ to do those optional things that felt so important before, so suddenly it feels easier to set aside that time to write. It’s a great habit-shifter.
Just try it – you’ll be amazed.
Don’t write a book
Seriously.
How about, instead of writing a book, creating a series of blog posts, or that talk you’re giving next week? As long as it’s relevant to your book it can fulfil a dual purpose by giving you the content you need right now as well as contributing to your book.
When you have a short deadline you get things done. So if you need to create a post to send out in your e-newsletter this week then try making sure it can be easily re-purposed for your book. Why not make it the subject of your first chapter?
The advantage of this is not only does your book get written more easily, but it’s better integrated into your business.
The secret to feeling good
Admit it. You feel a little icky about the idea of everyone reading your book.
What if they don’t like it? What if they reckon you’re too big for your boots?
Soon you’re wondering who the heck you are to write a book in the first place. Better just give up.
It’s so easy to slip into this way of thinking, but feeling great about sharing yourself is one of the key secrets to making your book easy. We want to read what you have to say, we really do. What’s in your mind is special and important.
I realise this can be easier to say than do, so if you need a little more help with this, see this and this.
The only time management tip you’ll ever need
You know when you get into the flow of writing (I’m sure you’ve had that – don’t pretend you haven’t!) and it feels easier to carry on than stop and pick it up again later? Giving yourself a sensible block of time each for each writing session will make completing your book a much easier task.
You won’t always be able to do this, but a couple of hours set aside is so much more productive than 20 minutes here and there, and you’ll save precious energy by not having to get into it again each time. You’ll also get the satisfaction of having achieved a decent amount, which is motivating in itself.
Let your voice do the writing
For some people, getting thoughts down on paper doesn’t help them flow, and why should it?
If you talk for a living – and if you’re a coach or speaker than you probably do – you might find it easiest to talk your book into the world. So grab a mic and a recording device, and your outline. Next, jot down some questions based on the next point in your outline. Just ask the question and answer it as you record.
You can either get it transcribed and use that as the basis for your book, or listen back to the recording as you type. Either way you’ll be marvelling at how great your thoughts sound when they come out through the natural medium of speech. And that can be an encouragement in itself.
Get help
It can be hard to go it alone.
So why not think about hiring a writing coach to help you get through this alien process? After all, you may never have written a book before so it makes sense to work with someone who has.
Alternatively a ghostwriter can help take the job off your hands – that’s the best way to have a book without writing a word!
But I’d love you to know you can do this. We’re all blessed with endless reserves of creativity, motivation, and inspiration to write. But only if we’re not forcing ourselves to do the task.
When your book is finished – and it will be – wouldn’t it be wonderful to look back on the experience of writing it as a time of love, joy, and personal growth? Because that’s the by-product of writing your book without will power.
That’s the way we achieve great things. That’s the way we love what we do. And that’s the way we write brilliant books.
