
Time.
Time has been my biggest obstacle over these past few years. Mainly when balancing a full-time job, full-time school/writing, and life in general. When I finally broke down all I did in a school meeting after I graduated, my instructor asked me, "How did you pull this off again?"
To which I answered:
"I didn't sleep."
This blog post will show how I balanced writing with a full-time job or school. My best friend always asked how I pulled it off, and I always said, "I don't know!" with a laugh. So, Ashley, here it is! I will explain how I graduated from the Conservatory while working full-time and STILL making time to hang out with family and binge-watch anime. This is my take on time management.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
First things first: this is my take, which I formed from my personal experience. It worked for me, but what I did might not work for everyone. And honestly, if you can afford it, I would recommend NOT working a full-time job while pursuing writing as a career. That leads me to my second point. This is mostly about pursuing writing as a profession, not as a hobby.
That said, let's set up some background.
I joined the Author Conservatory with the need to pay for tuition myself. I would not take out a loan, so I arranged to pay a certain amount quarterly. Of course, that meant I had to take a full-time job, around forty hours a week. That means about eight hours of my day were spent at work. Standard lessons and school projects take up about two to three hours of the day, and that does not include regular writing or my other passions of drawing and reading, let alone actually spending time for myself.
I am sure you might run into a schedule like this. It seemed impossible to get anything done. I mean, where do you even start?
MY SCHEDULE IN A NUTSHELL
I will be frank. Doing Author while working full-time was one of the hardest things I've had to do. I would not recommend it. However, that does not mean it is impossible.
I had to choose what I could do and what I had to let go. If I couldn't make a live class or meeting due to work, I would watch the replay. However, I would request that time off if it were something important, such as a class I couldn't miss or a panel I was on.
My days would be as follows:
If I worked a closing shift, I would set time aside in the morning before work to do my school work, trying to get as much done as possible. Then, on my lunch break, I wrote as much as possible. After I got off shift late at night, I would jump right back into whatever remaining project I had left to do, then spend an hour or so relaxing before bedtime.
For the morning shift, I would write on my lunch break, do as much school as possible before dinner, spend time with the family, and then start it all back up around eight or so.
My days off were days I caught up on school work and writing or full rest days. I did take Sundays off, though I still squeezed some work into the evening before bed.
And when I say "bed," I mean I did get sleep.
Earlier on in my school years, I got more sleep. However, tackling a book launch while working retail during the holiday season was a whole different animal. I don't need to cover my schedule there because I do not recommend it to ANYONE. Zero out of ten stars for that one.
But that's it. There are no super secrets or hidden hacks. Scheduling is only half the battle.
THE FIGHT WITH MOTIVATION
You can make a schedule and say, "I am going to do this," and so on. My battle, however, is following through. During my work lunch break, I would love to watch some shows on my phone, not try to write through the chatter and distractions of the break room. Once I get home from work, I want to put my feet up and rest for the remainder of the night.
But you can't just twiddle your thumbs with projects due and writing deadlines set. So, here is how I followed through on my schedule.
Keep Your Schedule Flexible: I know what you are going to say. But Madi! Your schedule looked very consistent and rigid to me! And yes, that's true. But I outline my day like I outline my stories. I say, "Write on Lunch Break." But I never plan what I will write until I sit down. You never know what your brain will be like that day, so if you have, say, a concept, synopsis, novel, or editing that you could work on, pick the one that you know would be the easiest to work on at the moment. This is why I love working on several projects at the same time. Even if I struggle with one, there is always another I can progress on. That way, you are still doing something productive with your time.
Promise Yourself Rewards: This can be as simple as "I will eat dinner when I finish this chapter" or "I will watch this show's newest episode when I finish this assignment." This builds discipline and a state of mind that can help you through writer's block or any other lack of motivation slump you might experience.
Build the Habits: After hearing "keep it flexible," you might think building habits would be difficult. However, even if you change what you are doing, keep the time you are doing it the same. This will help your body realize that "this is the time that we work," which will increase your productivity. My current habit is to work from eight o'clock to...well, sometimes too late, depending on the project.
Understand What You Can Accomplish: Unrealistic goals can easily frustrate and destroy motivation. I had unrealistic goals before deciding to go with my current schedule. I would overestimate what I could get done in a day, then growl at the small list I made for myself that had only one project crossed off. So, if you need to, experiment. Time yourself on things. The more you understand how long it takes you to accomplish something, the more realistic your expectations of yourself will be and the less frustrated you will get.
Leave Time to Rest: This is very important. I know life can be a whirlwind. It can seem sometimes that you have no spare time for anything other than work, school, or more work. However, burnout is a reality if you push yourself without giving yourself a break. No matter what your schedule, take one day off. Whether this is your day off of work or Sundays, never forget to give yourself that much-needed rest. And, if you have to push yourself harder without breaks, as I did during my book launch, take an extended break afterward.
CONCLUSION
Everyone is built differently, and different scheduling will work for different people. My approach might not work for you at all, and your approach might not work for me. However, I hope my experience and habits might provide helpful tidbits to apply to your life. My scheduling journey has been a long time in the making. It is far from perfect. However, my approach is always one of adaptability. If my work schedule changes, my writing schedule will change. If an event is coming up with friends or family, my schedule will change around that.
So don't be afraid to experiment, be flexible, and find out what works best through trial and error.
After all, maneuvering tight schedules is not improbable or even impossible. I would have to say it is very much possible.
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