Time to kill
I had a few minutes to kill this morning in between my daily chores. I had already checked email and refreshed my Facebook feed in that oh-my-goodness-someone-please-say-something sort of way. I didn’t want to waste the time, but what was I going to do? Then I noticed the book I have been reading sitting nearby. I picked it up, read a few pages, then got on with my day.
So what? No big deal, right? Well, for me it is. I have been trying to read this book since September. I kept waiting for a suitable chunk of time to sit down with it, but such time never materializes. Like everyone else, I have eight zillion things to do in any given day. Reading always feels like a luxury I cannot afford, yet I know it is vital to my writing.
The obvious epiphany
I was congratulating myself on my time-crunch win today when I realized this is not the only time I do this. I do it with my writing all the time. I get ideas and jot down some notes. I pull out the laptop and set up a new post with an outline of what I want to say. I read through something in progress and make a few changes. A long time ago I decided that I cannot always wait for the perfect writing time. Of course I set aside some time to write each week that’s solely for writing so that I can focus, but a fair amount of my writing gets done around all of my other obligations.
I do this in other areas of my life as well. I empty a few dishes from the dishwasher while I brew a cup of coffee. I fold half a load of laundry while I’m waiting for my son to brush his teeth before bed. I chop up some dinner ingredients while my lunch cooks. Why I never thought to utilize this technique with my reading before today, I’ll never know.
Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it, is to find those little chunks of time you would otherwise waste and put them to good use. Think about those goals you have that for whatever reason don’t get top billing in your day. Maybe it’s writing or reading. Maybe it’s something else. It doesn’t really matter what it is, so long as it matters to you. Most of us probably have way more dreams in our heads than hours in our days, but each of us can make the most of what we have.
How do you find the time to read and write? Join in the conversation in the comments!
Odds, ends, reminders
- The badge you will need to add to your planned submission is over in the sidebar
- This immediate past Sunday is the earliest your submission can be dated
- Your post can be no longer than 600 words
- Personal essays or traditional blog anecdotes only
- There are no weekly prompts; the topic is yours. Be compelling
- The grid is open from Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
- There is voting. Voting will take place Thursday from midnight to 10:00 p.m. US eastern
- The challenge grid is limited to 50 bloggers
- The winners’ post will be published by noon on Friday
- No self-promotional posts are allowed on the yeah write grid, including those containing links to other blog events and Internet contests
Yeah write #139 is open…
[hr]
Loading InLinkz ...
I have to sneak in my writing time in the morning. The rest of the day gets too busy with the kids and everything! Reading.. well..i squeak that in whenever I can. Sometimes it’s when I wake up in the middle of the night.
I so want to write in the mornings, but I’m so busy. And then I don’t get around to writing as much as I’d like. But I do make more time for writing than I do reading. I guess maybe because I can’t function without getting the words out of my head.
I read every night before falling asleep, and every morning over coffee. I’m working on ways I can squeeze in the writing…
I usually watch TV at night. I suppose I could read instead of watching TV, but usually I’m so tired by the time I sit down that I can’t get more than a paragraph or two. Though at that rate I might be able to read a book every decade or so.
Michelle, you are motivating me to get back to work on the FIVE (yes, five) half-read books on my nightstand. Lolita, Cleopatra, and some others I can’t remember now because it’s been too long. Seriously. What?
Five, wow! I get frustrated when I don’t finish one. I do have two going at this moment though, so I guess I’m not that frustrated by it!
I’ve decided to plan my writing while doing the dishes and stuck in the seemingly endless traffic in Bogota. I’ve gotten some good ideas by using that otherwise (intellectually) useless time. And I always have something to read with me, too. Although I have a book by my bed that I started to read two years ago and haven’t finished yet! (it’s in French, and I’m intimidated!)
I’m rarely stuck in traffic these days, but I couldn’t agree more about doing dishes as a good time for planning. I read one more whole page since I wrote this post, so I say I’m winning reading this week 😉
I have notes and ideas jotted down on my phone. Sometimes I forget what they mean or how they fit together or why they were important. Sometimes they (hopefully) make their way into a post or story.
I am never without a book. One goes everywhere with me. I’ll pull it out at train crossings and stop lights (my bad). I’ve been accused of reading too much but there really can’t be such a thing, can there?
I used to read all the time, devouring one or more per week. It feels like a lifetime ago.
I have quite a few random notes too. It’s fun to look through them and wonder what I was thinking.
After reading the line “I get ideas and jot down some notes,” I immediately stopped reading and dashed off a draft. It’s not some amazing story, but it is an anecdote that passed through my mind. But reading your words made me want to write it down RIGHT NOW! Now I don’t have to remember what the idea was and I can go back and edit and revise until it’s ready. Thanks!
I’m so glad that worked out for you!