Being Productive on the Clock—20 Tips to Timed Writing

I know a lot of writers who excel when pressured by the clock. There’s something about crunching a deadline that spurs the creative juices.

Some of my most productive times are during my son’s TKD

[contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="true"/][contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="true"/][contact-field label="Website" type="url"/][contact-field label="Message" type="textarea"/][/contact-formclass. I consider it “found” time since it’s outside my regular work schedule, but still dedicated time that is mine to do with what I want. There is a Starbucks on the same block, so I drop him, walk over and start writing. After ordering, I have about an hour to produce something. This is when I tend to blog. It is amazing what you can produce when the clock is ticking.

Here are my top 12 tips for doing timed writing:

1. Set goals and a target date for yourself if you don’t have a deadline. Put the power of a looming due date to work for you. I even set the clock sometimes. What can I produce in an hour or two?

2. Have strategies for maximizing your time. These may be as simple as having an outline of what you want to write or a set word limit that you track as you go. Knowing where you stand will let you adjust as needed along the way. This also means turning off wifi and phone.

3. Have a list of what you want to accomplish that you can mark off when you reach your goal. The simple act of crossing it off your list will make you feel productive. I keep a chart of what I want to finish each day and love that feeling of marking tasks as finished. My biggest problem is over booking myself and not leaving time for life and clients. So when I don’t finish, I either add more time by working overtime or I push what’s left to the next day and give myself another opportunity to check it off. Naturally, I only do push a deadline when it is an arbitrary one of my making. I never push client deadlines. In my entire career, I have never missed a deadline. I don’t intend for that to change.

4. Set an alarm. Knowing the time is ticking down will help keep you going. Besides, it will keep you on schedule for the rest of your life. i set an alarm when I write because I tend to lose myself in the work and miss appointments or arrive late to pick up my son (okay, this only happened once, but it was awful). Now I always set an alarm on my phone, the physical clock on my desk or the one on my computer. I tend to lose time when I write.

5. Leave time to edit and proof. One pass is never enough. I can draft in a hurry, but I always leave my schedule fairly open to edit and proof. Revision is often the more time-consuming task, but it is where the bulk of writing happens. Timed writing is best for first drafts, not editing.

6. Limit distractions. Writing to a clock requires focus. Forget checking those emails or getting dragged into conversations with clients. It’s okay to be unavailable for a short time.

7. Plan ahead. Now I know many of you are pantsers who recoil when you hear the word outline, but they do speed up the process. Outlines don’t have to be involved or long, but it does pay to have a cursory idea of your destination. When I come up with a blog or article idea, I always jot down what I was thinking and as many points as possible. Then I research quickly to see if I missed anything. I find I am always more productive when I have a plan and at least a few points to guide my blog. Once I get writing, more ideas come. Once I add everything, I let the piece sit before I edit. This gives me a bit of perspective.

8. Embrace the time you have and don’t panic. Whether it’s ten minutes or an hour, embracing the limitation will make you more productive. You will approach a short writing exercise differently than you will a longer one, but they both work to push you on.

9. Make it fun. I like knowing time is pushing me forward, but I do not like feeling late, so I try to make a game out of it—how much can I write in this set amount of time? Then I set a figure and do my best to hit it. It may be a word count or a hard goal, like I want to write five finished minutes of a client script or two blogs by the time my alarm sounds. The goal helps keep me going. This is especially helpful when I am not feeling particularly motivated to write.

10. Break it down. Don’t try to do too much. Pick a workable amount and then plug away. If you try to accomplish too much, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Be reasonable.

11. Do the worst bit first. I find that getting the part I don’t want to do done makes me work faster. It’s all downhill from there.

12. Don’t get disappointed when you don’t finish on time every time. It happens. Just keep trying. The more you practice timed writing, the faster you will get. That is true about writing in general. It takes practice to do it will and on time.