Daily Writing
My writing schedule varies, but I do my best to stay consistent with trying to write for at least 30 minutes every day, Monday – Friday, a habit I’ve picked up since becoming a part of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), Faculty Success Program (FSP). At first this didn’t seem like a big deal, and then when it did, i realized that I had a very narrow definition of “writing,” and realized that I had been doing more than 30 minutes of writing on a typical day for most of my academic journey, I just hadn’t been tracking my time doing so. So, before I launch into my individual writing schedule, I will start by discussing what counts as writing. Writing, as far I can gather from everything, I’ve learned from the NCFDD and FSP programs—writing are the practices that help you movea project forward. So, for me, I am writing when I am: writing substantively (obviously), outlining, editing, revising, and anything else (besides research) that helps me advance my writing goals. When we think of writing this broadly, we are writing consistently! Thirty minutes Monday through Friday really isn’t that hard when you think of writing in this way. However, writing works differently for everyone, and the best advice I can give is for you to find the system that works best for you and go with the flow.
As for me, I do my best writing in the morning, I’m an early riser, sometimes as early as 4:30 (even on the weekends, and that tends to be when I do my best writing). So, depending on the day, I will write for half an hour to two hours depending, or go back to sleep for a bit, wake up and write some more, or do some research or reading. Lately, my book project has been at the forefront of my mind, and when my mind tells me it’s time to wake up and write something down, I do, lest I forget it by the time I wake up. This, however, is only sustainable now in the summertime because I can be flexible with my time. Once the semester starts, I will have to be a little more disciplined about my writing schedule to make sure I am making time for my teaching and service obligations. Fortunately, during the semester, I rely on writing groups to help structure my writing time. Having my classes and writing groups as set times to do work really helps to keep my writing on track.
Finding my rhythm in the fall takes a bit of time, but once I do, I tend to stick with it, but also leave room for life to happen—which it always does. The truth is, we can plan and plan, but we can’t account for everything. So put something in place if it helps you to feel better, but also know that plans and schedules are likely to change, and be willing to change with them!
