Bouncing Back When Your Writing Routine Gets Disrupted

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

My husband and I recently moved to another state, closer to family. Between the packing, the moving, the unpacking (still not done), and our new hectic life, my writing routine has been completely shattered.

I accepted the disruption before the move, since I knew there’d be months when I didn't get much writing done (or at all), but we’re “settled” now, and I’m trying to get back to normal.

Except “normal” has changed.

I used to have 10-12 hours every weekend to write. I spent Saturdays on my WIP Diagnostics, and scheduled articles for the week. Sundays, I wrote at a local Starbucks with a writers’ group and got all my articles done for the site for the next week. That left me Monday through Friday mornings to work on my novels and nonfiction projects.

Only now, my weekends are full of family and chaos and way-too-much house stuff to do. I can usually squeeze a few hours of writing in there before the sun comes up, but some weekends even that doesn’t happen.

The busy weekends are awesome, and why we moved, but I’ve been struggling to keep up with everything the last few months. I needed more time I didn’t have.

So I made some.

I’m a morning person by nature, and I write first thing. The most logical fix to my time issue was to get up earlier. An hour per day earns me an extra five hours per week. I also try to sneak in some writing in the afternoons to handle the blog tasks I used to do on Saturdays.

Things aren’t back to normal quite yet, but I see it heading there as I get used to the new routine. The hardest part is actually getting up when the alarm goes off, and I admit, some days I just don’t. Sometimes an extra hour of sleep matters more, and when I really need it, I take it.

If your routine has been knocked out of whack lately, or you’re trying to get back to writing after a break, here are some things that helped me:

1. Look for the easiest place to add writing time.

For me that’s getting up at 5am, but others might carve out an hour in the evenings, or half an hour a few times a day. Look for places that wouldn’t affect your daily routine all that much.

(Here’s more on being a more productive writer)

2. Don’t try to do too much at once.

Until I’m regularly keeping to my 5am schedule, I’m not going to add another hour to my day. I know it’s too much change too fast and I won’t be able to keep with with it.

Pick smaller steps that you can fit into your routine and adjust them slowly so they become habits. We can do almost anything for a week or two, but after that, we stop if we can’t keep up that pace.

(Here’s more on avoiding distractions)

3. Reorganize non-writing tasks to be more efficient.

Look for ways to make other tasks more manageable. I work well with scheduled tasks, so I designated an hour a day to chores or marketing, or blog stuff. I ignore it the rest of the day, and get what I need to do completed during those scheduled times.

I can focus more easily, and anything that doesn’t get finished is moved to the next day. There are enough light- vs. heavy-task days in a week that it usually balances out.

(Here’s more on avoiding procrastination)

4. Don’t just try to do more.

Simply giving myself five extra hours of work a week wasn’t going to work, because I’d be exhausted after a few weeks of that schedule (I know, I’ve been there). I needed to find a way to be more effective during my work hours. Getting up at five means I’m heading to bed earlier as well, but the morning hours are my most productive. That’s when the extra time works best for me. If you're a night owl, you might do the opposite.

Creating longer days works for a short period of time, but then it starts wearing on you and you’re too tired and stressed to get anything done. Doing it once in a while when you’re on a deadline is manageable, but beyond that just wears you down.

(Here’s more on avoiding time sinks)

5. Be realistic about the new routine.

Don’t expect it to work out overnight, and give yourself time to adapt and adjust to a new routine. You’ll probably have to try several different things before you find the right balance between writing, work, and family.

I know from my own experience how frustrating this is, and I’ve had plenty of stressful and upsetting moments the last few months. Trust that you will figure it out and find your way again. I can already see the path, even though I know I’m not there yet.

(Here's more on the benefits of ten minutes a day)

When life changes, it changes your life. Adapting to the new can be rough, but it’s less stressful than trying to continue with what isn’t working. Things will be different, and finding your feet again might take awhile. But hang in there and keep moving forward. You'll get there. 

Has your writing routine even been disrupted? How did you handle it?

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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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