You’ve got a story to tell. You have hard-earned knowledge to share with the entrepreneurial community. Maybe you are even hoping to build your personal brand. You keep saying that you’ll write your book someday, but will you really? Or will you keep pushing it off because you “don’t have time”?
We often make excuses that we “don’t have enough time to write,” but that’s usually not the real problem. We can find time to write, but we don’t. Instead, we find excuses for why we’ve got to do something else, and our writing falls through the cracks. (I’m using “we” because I’ve been there too.)
It’s time to make time. Here are a few tips for finding time to write your book while running a business.
Tip #1: Write in the morning
Think about how you usually start your workday. Do you check your email or team communication software? Do you drive to your brick-and-mortar establishment and start putting out fires?
If you answered yes to either of those questions, then you’re essentially starting your day by dividing your attention into a million different directions. Later, you’ll either tell yourself that you no longer have time to write, or you’ll sit down to write and find that you can’t focus. Instead, what if you spent one hour each morning working on your book before even opening a single email?
This might require waking up a little bit earlier, or it might require a slight shift in your daily schedule, but it will be worth it. For some, this tip alone might be all you need to find the time to write your book.
Tip #2: Create a writing schedule
If one hour in the morning won’t work for you, it’s still essential that you schedule a time to write. Maybe that’s your lunch hour, maybe that’s the last hour of each workday, or maybe it’s a four-hour block on Sundays.
Once you have decided when you’ll be writing, it’s helpful to decide how much you’ll be writing and what you’ll be writing. Here’s an example writing schedule for someone who writes Monday through Friday:
| When | How Much | What |
| Monday AM (1 hr) | 2 pages | Preface – Who I am and why I’m writing this |
| Tuesday AM (1 hr) | 2 pages | Start Chapter 1 – How to analyze your business’s current situation |
| Wednesday AM (1 hr) | 2 pages | Chapter 1 |
| Thursday AM (1 hr) | 2 pages | Chapter 1 |
| Friday AM (30 min) | 1 page | Finish Chapter 1 |
And an example for someone who writes during four-hour blocks on Sundays:
| When | How Much | What |
| 1st Sunday (4 hrs) | 8 pages | Preface – Who I am & why I’m writing this Chapter 1 – How to analyze your business’s current situation |
| 2nd Sunday (4 hrs) | 8 pages | Wrap up Chapter 1 if needed Chapter 2 – Streamline operations |
| 3rd Sunday (4 hrs) | 8 pages | Chapter 3 – Increase profitability |
| 4th Sunday (4 hrs) | 8 pages | Chapter 4 – Attract and retain customers |
Your schedule doesn’t have to be perfect, and you’ll almost certainly have to make adjustments as you go, but the goal is to hold yourself to your writing schedule as much as possible.
Tip #3: Delegate non-essential tasks
If your business simply takes up too much of your time and you can’t think of a single opportunity for a writing session, then you’ll have to take steps to free up some time. A great way to do this as an owner-operator is by delegating non-essential tasks.
Make a list of all the different hats you wear in your business. Now circle the tasks that only you can do. Are you really the only one who can manage your business’s social media accounts?
If you have trouble identifying anything to delegate, here are a few possibilities:
- Admin: Email management, appointment scheduling, data entry
- Customer service: Handling inquiries, responding to comments and direct messages on social media, responding to Google reviews
- Marketing: Content creation, scheduling and posting content
- Sales: Lead generation, sales meetings, follow-up calls, reporting
- Human resources: Recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews
If you don’t have existing employees you can delegate these roles to, you may consider expanding your team or hiring temporary freelancers through platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. You can also outsource human resource roles through companies like BambooHR or Insperity.
Tip #4: Minimize interruptions
Once you have found time to write, it’s crucial that you minimize interruptions during this time frame. If you’ll be writing at your place of business, set boundaries with your employees to ensure you’ll only be interrupted for genuine emergencies. If you’ll be writing at home, set similar boundaries with your family members.
If you find that you’re unable to write at home or work without distractions, try writing at a coffee shop instead.
In addition to ensuring others won’t interrupt you, you should also make sure you won’t distract yourself. Put your phone and computer on Do Not Disturb and wait to check notifications until the end of your writing session. For writing sessions over an hour, you can schedule five minute breaks for yourself, during which you can check your messages.
Tip #5: Integrate writing into daily business activities
It’s also important to keep in mind that there’s more to writing than the physical act of writing. It’s likely that many of your daily business activities will be featured in your book in some way, especially if your book will be a guide to opening or running a similar type of business.
Brainstorm ways that you can work on your book while you’re working on your business. Can you record a voice memo of yourself while you go over your team’s opening checklist? Can you carry a notebook around to jot down notes when something comes up that would be great to add to your book later?
Tip #6: Share your goals with an accountability partner
If you struggle with holding yourself accountable for meeting your writing goals, bring in an accountability partner. This could be a loved one, business mentor, assistant, or even an editor. Share your writing schedule with your accountability partner, and ask them to check in regularly to make sure you’re meeting your targets.
A lot of writers believe that they need to wait until their manuscript is finished before hiring an editor, but that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, that’s the most common approach that people take, but it’s not the only one, and for many, it’s not the best one either.
An editor can help you map out your book, create a writing schedule, hold you accountable, and provide feedback and support as you write. If you want to talk more about how an editor can help you reach your goals for your book, schedule a free consultation.
Whatever you do, make time for your writing—make it a priority. Happy writing!
Owner of Aha! Editorial
Let’s talk about your writing project: https://calendly.com/ashlyn-ahaeditorial
