15minuteplan

The 15-Minute Plan

Finding yourself so bogged down in busywork that you never seem to get any writing done? By the time you get through the mail and the e-mail, scan for viruses, straighten up the office and get ready to write, it's time to go to work or the kids are home from school. You desperately want to write, but all these things need to be done, too. It seems like an unresolvable conflict.

But there is a solution. Call it the 15-minute plan. Because writing is the most important thing you need to do, give each non-writing task just 15 minutes and no more. Borrow a timer from the kitchen or buy yourself a new one that you can keep on your desk. One of those noisy ticking timers is ideal because it will remind you that time is passing. Plus there's no way you can miss the bell when it sounds.

What can you accomplish in 15 minutes? A lot. You can pay a couple of bills, record the previous day's expenses, write a quick note on a birthday card, update your calendar and scan through a newsletter. Tasks that take longer, such as balancing the checkbook, need to be set aside for another time AFTER you have done your day's writing.

Filing plagues every writer. Papers pile up so quickly and the thought of figuring out where to put them is overwhelming, but not if you file for 15 minutes a day. Don't interrupt your writing or research to file. Reserve a place for things that need to be filed and put them there until it's time for your 15 minutes. A quarter hour of faithful filing every day will soon whittle that pile down to nothing. Then you can start sorting your existing files and straightening out the office until the bell rings.

The Internet is a real time-gobbler. We can easily spend hours reading and sending e-mail and surfing the web. It's addictive, and it's easier than writing. Rather than use up your creative time on the Net, set that timer for 15 minutes. That's long enough to read and answer the most important e-mails and check whatever Internet sites or forums you frequent. Stop when the bell rings. After you write, you can reward yourself with more time online.

The 15-minute plan can work for other tasks, too, such as telephone calls, tinkering with your web site, or studying the markets. Whatever non-writing tasks pull you away from the keyboard can be corralled into short segments that will still leave you time to write.

One more thing: If you only have an hour or an idea is screaming to get loose, start writing and put off everything else for another time. You can always find 15 minutes, but you can't always find a great story that needs to be told right now.