How To Create More Writing Time And Increase Your Productivity

How To Create More Writing Time And Increase Your Productivity

TIPS, TECHNIQUES & TOOLS

Coming Up …

How to organise your time to make sure that what gets planned, gets doneHow to tame the social media beast and claw back wasted hours/days

How to deploy simple software products to maintain your focusHow to use the Chrome browser to simplify your life

How to save time by doing routine tasks more efficientlyHow to celebrate your wins and build good habits

My Self-Published Books

Time Management For Authors


How I Manage My

Time


I wrote 210,232 x 1st draft words between 11th May 2016 and September 16th 2016

I will have written 3 x 90k word thrillers in a 6 month period

I will have written 9 x fiction books and 7 x non-fiction books between April 2014 and

end October 2016

I also have a ‘day job’ and a family … we all have the same ‘life stuff’ going on, it’s simply

a matter of organisation!


I set Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4targets on a white board

and move those to a weekly planner

I use a weekly planning template to transfer priorities from my

quarterly planning board


I colour code activities for ‘at-a-glance’ clarity – it allows me to see the

shape of a week.

I prioritise writing to make sure that I get my words & editing done


Where can you find blocks of time in your day?


1 hour of TV time

Get up 1 hour

earlier

Go to bed an hour laterDo ‘homework’ with your kids


Know your writing timings …

I can write 1500 words in 1 hour

I can write 2000 words in 90 minutes

I write in blocks of 1 hour + 1 hour + 1.5 hours = 5k words per day

I write when my wife is out of the house (10am-2pm)

I now know exactly how many hours/days/months it will take to write a book

I love The Action Machine:http://paulteague.com/AM (it’s a paid product)


http://paulteague.com/AM

I also use low-tech methods to manage writing time



Time Management

Essentials

Check out http://pomodorotechnique.com/


Source: www.fastcompany.com

http://pomodorotechnique.com/

https://www.fastcompany.com/3053036/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/the-simple-technique-to-fit-a-40-hour-work-week-into-167-h


http://www.marinaratimer.com/

http://www.marinaratimer.com/


In a nutshell …

Focus on what matters most


In a nutshell …

Do fewer things, well, and repeat

over time


In a nutshell …

Do your ‘worst’ tasks first


In a nutshell …

Get up early and focus!


I own all of these books and many more …

Tip: Listen in the car or while exercising, ironing, cooking, gardening etc.


A quick tip to get more learning done, faster…

Listen to podcasts

and audiobooks at

double speed!


The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the Pareto Principle after its founder, the Italian

economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. [Source: BrianTracy.com]


80% of Our To-Do Lists Produce 20% of Our Results

[Source: keyorganization.com]

Time Management Tools

Time Management

Tools

Hitting Your Word Count

How to force yourself to reach your word count every time

1: http://www.focalfilter.com/

2: A blunt tool – allows you to list your distracting websites and block them for a specific time period

3: Works with all browsers

4: Many people I show this to also use it with their kids

http://www.focalfilter.com/

If you’re really struggling to concentrate!

https://writersblock.io/

Just blocks everything until you’ve done your writing!


How to force yourself to reach your word count every time

https://writersblock.io/


Set your total manuscript

targetSet your daily writing target

Scrivener Users! Use the Scrivener writing targets feature

Time Management ToolsBecome acquainted with the Chrome Web Store

Email managementTask

management

GoogleAnalytics

Monitoring

Password management

Timemanagement

Evernote

Social Scheduling


Social Media Time

Management

Social Media

Beware the social media

time vampire!

BufferHow to become smarter with your social media sharing

• Find it at https://buffer.com/app• Can be used for free• This really helps with my social media time

management• I pay, but you don’t have to!• Allows you to schedule social media posts in

advance, at pre-determined times• It can appear like you’re everywhere on social

media, with very little effort• Note: Social media needs a personal touch

too, you should use Buffer as a time management tool, not an alternative to doing social media properly

https://buffer.com/app

BufferHow to become smarter with your social media sharing

1: Multiple social media profiles

2: At-a-glance scheduling

3: I schedule posts then shuffle them to give a more random appearance across my social media channels

4: You can have content scheduled many days ahead on the paid plan

Facebook can be evil … sometimes!

http://www.paulteague.com/NFE

Stop checking Facebook while you’re writing

News Feed EradicatorHow to turn off terrible distractions

http://www.paulteague.com/NFE

Turn Off Notifications


Simple Time Management

Tricks

1 – It’s a massive time saver2 – It saves you typing and re-typing URLs

3 – It’s massively expandable4 – It’s better and faster than bookmarks

5 – All your social media sites exactly where you want them

Speed Dial

1 – Easy setup2 – It saves a lot of time

3 – It’s free4 – It’s secure

5 – It allows you to create and store deadly passwords 6 – You can use it on your mobile phone

7 – You can use it on any PC or tablet – it ‘follows’ you around

Note: Roboform and Dashlane are perfectly acceptable alternatives!

Password Management

1 – Send an email later2 – The best email follow-up reminders3 – Reminds you if you don't hear back4 – I use it several times everyday!5 – Great for managing social media follow-ups6 – Basic functionality is free

Boomerang

RescueTime

Monitor How you are

really spending your time

RescueTime doesn’t lie!

Goal Trackers

I use these on my mobile

phone top develop new

habits


CelebrateSuccess!


Target, track and monitor your progress …


Tick stuff off!

It’s really simple, but ticking stuff off gives you a sense of

progress, accomplishment and completion


Celebrate every time you …

• Hit a target• Finish a 1st draft

• Finish a 2nd/3rd/4th draft• Have some success – however

small• Publish a book• Finish your edits

Next Steps …

http://self-publishing-journeys.com

Podcast

Training

http://self-publishing-academy.com

http://self-publishing-journeys.com/

http://self-publishing-academy.com/

Download The Slides…

http://paulteague.com/OCT-alli

http://paulteague.com/OCT-alli

How To Create More Writing Time And Increase Your Productivity

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