Writing more in less time
November 15, 2010Thanks to Windows Phone 7 for sponsoring this post. See the end of the post for details on a Windows Phone 7 giveaway.
Windows asked me to write about doing more with less, so last night I decided that instead of making chocolate chip cookies, I'd simply shovel chocolate chips in my mouth. That's less, after all. That didn't quite satisfy, however, even after I let the chips sit in there for a while and melt. I considered adding some butter, but that seemed like too much work, frankly.
Then I realized I really like peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies so I shoveled some peanut butter in my maw as well. And what do you know? That was better than some stupid cookies. Better = MORE!
A quiet voice in the back of my sugar-addled mind told me that I was possibly not quite getting the concept of doing more with less, so I stopped to consider how the concept applied to my life. Then I fell asleep. But this morning I woke up, as one does, and my first thought was, "I have a half-hour to write this post." My second thought was, "Thank GOD." Because a small window of time is the only way I can get any writing done. And I do believe that's doing more with less, Windows! BLAMMO!
There is nothing that will murder any chance of productivity for me like waking up to an obligation-free, unscheduled day. Henry's going straight to a playdate after school and won't be home until 6, I have a slow work week, and I'm out of errands to run? Well, I tell myself, that means I have hours in which to consort with the muse, obviously! I'll sit down at my computer and oh, the places my mind will go! I have all the time in the world to write the best blog post ever written. No--five of the best blog posts ever written. Or I'll finally finish that novel I began in 1996. Hell, I can do all of these things. I have all the time in the world!
But when I sit down at my computer with all that emptiness stretching ahead of me, panic sets in. That's a lot of time. I need to get a lot done, in that much time. And it better be good, too, because I have no reason to phone it in. I have time. Time means quality. If I write something terrible, that means I'm a terrible writer. Crap. I'm hungry.
So I decide to make breakfast. And since I have all these hours ahead of me, I have time to make myself a real breakfast. No need for a bowl of cereal, like some rushed breakfast-eating chump. But before I do that, I should check Twitter and see what's going on. Oh, look, someone linked to a funny video! Thank goodness I have time to watch it, as I have so very much time. And look, there are all these related, also funny videos! I never noticed how many videos there are of kitty cats flushing toilets. Those are always fun. I normally don't have time to watch those, as I'm rushing about.
Then I look up and it's eight hours later and Henry is home from his playdate and I'm still in my bathrobe.
I am convinced, after all these years, that the two most useful tools in my writing arsenal are: 1) limited time and 2) low expectations. If I have four hours to write, I will expect greatness, or at least quality, and my chattering brain will be consumed with what "quality" means and whether or not I'm approaching it, and as a result I'll avoid work. I'll dawdle and daydream and check my email like it's the only thing keeping me alive. If I have an hour, however, I don't have time for these shenanigans. I have to focus. If I have a half-hour, my fingers better keep moving around that keyboard and words had better be appearing on screen, or I'm screwed.
Even when I have only fifteen minutes, I can get some quality work done. If I can sit down and still the endless chatter in my brain, when those fifteen minutes are up, I find that I've made more progress on a project than I had all week. Because I don't expect much from fifteen minutes. All I expect is a few paragraphs, and maybe to have gained some momentum. And sometimes that's all I need.
So hey, if you want a Windows Phone 7 of your very own, you can win one right here! To enter, leave a comment of 25 words or more about how you do more when you have less time. You've got until November 29 (midnight PT) and you can enter once a day. On the 29th, I'll pick a winner using random.org and post it here. Here are the official, long-winded rules about this contest.
Reader Comments (299)
@finslippy yep. less time = more shi*t done. More time = more procrastination, surfing, angry birds...
I'm a screenwriter and churn out a lot of pages (this says nothing about the quality of those pages). My fellow screenwriting/film friends often ask me how I'm able to do this. I always answer: I'm able to do this because I have a kid and I don't have the time NOT to write. The more jam-packed my day, the more obligations I have, the more I focus when it matters. Nothing motivates me like panic and a cup of coffee.
I often have less time than I would like. Right now I don't have a lot of time, so I'm not quite sure why I am even bothering to comment. Seeing as how this contest is only open to residents of the 50 US states and DC, I can't even win the free phone.
At any rate, it seems that the less time I have, the more things that people want me to do in that time. I don't work well under pressure, so this is very irritating. I wish I could think of a way to make it stop.
How do I do more when I have less time? Let's see: I keep lists, I multitask and I cut corners. That's right. I CHEAT. I make boxed dinners on those days, I mass-email folks (and I know they hate it, but I got it done!). And I try to stick to my list. Sometimes, I'm actually successful! WIN!
Most definitely. Deadlines are my friends. I am a world-class procrastinator but when the clock is ticking, I can focus like no other!
I was never more productive than when I was in law school. I was insanely busy but I always seemed to get everything done. Now that I'm at home with my son, it's a major accomplishment if I actually get dressed. The difference is amazing.
I am one of those people who works much much better under pressure. When I have less time, I tend to drop everything distracting and buckle down in a way I can't even describe. Of course, this usually means I stop eating and sleeping in order to work my fingers to the bone. Which maybe isn't helpful. Or healthy. But hey, I didn't fall asleep into my property book last night, so that was something!
It is indeed an odd phenomenon, that when I have a ton of things scheduled, I get more done, and that swathes of free time result in little or nothing. Yet I still crave those swathes.... Hmm. The really unfortunate thing is that even though they're productive, I can't do too many of those overloaded days in a row without burning out. Too bad.
I too am a jackrabbit waiting to dash across the road when i see the headlights coming. it's when I do my best work . . .
I'm totally with you -- I do my best and most efficient work when I'm pressed for time! And the reward is that at the end of the day I feel great, having accomplished "all that!"
The idea then, I guess, is to take on more projects than one can possiblly handle -- oh wait, no, that's a recipe for disaster. I am still trying to figure out what the correct algorithm for time needed/work completed/life in balance is.
"Need something done? Give it to a busy person."
Thanks for a thoughtful and well written post.
Joan Oliver Emmer
http://www.joanbodyofwork.blogspot.com
I work full-time, Dad is a full-time student (military vet) and baby is 9 months old. If each day we laugh, are safe, fed, slept, and healthy - Its a good day!
Thanks!
I am a firm believer in doing more with less time. A speaker I heard at a conference once said, "A project will expand to fill as many hours as you give it." So true. If I give myself five years to write a novel, it will take five years. If I sign up for NaNoWriMo and have a month, it will take a month. As for daily stuff, I force myself to go to bed by midnight, so anything that needs done has to happen in the 6 hours between when i get home and when I go to sleep.
My problem with having lots of time to do something is that I have lots of time to dread doing that thing, and tell myself how awful it's going to be, how boring, and how long it's going to take. When I have no time I just do the thing and then I'm done.
In college, I once wrote a paper at the last minute and got a decent grade and some encouraging comments. So for the next paper I figured I'd get my act together, take my time, and really focus....and got a C-. Yeah, no more planning for this girl!
I am in grad school - with a toddler and a newborn -- and I find that the deadline, not the nap time, is what gets me motivated. I am currently procrastinating doing an essay for class. (Thanks for the fun diversion!) My baby is asleep in his swing, and I still can't get motivated to write this thing. But I guarantee the closer it gets to my 9 pm deadline, the more productive I will be!
Less is more in Mommy time too! My son just started wrestling which has effectively cut 3 hours out of my evenings. THREE HOURS. We have never been more organized. Sigh...
I'm like you. If I don't have a deadline's blade hovering over my neck, I will find creative ways to procrastinate. But if I have 10 minutes to create something, my adrenaline-fueled brain will come up with the most amazing things.
I am a stay at home mom, (starting a few months ago), and I find that if I make myself a to do list at the beginning of the day, and then wait until 20 minutes before my husband gets home, I can usually rip through my to do list and look like I've accomplished soooo much that day, when in fact I have mostly been not accomplishing much at all. Isn't that efficient of me?
Thre is no better motivator than a deadline. Why do the work in advance? I'd just end up making changes and second-guessing myself... and having enough time for others to suggest inclusions, revisions, etc.... which is just enough time for the whole project to be done a second time. So why waste your energy the first time? Honestly, in my world, doing it early guarantees that it will need to be redone... whether it is something as simple as making a bed, or something complicated like a work project. Working up against a deadlines guarantees focus and clarity... because there is no time for anything else.
One of my friends told me, right before I had my baby, that procrastination would no longer be an option, so it wouldn't happen. Now that I do have my hands full with an infant, a full time job, a marriage and a stepson, I panic when I have free time, because most likely, I'm just forgetting something.
Alice! this is my first comment....I believe. ah how a contest forces us lurkers to de-lurk! so, being new, I wanted to start by saying I *ADORE* your blog and your writing. the new layout is snazzy, and you're consistently funny and fun to read. sooooo. thanks.
as for less=more. I absolutely thrive on deadlines, without a deadline a job doesn't get done. in college I would put off papers until the very last minute, I would WANT to write drafts and start early like other students, but I just couldn't make myself write that way. and now in my job it's the same way. if someone asks me to do something RIGHT NOW It's done quickly and to the best of my ability, but if there's no deadline....it might still be sitting on the corner of my desk a year later untouched (I have very important blogs to read!)!
Apologies to the Windows folks, but I don't really believe there is such a thing as doing more with less. There are just efficiencies, and clear priorities that help you do exactly what you need to do when you need to do it.
That said, my primary time management technique is giving myself enough time to rest -- by which I mean both get enough sleep and take quality breaks. I find when I'm well-rested I have the willpower and mental stamina to focus on the work I have to do.
And scheduling fun stuff means I don't have those endless windows of time to get things done. If I have just 30 minutes before I have to meet a friend for coffee, and I know I'll have much more fun if I finish my work before I go, you'd better believe I will knock that work out so I can go play.
Oh how timely to have read this post as I sit here, 'working' from home and realize it's already 11am and I've accomplished exactly nothing except catching up with my favorite blogs (which I never have time to do during the day!) and watching last night's episode of Brothers and Sisters on Hulu (because I started it at 8am! leaving me plenty of time to do my real work!), and, oh, during the commercials just browsing on Etsy to see whether they have any cute personalized Christmas stockings and maybe also just popping over to that other site featuring cute retro address labels.
*worried frown* I don't think I want a new smart phone.
I guess for me it's all about prioritizing the things that matter and those that don't Then just make it work. No hand-wringing, no complaining (okay, a little complaining), just get it done. Mostly it works for me.
And don't even try to impose your own short deadlines -- that doesn't work either! I have four things to do this month -- that makes it one per week! Yeah! I'll just start one thing on Monday and finish it by Friday!
No.
It. Does. Not. Happen.
So -- I end up in the last week of the month doing three things, not four, and very very tired.
What's the solution? Just tell myself to do three things? I have no idea. I'm working on that. Or, maybe I should tell myself I can do 12 things, since, alas, I did three things in one week, and I have three other unproductive weeks to use! Hmmm, the wheels are turning.