My writing students laugh when I bring out a kitchen timer shaped like a plastic hamburger. But I have found that hamburger to be a great helper in timing our writing exercises. Everyone knows that when it rings, it's time to finish that last couple of sentences and share what they came up with. No one can argue that I shorted them on time, and it keeps the opening exercise from eating up so much class time that we can't finish the day's lecture or critique each other's stories.
Most of these students would be surprised at how often I put the hamburger to work in my own office. There is something about having a limited amount of time that makes a person stop procrastinating and start writing. Back in my newspaper days, when the editor was waiting for my story, I didn't have time to complain about lack of inspiration. Now that my deadlines are more flexible, I don't always feel like writing. But if I set the timer for 30 minutes, telling myself that I only have to write that long, it gets me started. Usually when the hamburger dings, I keep writing. It's like somebody saying, "Ready, set, go!" And you do. Once you get those first words down, you're on your way, but if you don't leave the starting block, you will never get to the finish line.
There are other ways a timer can jumpstart your writing. For example, a website called [http://www.oneword.com] gives you a new word every day and 60 seconds to write about it. The instructions tell you: don't think, just write. Some wonderful stories have started with that one word and one minute.
But this column is supposed to be about everything but writing. The timer can definitely help with the non-writing parts of the business, too. It's easy to get 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, make a few phone calls, straighten up the office and get ready to write, it's time to go to work, the kids are home from school, or the urge to write has trickled away.
Time to bring out the plastic hamburger. I 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 leave 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 keeping up with the various newsletters, forums and blogs to which we subscribe. It's addictive, and it's easier than actually writing. But suddenly you're out of time, and all you've written is e-mail--which does not count.
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. If a correspondent needs information that will take time to research, tell them you'll get back to them later. After you write, you can reward yourself with more time online.
While we're limiting e-mail time, it helps to tell your regular online correspondents what time you usually write and urge them to shame you back to work if they catch you e-mailing them during that time. That applies to me, too. If you find me on the message board before noon, ask me if I have done my writing for the day.
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 and an idea is screaming to get loose, start writing and put off everything else for another time. You can always find 15 minutes to read the mail, but you can't always find a great story that needs to be told right now.
Gotta go. My hamburger is ringing.
Copyright 2005 Sue Fagalde Lick
About the Author: SUE FAGALDE LICK is a former newspaper editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has published four books, countless articles and many poems and stories. She teaches writing workshops online and at Oregon Coast Community College. Visit her web site at http://www.suelick.com.
Use That Kitchen Timer to Keep Your Writing Work on Track
