Time management is important in virtually all aspects of life, but it’s particularly important to writers. I was at a booksigning earlier today and someone asked about finding the time to write. I replied with my standard advice: try to write at least two pages every day, which, as any writer knows, is easier said than done. But the sad fact remains, if you want to be a writer, you have to write. If you wait until you’re in the mood, it’ll take you forever to finish a book. If you make the effort to do those two pages a day, at the end of a year you’ll have a complete novel-length manuscript. And of course, some days you can write yourself into the mood for writing and produce more than just the standard two pages. I attended a signing by prolific author, Joe Lansdale, years ago and he mentioned that he still made time to write even when he was working three jobs. Joe’s accomplishments are legendary.
The most jobs I’ve ever had at one time was five, and that wasn’t for very long. My main job was on the police department, but I often worked a bunch of security gigs on the side. This was usually during the Christmas shopping season and a couple of the jobs were seasonal, but still a bit grueling. Standing by as an armed and highly paid Walmart Greeter the day after Thanksgiving was both tedious and tiring, especially that one year when the store manager demanded that we check every receipt going out the door. Another one, standing guard at Chuckie Cheese meant spending the entire time on my feet and checking the stamped hands of kids and their adult escorts. Did you know that there’s a You-Tube site that specializes in videos of fights at Chuckie Cheese? We used to informally call the gig “working for the rat.” I disliked that one so much I called it “blood money.” Another one wasn’t so bad. All I had to do was simply pick up some money bags from various schools and take them to the bank. That one was a piece of cake because I got paid for two hours regardless of how much time it took me. Naturally, I didn’t dally and usually accomplished the task in under an hour, but I varied my route and always kept my eyes open. Falling into a standard routine would have invited trouble, especially with a bunch of money bags locked in the trunk. But having a routine isn’t always such a bad thing. Thinking back to my college days, I worked one summer delivering tires to gas stations around the city of Chicago. I recall getting “schooled” by one of the experienced delivery drivers that first day. The “routine” he showed me was to rush through the route, and then take an extended lunch, making sure we didn’t arrive back at the tire store until it was close to quitting time. “Ya see,” he said, “if we get back early, the boss’ll put us to work busting tires in the garage.” He grinned and sipped his milkshake. I remember he was missing some important teeth. When I got on my own, however, I began returning to the store and pitched in working in the garage to help out the other guys. The gap-toothed regular was none too pleased to hear that I was able to get the route completed in half the time it took him, but I explained it was all about keeping busy. There was always something to do, and wasting time sitting in a fast food joint and getting paid for it wasn’t for me. I found that I felt better if I had something to do. I suppose it helped shape my work ethic, which carried over to my police career and my writing life. Some might argue that I should have used the down time at the restaurants to do some writing, and if I had to do it all over again, I might have tried that. I certainly could have gotten a lot written. And for a writer, that’s what it’s all about. I remember reading an interview with Louis L’Amour, who was one of the most prolific writers of the last century.
“How have you been able to write so much?” the interviewer asked.
L’Amour smiled and replied, “You ask my how I’ve produced so much… I look at myself and ask, why have I produced so little?”
Now he was a writer’s writer.
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