REVENGE OF THE HACK

So. It's been a tough few months here. With fatherhood, marriage, a looming new dayjob and all kinds of other stuff going on around me, it's not left me much time to write a great deal. The time that I have had available to write has been going on my magazine work, my column and occasional reviews for other places. I just couldn't fit much else in, and I was wondering why that was.

I figured out that it wasn't that I was using my time badly, I'd just got it arranged badly. Does that make sense? Writers starting out often ask people how they find the time to write, and writers often point out there's always time that can be refocussed to your writing, but what if you've already cut away things like a social life or hobbies in order to put words into sentences for fun and profit?

What if, like me, you've already reached the point where you're getting plenty written but still feel like not a great deal is getting done?

The key, I am finding, is to look at how your schedule can be reworked and rearranged in order to make the time you do have available to write the best possible time to do so. If short bursts are your thing, then look at where you can find short periods of time in which to get something done.

I've found my commute to be a productive time thanks to the joys of tablet computing, but a notepad and pen works just as well, and won't distract you with games or checking Facebook. Think of it as a game of Tetris - everything has a place, you just need to turn the blocks around a few times to make it all work. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm back, and I'm back on track.

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