19

Master the Margin

I was talking to a client of mine—a naturopath—about how he was going to make time to do some of the marketing writing assignments I’d given him. He was considering seeing patients one less day a week so he could set aside a stretch of time for writing. But this seemed at odds with his goal of growing his business, which was why he was tackling these writing assignments in the first place.

I asked him if he ever had any down time between seeing patients. He thought about this and realized that though some days were entirely full, on many others he had anywhere from forty-five minutes to two hours of free time before the next appointment. I challenged him to sit down during every in-between time and do his homework then. I explained that he might actually find it easier to tackle this work in small chunks throughout the week. Sometimes a big chunk of time can overwhelm us and shut us down.

I know from working with writers and working with myself for the past twenty years that it’s easy to waste a full day that you’ve set aside for writing. It can be less intimidating to fit your writing time into the margins you already have. This can help you get a foothold into those wider expanses of time, should you be so fortunate to eventually create such opportunities.

I suppose what I’m saying is that I’ve come to see the sour grapes of being so busy as an opportunity for making wine. I believe that what most writers struggle with—fitting their projects into small slivers of time—can actually be an efficient way to piece together the whole pie.

The less time you have, the more compelled you will often be to make every minute count.

Not sure this could work for you? I have a few suggestions:

1. Use waiting time as writing time. Standing in line? Made it early to your appointment? Kids delayed after school? Keep a notebook and pen handy, and take the opportunity to write while you wait.
2. Embrace insomnia. Barbara Kingsolver wrote her first book entirely in the middle of the night while suffering from pregnancy-induced insomnia. I did, too. I’m not recommending sleeplessness as a life strategy, but when insomnia strikes, it might be because you have something important to say that’s trying to come through. Or it could be because you’re pregnant. But that’s another story.
3. Love the lulls. No matter how hard you work at your job, there are always spaces in between the work. Whether it’s during a lunch break, on your morning or evening commute, or while the computers are down for ten minutes, use those minutes to squeeze in some writing.
4. Set the alarm fifteen minutes earlier. Yep, that’s it. Just fifteen minutes. Write like mad before you do anything else.
5. Quit something. Whether it’s a committee, a regular social hour, or a time-consuming household chore that someone else could do, renegotiate that commitment. Put yourself first. Use those two hours a week to write.
6. Make the mindless tasks mindful. I have been walking dogs for the past seventeen years. I might consider this task a drain on my writing life, but instead it has become my most precious idea-generation time. The ideas and images that bubble up as I walk with my canine companions grow into blog posts, poems, classes, books. When you’re in the shower, washing dishes, or on the treadmill at the gym, pay attention to what moves through you. And make sure you write it down!
7. Ask your subconscious to solve it. Even when you don’t have a sliver of time to write, you may have a bit of available attention to devote to your writing process. Before going to sleep or setting off on your commute, try asking something specific of your subconscious. Are you struggling with a particular metaphor? Is a snippet of dialogue refusing to sing? Are you devoid of fresh ideas? You may be surprised by how much you can solve before returning to the page.
8. Baby your writing. When a baby cries, you don’t tell her, “I promised so-and-so I’d do such-and-such. I’ll be with you in about fifteen minutes.” You drop what you’re doing, figure out what the baby needs, and then give it to her. What if you gave your writing the same attention? What if you sprinted toward an index card every time a powerful image or phrase or snippet of dialogue presented itself, and then you took thirty seconds to get the words down, no matter how inconvenient it might be?
9. Be faithful to your muse. This tip completes the thought I started in the point above. Once you’re confident that you can count on yourself to take note of what’s coming through (and your muse shares your confidence), ideas and inspiration will flow more freely.
10. Appreciate yourself. No one but you will know how hard you’re working to carve out writing space. So it’s your job to appreciate every sliver of writing time you claim for yourself. Make a chart and give yourself stars, take yourself out for a drink, call your mother and brag—whatever works for you. Just make sure you find some way to take a step back and say, “Hey! My actions are in line with my values! I’m discovering ways to write in life’s margins on a regular basis! I can count on myself to get writing done!”

Mastering the margin can make the difference between writing and not writing—and it can give you real momentum toward reaching your goals.