Butt-In-The-Chair Time: How to Actually Show Up and Write Your Book

So you know you are called to write a book - Check.
You know what your book is going to be about - Check.
You know that it requires focused, dedicated time to do so - Check.

Now all that’s left is to actually do it! But what does that look like?

We can say all day long that we need to just sit down and write, but how do we actually build a writing routine that works? What gets our butt in the chair?

The first thing you need to do is look at your life: your schedule, your routine, where can you set aside time in your week to sit down and write.

Once you do that, it’s easy as pie, right?
Wrong.

The Hidden Time-Stealers

You need to think through the obstacles that may get in our way. Obviously you can’t predict everything that may distract or derail you (hello spiritual warfare), but take a look at some of these questions and see if they apply to you?

1. Do you work better at home or away from home? (see this article about the importance of your workspace) If you prefer writing away from home, you’ll need to factor in drive time, time waiting to get your coffee, etc.

2. Do you have a workspace ready? If your workspace is the kitchen table, then you’ll need to factor in time to clear it off and set up your laptop, notebook, drink. Etc.

3. Do you feel like you have too many tabs open in your brain to focus on writing? Create a “brain dump” before writing so that you can get all of those thoughts out of your head and onto paper, making way for creative ideas to flow.

4. Are you worried or concerned about a friend or family member who is going through a hard time? Take a few minutes to pray before writing. Not just for whatever is burdening your heart, but for your writing time. Start with God at the center.

5. Do you like to listen to music while you write? It may take time to find the right playlist (or your headphones). Or maybe your bluetooth headphones aren’t charged, meaning you have to go searching for another pair… see where I’m going with this?

Any number of these things can eat into your butt-in-the-chair writing time. But if you are aware of them, then you can either plan ahead (like charging your headphones the night before) or build that time into your schedule (like adding 30 minutes to your writing time to account for driving to the coffee shop to write).

Stay the Course

Any amount of time that you can spend in the chair and writing is time well spent. Even if you only write 100 words, it’s 100 more words than you wrote yesterday. Be as intentional as you can with the time that you set aside for yourself. Make no mistake that Satan will do whatever he can to derail you, but stay focused on the task at hand—delviering the message that God has asked you to deliver.

Need some accountability in the writing process? Book a call with me and we can chat about your project!