There's Always Time to Write

This article is an exploration of the concept I touched on in the poem, I Write Everywhere. But it also came from a realization I had one day when writing one particularly lengthy comment on Facebook. Two things came from this comment. First, was “wow” how long is this comment. It ended up being 300 plus words. The second was, well if I have time to sit and write a 300 plus word comment, I have time to write 300 or more words a day towards finishing a story, or writing some poems. So, then, what was I doing with my time? Clearly nothing as productive as I could be. So what did this mean to me? It meant that it was time for me to take my own advice. And that’s what I started to do.

First thing was to reframe how I thought about where I write. Yes, I’ve always jotted notes on random papers, the back of a receipt, in my phone, etc. Anywhere I could really. But it was time to change what I do with those notes.

You see, I used to write a short poem. Or a start of one. Or the idea for an article, and then let it sit somewhere. Or over-think whether or not I should publish it. Am I the right person to write this? So on and so forth. Thus, so many things have sat in notebooks, or other random places. Never to see the light of day. What a waste.

Or sometimes I would think something was too private. Or worry how it would be received. But then I realized. I often get comments from people saying that I write how they feel. Or they wish someone would tell them something like what I wrote. Which turned into me realizing that I can make someone’s day better just by publishing something that I used to be cautious about. And that’s become a major motivation for why I do my best to write everyday.

Do I take days off? Absolutely. Do I find it hard to write everyday? Sometimes. Although, now that I’ve been doing it more and more, it has become easier. Even if it’s one short poem, I do my best to write something everyday. And if it’s short enough, like a poem, or I feel it is complete, I publish it, rather than holding on to it and over thinking whether or not I should let other people see it.

The other motivation for me attempting to write everyday has been time utilization. Like I talked about at the beginning, if I have time to sit and write a 300 plus word comment, I have time to write 300 or more words a day towards something more important.

I know this may sound negative to some. Like some kind of “if you have time to lean, you have time to clean” attitude. But here’s the reality. Ask yourself, what are you doing with your time? This applies to life in general. You don’t have to be a writer or want to be a writer for any of this thought process to apply. I’ve met many people that want to get more fit, or want to be a professional painter. But then you ask them what they do in their free time, and it has little or nothing to do with furthering that goal. We often spend our lives filling it with the lives of others' accomplishments. This isn’t always a bad thing. For instance, I took this last week off from writing for the most part. Mainly because I was visiting my family. But also part of visiting my family was catching up on some shows that I’ve been wanting to watch. Also, if you’re a writer that likes to do reviews of entertainment, then you’re going to be doing a little of both.

However, this becomes a problem when all you ever talk about is your dreams, rather than doing something to work towards them. It also becomes a problem when most of your free time is consumed with arguing with strangers on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, being in a social media group, or chat room where you talk about your favorite things can be healthy. But don’t let it be all consuming.

That’s why I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s always time to write. Why? Because if I can make time for all of the other things that seem important, but aren’t in the end. Or worse, distract me from achieving my goals, then what am I doing with my time but wasting it. So, I would encourage anyone reading this, especially writers, to think about what you do with your time. You don’t have to be like me, sometimes choosing to do my cardio for 30 minutes on a stationary bike instead of running because it allows me to write while working out. But hopefully this article helps you reframe your mindset around your writing or achieving any other goal.

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