Finding The Most Productive Time To Write

And Becoming Super Focused to Get The Most Out of That Time

Photo by Kevin Ku on Unsplash

Is there a time of day when you write best? I ask myself this all them time. When I’m teaching at the university, I write when I can. I don’t have the luxury to choose the best time.

Over the years, I’ve trained myself to work mostly at night because that’s when I get home and have time to sit in my office with my novel. At this time, I’m not disturbed by family because they’re all doing their own thing. When I was under deadlines and had to produce books by the date promised, I used to sit with my cup of coffee and write until I couldn’t stay awake any longer.

Now, that I’m home, at least until the fall semester begins and I go back to the classroom, my schedule is not as structured. If I want to write in the morning, I can. But I find that I still end up writing at night. My day is filled with curriculum planning, teaching, grading and some exercise to stay healthy. And I leave writing for the end, including writing my blog.

I’ve been asking myself why I do that. Shouldn’t I do what brings me the most joy first? My brain power should be stronger in the morning, so shouldn’t I use it for writing?

So, today, that’s the first thing I did. I’m in the final editing stage of my novel before it goes to an editor. I got up and followed my normal morning routine, then worked on my novel for about three hours.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

When I finished, I asked myself how I felt, and the answer was, I felt great! Spending time with my characters and my book at the beginning of the day was wonderful because I’ve accomplished my writing goal for the day. And writing fiction always puts me in a good mood. It’s like doing meditation; when I stop writing, I feel like I’ve been in another world. And I kind of have.

Will I keep this up in the coming days? Maybe, I’m going to give it a try. The truth, though, is that I like writing at night. I get my second wind in…