Every day can feel like a whirlwind with little time to fit anything in, especially your writing. So how can you find time to write? One way is to be creative and open to change. If your life is busy than you have to get creative with how you can fit writing into your day. Being open to change means you know that something in your daily routine is holding you back from achieving your writing goals and you’re willing to try something different. Although ultimately the key to finding time is different for all of us, the end goal is the same: writing more.

So to help you, here are six tips on how to find time to write:

1. Schedule it. It sounds easy and it is. But you have to commit to that block of time just like you would any other appointment.
2. Track it. Now that you are scheduling your writing time, keep track of the time that you are writing every day. You can even break it down into writing activities such as research, reading, and writing exercises. Tracking your time will make you more accountable to yourself and help you really see how much time you are devoting to your writing. Trust me, this will lead to more writing time because you won’t want to look at a blank tracking sheet.
3. Always carry a notebook/laptop/tablet. Have 15 minutes before an appointment? Start writing. Commuting to and from work on the train? Start writing. Have 10 minutes in-between classes? You guessed it, start writing. Wherever you go bring a piece of your writing project with you. That way, anytime you have waiting time you can be working on it. Little bits of time every day will add up.
4. Reevaluate your priorities. Are you spending two hours every night watching TV? What if you cut that time to one hour or even one and a half hours? You would still get downtime and 30 minutes of writing in.
5. Get up earlier. Not everyone loves early mornings, but if it means bringing that writing project to completion and becoming published, isn’t it worth a few early mornings? If everyone else in your household is up at 6 a.m. set your alarm for 5:15 a.m. That gives you enough time for a cup of coffee, a solid 30 minutes of writing, and maybe even a few minutes to yourself before everyone else is up.
6. Cut distractions and be honest with yourself. Are you really working on moving your writing forward or are you browsing the Internet and checking your Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Google+/Academia.edu page? If so, shut off your Internet connection or try an app like Freedom that locks you from the Internet for a period of time. If it’s anything in your house that is distracting you, go to a coffee shop or the library. Whatever your distraction is, identify it and move away from it.