Saturday, July 2

Ten Minutes

During my vacation, I was able to complete over thirty glorious hours of writing and editing. However, "real life" has returned, and finding the time or energy to write has become a problem. In the last two weeks, I logged less than a hour on Unclean, and while I could list my perfectly reasonable excuses for why that is, it wouldn't solve my problem, which is I have to make progress on this second draft.

What's a girl to do?

I wasn't sure. Until I read a blog post by the awesome Lynn Blackburn. Lynn, who is a wife, a mom, a friend, and a writer, was having the same issues. So she shared this with another author who challenged her to work on her novel ten minutes a day.

Ten minutes?

That feels absolutely possible. Even when I feel exhausted. Even during a day filled with chores, bill paying, and errands. And even during a long day with Miss Thing.

That's what Lynn thought too.

So she challenged herself to write ten minutes every day in July and assess her progress at the end of the month, and I've decided to join her. Of course, I plan to write more than that on my weekly writing day, but if I can't because of circumstances outside of my control, I will still have at least five hours and ten minutes of editing complete at the end of the month.

And that sounds great to me.

What about you? Are you feeling stifled by life's demands? Do you wish you could clear more time on your schedule to do something God has gifted you with, something you love?

Want to join me?

4 comments:

Lynn Huggins Blackburn said...

Yeah!!! I'm so glad you're going to be doing this with me. I can't wait to see your results. I'm on Day 12 and it really is amazing what you can get done in 10 minutes a day! :-)

Charity Tinnin said...

Lynn, I'm so glad you shared the idea, and I'm grateful for someone to do it with as well :)

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Good luck with your 10 minute challenge! I think that's a great way to make sure you find the focus (and then the time will follow). :)

Charity Tinnin said...

Thanks Sue! It's proved so helpful this week. I've managed to log more than 10 minutes every day which is a leap forward for me during my workweek, and it keeps me thinking about the story throughout the week so when Friday comes, I'm already in the mindset to sit down and get going!