Three Ways Students Can Balance Their Writing and Academic Lives

Pursuing an educational goal and keeping up with your creative writing isn’t the most easiest task in the world. School can become so overbearing that it forces us to prioritize it over our creativity. Although this choice may seem responsible at the time, it’s really an avenue towards a more stressful dilemma: unproductively.

In order to keep myself from feeling unproductive, I do the following three things:

 

1. KNOW THY SCHEDULE

In fiction, thieves usually spend a bit of time scoping out a territory before infiltrating it. They discover all the possible entrances, emergency escape routes, and the precise moment the guard jabs his finger into his nose.

Ok, you wont be doing any of that; however, it’s still a good idea to analyze your day-to-day schedule.

You may also want to spend some time (I recommend a week) learning your instructor’s routine:

• Do they arrive early, late, or on time to class?
• Do they open the doors early?
• Do they give breaks midway into their lecture?

Analyze your routine, too:

• How long does it take you to study? (If you have to, time yourself)
• What are some of your other responsibilities?
• When do you have breaks?

 

2. BATTLE PLAN

Now that you have a general idea of your academic week, see if you can squeeze some writing in. Can you…

• Write during class breaks?
• Get up really early to write?
• Take a ten minute homework break to jot down some ideas?

Come up with a monthly wordcount goal and break it down into chunks. Also, see if you can schedule small writing sessions during the day.

 

3. EXECUTE

By following the above steps, your current dilemma may shift from “I don’t have time to write” to “I’m too darn tired to write!” The solution to this problem is simple: suck it up and write.

 

SOME EXTRA TIPS

• Don’t prioritize your creative projects below your school work. Make them equal.
• Carry a notepad with you (or some word processing device) to jot down ideas that you may have throughout the day.
• Find time to read for fun.
• If your schedule is ruined by some unforeseen circumstance, don’t freak out. Reschedule and keep writing.

 

What do you think? If you could add something to this method, what would it be? If you tried this method, how did it work for you?