How to make time to write when you work full time
You’ve been thinking about writing that book. Or maybe there’s a personal essay you’ve wanted to tackle, an article you’ve been meaning to pitch, or a speech you’ve been dreaming of delivering.
There’s just one problem: You have a full-time job.
And by the time you’ve finished work, made dinner, taken care of your responsibilities, and finally sat down for a moment, the last thing you feel like doing is staring at another screen.
Sound familiar?
As a professional writer, I know how challenging it can be to find the time and mental energy for personal projects when you’re already juggling work, deadlines, and everything else life throws at you.
Here are seven strategies that have helped me and other writers I know make writing work around our schedules, energy levels, and other responsibilities.
1. Stop waiting to find time. Make time.
For years, I’ve found that one of the least effective ways to get my own writing done is to tell myself I’ll squeeze it in whenever I have a little free time.
Because you know what happens to those little pockets of time?
They disappear.
Another work assignment comes in. An email needs answering. A load of laundry calls my name. Before you know it, the day is over and you haven’t made any progress on your writing project.
When I’m juggling several clients or working on a particularly demanding contract, I often schedule two hours on a Saturday morning just for my own writing.
No client projects. No administrative tasks. Just writing.
I’ll tell my husband that I’m going to write from 10 a.m. to noon, and then we can enjoy the rest of our weekend together.
It’s not an enormous commitment, but it’s a deliberate one. And because I’ve made a plan, I’m much more likely to follow through.
The important thing is to choose a time that works for you.
Some writers love getting up early to write before work. I don’t. And after a full day of professional writing, my brain is usually too depleted to do much creative work, so I prefer to carve out a bit of time on a weekend when I feel fresh and focused.
Maybe you’re most creative late at night. Maybe Sunday afternoons are your sweet spot. Or perhaps you have one quiet hour during the week when the rest of your household is occupied.
Whatever it is, put it on your calendar and protect it as best you can. If you wait until everything else is done, you may be waiting a very long time.
2. Start small (and stop obsessing over word counts)
If you’re working full time, raising a family, caring for someone, or managing a particularly demanding season of life, finding two uninterrupted hours might feel impossible.
That’s okay. Start with 10 or 15 minutes.
You don’t have to finish an entire chapter or write a thousand words to make progress. Maybe today’s goal is to outline an article. Tomorrow, you write the introduction. The next day, you tackle three paragraphs.
By the end of the week, you might not have as much written as you’d hoped, but you’ll have a lot more than if you’d never set aside those 15 minutes.
I also think writers put far too much pressure on themselves to produce a certain number of words. Writing takes time. Good writing often takes even more time.
I’ve spent 20 minutes agonizing over a single sentence. Sometimes I’m rearranging a paragraph, experimenting with an opening, or trying to find exactly the right way to express an idea.
That work counts, too.
Word counts can be helpful if they motivate you, but they aren’t the only way to measure progress. A stronger introduction, a clearer argument, or a promising new direction can be just as valuable as another 500 words.
Give yourself permission to work at a pace that fits your life.
Writing takes time. Good writing often takes even more time.
3. Make use of the time you’re not writing
Here’s something that has made a big difference in my own writing practice: I don’t do all my creative thinking while I’m sitting at my desk.
I write in my journal daily while drinking my morning coffee. Sometimes it’s just a way to get my thoughts onto paper, but it’s also when I come up with some of my best ideas.
I also make notes when I’m walking outside or on the treadmill.
An interesting angle might occur to me. Or I’ll suddenly figure out how I want to phrase something I’ve been struggling with. Sometimes an entire opening paragraph starts taking shape in my head.
When that happens, I make a note so I don’t forget it.
You might not count this as dedicated writing time, but it’s an important part of the process.
After all, half the battle is figuring out what you want to say.
If you’re trying to make time for writing alongside a full-time job, think about the moments in your day when your mind is free to wander.
Maybe ideas come to you during your commute, while you’re washing dishes, or when you’re in the shower.
You don’t need to turn every spare moment into a productivity exercise, but when ideas naturally show up, capture them.
That way, when you finally sit down for your scheduled writing session, you’re not necessarily starting from a blank page.
4. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike
I once heard a fitness guru say that people always ask how she stays motivated to work out.
Her answer was that she doesn’t always feel motivated. Instead, she chalked it up to discipline. If you wait to exercise only when you feel motivated, you probably won’t show up all that often.
I think writing works much the same way.
It’s tempting to wait until you have a brilliant idea, feel particularly creative, or experience one of those magical moments when the words seem to flow effortlessly.
But if you only write when inspiration strikes… Well, you see where I’m going with this.
Over the years, I’ve realized that sometimes ideas come because you’re writing.
I’ll sit down with a vague notion of what I want to say, start putting words on the page, and discover something I hadn’t considered before.
Occasionally, I end up writing something entirely different from what I originally planned.
I like to say that sometimes the writing writes itself.
Of course, that doesn’t mean every writing session will be magical. Some days, you’ll struggle to string together a coherent paragraph. But you don’t need to know exactly where you’re going before you begin.
Sometimes you just need the discipline to start writing and see where it takes you.
5. Find someone who will hold you accountable
One of the most effective ways I’ve found to make progress on my own projects is to enlist another creative person for a writing session.
We’ll agree on a time to work, then check in with each other at the beginning.
I’ll say what I’m planning to work on. They’ll share their goal. Then we’ll go off and do our own thing.
At the end of our scheduled time, we report back on what we accomplished.
It’s remarkably simple, but the accountability makes a bigger difference than you might imagine.
I’ve seen the same principle at work with my writing coaching clients.
When someone hires me to help them develop an article, prepare a speech, or work through a writing project, we establish deadlines for getting drafts to me for review.
We meet to discuss ideas, work through challenges, and figure out what comes next.
Knowing that someone is expecting their work gives them an additional reason to sit down and do it.
Of course, you don’t need to hire a writing coach to benefit from accountability.
You could schedule a weekly writing session with a friend, join a writing group, or find an accountability partner.
The arrangement doesn’t have to be complicated. Just knowing that another person expects you to show up can be enough to get you moving.
6. Create the conditions that help you write
Sometimes creating an environment that’s conducive to creativity is just as important as making time to write.
I’ve seen firsthand how different writers approach this in wonderfully different ways.
Change your environment
I have a former client who would occasionally book a hotel or Airbnb for a weekend devoted entirely to writing.
No work obligations. No household chores staring him in the face. No everyday distractions.
Just uninterrupted time to think, write, and focus on his projects.
There’s also something to be said for investing money in that time. Once you’ve booked a place specifically to write, you have an extra incentive to make the weekend count.
This particular client has gone on to write for major national publications, deliver multiple TEDx talks, and build a successful speaking career.
Of course, those accomplishments came from his talent and hard work, not simply from booking hotel rooms, but intentionally creating space for writing was one way he supported those ambitions.
You don’t have to spend money on a weekend getaway to try something similar.
Maybe you spend a Saturday morning at the library, take your laptop to a quiet café, or find a peaceful spot in the park when the weather allows it.
A change of scenery might be all you need.
Create a writing ritual
I’m also a big believer in creating little rituals that help you get into a creative frame of mind.
For me, that might mean lighting a candle, making a cup of tea, grabbing a lap blanket, and settling into a comfy chair.
Cozy vibes, basically.
There’s something about that setup that helps me step into my identity as a writer. It feels like the version of writing I imagined when I first fell in love with the idea of being one.
Never mind that the reality often involves deadlines, messy drafts, messy hair, and staring at the same sentence for far too long.
A friend of mine even has a special pair of writing shoes. When she puts them on, she feels confident and creative.
I love that.
Maybe your ritual involves a particular playlist, a favorite notebook, or spending visualizing your goals before you start writing.
This is going to look different for everyone. What matters is finding a small way to signal to yourself that it’s time to write.
7. Make room for writing by making room elsewhere
Here’s a reality we can’t ignore: There are only so many hours in a day.
If you’re already working full time and managing a busy personal life, adding a writing practice means something else may need to shift.
That doesn’t necessarily mean making a permanent sacrifice, though.
I once heard someone say that you can have it all, but maybe you can’t have it all right now.
I like that perspective.
Maybe you spend a few months prioritizing a book proposal over a beloved hobby. Maybe you temporarily skip your Sunday brunch tradition while you’re preparing a speech or working toward a publication deadline.
You’re not giving up those other parts of your life forever. You’re deciding what deserves more of your attention at this moment in your life.
And if your finances allow, consider whether there are tasks you can outsource to create a little breathing room.
During especially busy periods, I order chef-prepared meals so I don’t have to spend as much time cooking.
One friend pays for childcare during dedicated work sprints. Another uses a laundry service that picks up her clothes, washes and folds them, and returns everything ready to put away.
That last one might sound like a small thing, but laundry has a way of interrupting your day over and over again.
Outsourcing frees up your time, sure, but it frees up your mental energy, too.
Obviously, these options aren’t financially realistic for everyone, and you certainly don’t need to pay someone to do your laundry to become a writer.
The point is to look at your responsibilities and ask whether there’s anything you can simplify, delegate, postpone, or temporarily take off your plate.
Sometimes making more time for writing has less to do with managing your writing sessions and more to do with managing everything around them.
Make time to write, but make time to live, too
If you’ve been struggling to make writing a priority, I think it’s worth asking yourself why you want to write in the first place.
Is it for personal fulfillment? To share your expertise? To leave something behind? To finally tell a story that’s been living in your head for years?
Is it something you’d deeply regret never pursuing?
Your answer matters because writing, like anything meaningful, requires some investment of time and energy.
If it’s important to you, I think it’s worth treating it that way.
That said, I also want to make something clear: I would never tell a busy writer to always choose writing over everything else.
Remember those Saturday morning writing sessions I schedule?
If a special occasion comes up or I have an opportunity to do something I might never get to experience again, I’ll happily move my writing session to Sunday. Or I might even skip it altogether.
That’s life. And life is where so many of our best stories begin.
You can take your writing seriously without making it the center of every decision.
Maybe that means writing for 15 minutes a day or two hours every Saturday. Maybe that means a recurring writing date with a friend or an occasional weekend away.
Find what works for you and give yourself permission to adjust as life changes.
Make time to write, but don’t forget to make time for the life you’re writing about.