Dear Hustle,
Honey, if I had a dollar for every bright-eyed writer who burst into January like Gatsby throwing glitter-bombed parties, I’d have enough to hire Brenda Ueland as my personal writing coach—and she’s been dead since 1985. (If you don’t know who Brenda Ueland is, I heartily recommend her book If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit.)
Listen up, sugar: Time management for writers with day jobs is like trying to juggle flaming typewriters while riding a unicycle. On ice. In stilettos. But fear not—Indie Annie’s got your back.
First, throw out that “I’ll write when I feel inspired” nonsense. Here’s the tea: Inspiration is like that flaky friend who says they’ll help you move but never shows up. The “perfect time” to write is a mythical beast, and you’ve got to work with what you’ve got, my dear. If you’re freshest at 5 a.m., fantastic! Channel your inner Hemingway, minus the bourbon. Night owl? Wonderful! Embrace your inner Virginia Woolf, minus the rocks in your pockets, please.
Talking about unnecessary accessories, what about that phone of yours? It’s more dangerous to your word count than a red pen in the hands of your middle school English teacher. During your designated writing time, that phone needs to be far, far away from you. If possible, turn it off. At the very least, put notifications on mute and lay it screen down, out of sight.
Then make the time you have available work as much as possible. Break your goals into manageable chunks. Want to write 80,000 words this year while working full time? That’s about 220 words a day, sweet pea. Even Shakespeare had to write Hamlet one “to be or not to be” at a time.
Here’s another gem, polished by years of deadline-induced panic: Learn to write in the cracks of your day. Lunch break? That’s a chapter. Waiting at the dentist? That’s a scene. Stuck in traffic? Voice notes, baby (just not while driving—Indie Annie promotes creativity, not casualties). Think of these moments like literary tapas—small bites that add up to a feast. Consider joining a writing group for accountability, and use writing sprints like they’re going out of style to make the most of every minute.
The secret sauce? Routine, routine, routine. Treat your writing time like it’s non-negotiable. Your muse needs to know when to show up, like training a cat to expect dinner—except this cat pays your royalties.
In regard to juggling those other pieces of the publishing world, batch your tasks like you’re meal-prepping for your brain: one day for drafting, one for social media, one for editing. And please, for the sake of all that’s holy in the publishing world, back up your work. Nothing kills productivity quite like losing 50,000 words because your laptop did its best Titanic impression.
If anyone says you can’t write a bestseller while working a day job, remind them that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein while basically being a single mom on tour with a bunch of melodramatic poets. If she could create a masterpiece amid that chaos, you can absolutely knock out your Romance novel between TPS reports.
And yes, darling, you absolutely need that planner. And that coffee. And that backup coffee. And if all else fails, remember: Chocolate is a business expense for writers. I don’t make the rules; I just share them.
Now go forth and write, my determined little wordsmith. Make 2025 your year to shine brighter than a newly formatted manuscript.
Happy writing,
Indie Annie x
