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4 Unusual Ways To Get More Writing Done · The Daily Writer

• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everybody to the Born to Create podcast.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders, and I'm your host.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author, musician, and teacher, but most importantly, I'm a husband and a dad.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the show we talk about practices, habits, and strategies that help us live out our creative calling.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 15, and today we're going to be talking about four unusual ways to get more writing done.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the post that accompanies this episode, as well as all the links at Kent Sanders.net slash unusual.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Picture this.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: A writer sits down at his desk to knock out his word count for the day.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: It might be a chapter of a book, a blog post, or some freelance writing.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: He glances at his calendar and sees that he has four uninterrupted hours of writing time.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: He makes good use of the time, indulging his imagination for several hours.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: No one is texting, emailing, calling, or otherwise bothering him.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: The words are pouring out of the pen like there's no tomorrow.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's a blissful block of time when he's accomplished more than he set out to do.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: He leans back in his chair, basking in the glow of his creative output.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, the room goes dark, and he sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes and wondering what happened.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was all a dream.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is exactly how most writers view a large block of writing time.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: A dream that has no basis in reality.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us lead very busy lives filled with jobs, family commitments, and church or community responsibilities.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: We're all struggling to get our writing finished and make a difference in the world with our words.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So how do you get it done?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: How do you actually navigate the busyness of life and complete the writing that's so important to you?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: The answer is that you must be intentional about using your time.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Despite feeling busy, most of us have more time available than we realize.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: The issue is that we don't really consider some of that time to be quote unquote writing time.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: If your goal is to have huge uninterrupted blocks of time sitting at a desk writing at your computer, you might get frustrated when it magically doesn't appear.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: However, if you're willing to take advantage of some unorthodox ways to get your writing done, this episode is for you.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Here are four unusual writing methods that work for me.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is driving.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's usually not a good idea to mess with your phone while driving, and for good reason.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Many accidents are caused by distracted drivers.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: In Missouri where I live, it's still legal to use your cell phone while you're driving.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: However, that's not the case in all states.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: One way to safely take advantage of your smartphone features is by using hands-free dictation.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: On my iPhone, I can set up Siri to respond to commands when I say, Hey Siri.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And just a side note, the phone has to be plugged into the card charger to enable this feature.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So what I can do is say, Hey Siri, then I can ask Siri to create an email to myself.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I prefer to use my Evernote email address, so it sends the message directly into Evernote.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: When you do that, you can use the speech recognition software on your phone to dictate the content of the email.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a nice system.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to touch your phone at all, you just talk to your phone.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have an iPhone, you say Siri, and then it records a transcription of the message and it sends it into Evernote.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So pretty cool deal.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I really wish Apple would release some type of integration between Siri and Evernote.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: That would solve a whole bunch of problems.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: But in the meantime, this is a decent solution that's very workable.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is exercising.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Depending on what kind of exercise you do, it's easy to use dictation on your phone to capture writing ideas.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you're doing an intense workout, it may not work as well.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're walking or riding a stationary bike, using dictation is a snap.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to making good use of time, there's another benefit to writing while exercising.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: It also increases your creativity.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great time to let the ideas flow.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Number three is waiting.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: We spend a good chunk of our days waiting.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: We wait for a class or an event to start, we wait for something to be over, we wait to pick up someone, or we wait in line.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: On most days, I pick up my son from school and spend fifteen to twenty minutes waiting in the car line.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So how can you take advantage of this time?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you can get some writing done.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: I recently installed the Scrivener iOS app on my phone, and I absolutely love it.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: I love Scrivener on my Mac and I love it on iOS as well.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's the perfect mobile writing tool, and it syncs with the desktop app flawlessly.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you can use email, Evernote, or the Notes app as well, or whatever your favorite note-taking app is on your phone, but Scrivener has quickly become my mobile writing tool of choice.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, number four is meetings.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, hear me on this.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying it's okay to mentally check out of meetings you're required to attend, nor am I saying that all meetings are a waste of time.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: However, the fact remains that in most organizations, meetings take up a lot of time and they're not always run very effectively.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you're ever in meetings where topics are discussed that have little relevance to you, this could be a great time to jot down some writing ideas.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: I always carry a notebook or a legal pad with me to meetings, and I'm constantly writing down ideas and outlines for content.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean you're not engaged in the meeting, it just means that you're ready to do a little writing when discussion topics arise that don't require your input.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to get more writing done, you're going to have to be intentional and think creatively about little pockets of time and opportunities to write that maybe you hadn't thought of before.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us don't have large blocks during the day where we don't have other stuff going on, so we have to take advantage of the little chunks of time that life throws at us.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: These four ideas will help you get more writing done in spaces that you probably already have during the day.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're intentional about using them, you'll be amazed at how much writing you can actually get done.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: What are some effective or unusual ways that you get your writing done?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear your thoughts.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can join the conversation and find the post and the links that accompany this episode at KentSanders.net slash unusual.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: When you visit my site, you'll find all kinds of great resources to inspire your creativity.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'd also love to share a gift with you when you subscribe to my newsletter.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out and learn more about my books, writing, and services at KentSanders.net.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to connect and you can tweet me at Kent Sanders, and you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as Kent Sanders as well.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I also hope that you'll check out our Born to Create Facebook group by visiting Kent Sanders.net slash Facebook group.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that you were born to create and designed to make a difference.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: What will you do with the time you have left?