A Writer's 'Office Hours'

Tomorrow is August 1, and I decided sometime in July while on vacation, that I was going to institute 'office hours' for myself during the month of August. What am I talking about, you ask? I am a teacher by profession, so I get this wonderful two months off during the summer, but I always find that my expectations go way beyond what I actually accomplish. Starting tomorrow, I'm setting aside 6 hours per day for writing and marketing, with some specific guidelines in mind. It looks like this:

9am to noon: emails, social networking, promotions etc.  
1:30 - 4:30:  creative writing/ editing current WIP 


At first glance this seems like no big deal. It's basically 3 hours per day for marketing and promotion, and 3 hours per day for writing. In fact, I often spend more time than this on any given day during the summer anyway. However, here is the difference. I've found it's pretty easy to get consumed with the online marketing and social networking to the detriment of any actual creative writing. I'm hoping this system will keep me more focused on the 'writing' part, and I intend to just 'shut it off' if I don't get to everything online during that time slot.

Similarly, I've found that in the past when I institute a specific writing time, I'm much more productive. I find myself really looking forward to that time slot and the 'muse' seems to kick in on command, especially when it's every day. Without a schedule I tend to procrastinate for a number of reasons. I'm too tired; I don't feel inspired; there isn't enough time; I have to go back and re-acquaint myself with my WIP...  You probably have a similar line-up of excuses. These tend to disappear when I have an anticipated 'writing time' each day.

Does this mean I won't spend more time doing either of these things after 'office hours' are over? Probably not. But I think it will afford me a bit of guilt free comfort to know that I've accomplished something each and everyday. You may be wondering why I didn't bring in the office hours sooner. It's not like I haven't been doing any of the above this past month, but July was also a hectic month for me with traveling and other commitments. Choosing a date has helped me to focus and I'm super stoked about the coming month. I'll report back on my success before labor day.