Time (Confetti) and Space (Carving)

Writing, like any worthwhile pursuit, takes time. As we seemingly get more and more efficient with each new technology, you would think we would have more time to pursue what we want. But instead we fill in those freshly cleared spaces with new stuff, like shoveling your driveway while it continues to snow.

We do, according to some studies, have more free time than ever. The problem is that it’s often fragmented — a few minutes here, 90 seconds there, a slow hour during the day if we’re lucky. These random patches of time — dubbed “time confetti” by Brigid Schulte — simultaneously make us feel like we should be getting more done while making it very hard to accomplish anything of substance. We can check some emails or knock out a few chores around the house, but rarely can we dive deeply into one task. It’s like having a pocket full of pennies when you want dollars — they might have the same value on paper, but good luck spending them the same way.

I had a college professor who would start class with a writing task — he’d give us some prompt to get us going, then set us loose for maybe five minutes to see what we came up with. I never had a particular story idea in mind when I arrived in class, but once I opened my notebook, something surprising would always spring from the tip of my pencil. I often looked forward to sharing my random creation with the class, hoping they’d be as delighted as I was when the thought formed in my mind just moments before.

After class one day, I stopped the professor and said how much I enjoyed doing those little writing activities. I gushed, “I’ve probably written more in the last few months than I have in years — and some of it’s actually good!”

He simply smiled at me and said, “I didn’t do anything special. I just carved out some space for you. You filled it in.”

So if you want to get more out of your time than you currently do, try carving out a little space for yourself. You’ll be surprised by how many little things you can push back or push aside to clear room for what you want to do.