Something to think about this week: I spent a little time playing with a scheduling concept I’m calling Puzzle-Piece Scheduling. I sketched it out on paper, noodled through some models and possibilities, and—full disclosure—I didn’t actually test-drive it in real life. But maybe you will, and it might just be the thing your writing routine needs.
The idea came out of one question:
What if, instead of trying to block out heroic, uninterrupted “marathon” sessions of writing time, we broke the work into one- or two-hour writing sprints and sprinkled them through the day?
An hour is definitely a sprint for me, so this isn’t about pomodoros (though they’re great if you want to build speed). Think of it more like chunking your writing time and tucking it between the other puzzle pieces of your daily life: work tasks, family responsibilities, errands, appointments, feeding the cat, and maybe remembering to eat something yourself.
This is especially useful if your current approach is to wait for “a whole afternoon free” to write, and spoiler: that afternoon keeps getting stolen by everything else.
Here’s what I propose:
- Sketch out a weekly schedule on paper—yes, old-school style—and plug in your fixed obligations.
- Identify where you could reasonably squeeze in one or two hours of focused writing. Not ideal? Not sexy? That’s okay. Even 30 minutes adds the words up–faster than you’d think.
- Try it for a week. See how it feels.
Pros and cons? Let’s be real:
- Con: Yes, you have to start multiple times. That’s annoying. That’s also the single biggest pain point most authors grumble about. (See “The Definitive “Just Start” Strategy To Get You Writing.”
- Pro: You’ll keep your head in the story more easily. The characters won’t feel like strangers after a four-day absence.
- Bonus Pro: You might stop letting entire days slide by because “I didn’t have time for a good long session.”
- Inner Critic Rant: That tiny, persistent voice that says, “It’s not worth writing for just one hour!” You may need to tell it to go sit in the corner. One hour is absolutely worth it. So is just ten minutes.
So if two-hour sessions feel manageable but elusive, try slipping the equivalent minutes into your schedule like puzzle pieces. It might not be glamorous, but it’s a heck of a lot more productive than waiting for perfect conditions that never arrive.
Let me know if you give it a try. Or if you come up with a better name than Puzzle-Piece Scheduling, I’m all ears.
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