What if your #1 excuse for not writing wasn’t true?

When it comes to our creative and writing projects that aren’t immediately tied to our financial well-being, aka work, we sometimes struggle to truly commit. We cite lack of time as our #1 excuse for not writing that book or other creative project.

Of course! We are all busy with life and work and family. So it’s easy to believe 100% the idea that we don’t do our writing, creative work and passion project play because we don’t have time.

I assert that the only thing we do have is our time. We all have the same 24 hours to allocate to what matters to us. The choices we make reflect our priorities. And sure, survival and making a living is a priority.

Do you see yourself in this story?

I was recently talking to a friend about his writing projects. He writes a lot for work, and yet I know he harbors a desire to write creative, fictional projects. When I asked about whether those dreams were going to get air time this year, he sighed. Time, he said. I don’t have time.

I get it. He’s a super busy executive and dad. Yet later in our conversation we were talking about bedtime and whatnot, and he revealed that he stays up to midnight most nights. Wow! I said. What’s happening in those hours between ten and midnight? Nothing much, he shrugged. TV binge watching.

Yep, I get that! I, too, have fallen for the way TV shows and streaming services are designed to keep us glued to the tube. And being the coach that I am, I couldn’t help but think, hmmm…if you went to bed even an hour earlier, you could get up earlier and have that extra hour to write your passion projects.

But I didn’t tell him that. It’s not my business to coach friends or people who don’t raise their hand for it. And it’s also not my practice as a coach to tell people what I think would work for them.

My job is to help my clients and students discover the habits and practices that allow them to not defer their dreams until some faraway future date, say, when they retire. It’s my joy to help people use their natural resourcefulness and creativity to make the space they need for the writing projects they yearn to commit to.

What’s really going on?

Is lack of time your excuse? I suspect that we use this handy excuse to avoid what’s really going on. For example, I was coaching someone who was really fired up about their creative pursuits. She was psyched to have a creative project and set up some parameters to make sure she had studio time. But within a few weeks, work got busy and life stuff also played a role in nudging her commitment to herself to the side.

It would be easy to think this is a time management issue, or a true scarcity when it comes to available time.

When we explored this a bit more, we saw that she stopped going to the studio right about the time when she began doubting the point of doing her creative work. It wasn’t going to make her money necessarily. It wasn’t going to make her famous.

Spending time in her studio makes her happy. Enthusiastic. She feels a sense of herself and her own unique vitality when she made art. In these times, I believe we need all the joy we can get. And if we can generate our own sense of well-being and engagement through our creative work, I am all for it. So what if the world doesn’t pay you now – you are paying yourself by showing up for your own dreams.

If you are reading this and feeling a bit called out on your #1 excuse for not writing, well, good. I am not here to maintain the status quo. 

What a trained coach offers to the writing process

My work as a coach is to help you grow as a person. This is the difference between working with a writing coach who is actually a trained coach and not an editor, writer or teacher using the word ‘coach’ to describe their work. Those professionals have the goal to help their clients get their work written. And I do, too. However, I also know that truly transformational coaching that gets the job done isn’t solely about time and project management.

I believe that our creative pursuits offer an excellent path not simply to get things done, but to step more fully into our potential and our joy. 

With that in mind, ask yourself this: If time wasn’t my real reason for not writing, what does hold me back? Be honest and be kind when you give yourself this inquiry. It’s not intended to shame you or make you feel badly about yourself or your commitment. It’s to give you the chance to maybe make choices that reflect what’s true and deep in your world both inside and out.

What’s true for you? Share your thoughts below.