5 Easy Time Management Strategies To Write Your Novel Faster

It's no secret that finding time to write a novel is one of the biggest challenges writers face. But how do you actually solve this problem? What separates writers who make consistent progress from those who stay stuck?

When I surveyed my amazing audience (that's you) in November, the message was crystal clear: time management was a sticky point when writing a novel. And it makes sense—finding time to write can feel pretty strained between work, family, and other commitments.

But before I talk about these time management strategies to help you finish your novel, I want to share an interesting trend that has repeatedly popped up in my years of coaching writers. And this is it…

While you may be strapped for time—and that's completely valid and fair— there's often more beneath the surface when you say, "I don't have time to write!" 

Let me explain what I mean... 

Let's say you've managed to block out an hour in your daily schedule to write. Maybe it's early morning before the kids wake up, a quiet lunch break, or late at night when the house is finally still. You sit at your desk, and you have 80,000 words left to complete your novel. But instead of writing, you freeze with overwhelm, or you go round and round in circles because you need help deciding what to prioritize first.  

And then the questions start in your mind… 

• Should I outline more?
• Should I start that new scene?
• Should I edit yesterday's work? 

Before you know it, half your writing time is gone, and that one precious hour suddenly feels wholly inadequate. After a few experiences like this, it starts to feel like you’ve been working on your novel for hours and hours, but you have nothing to show for it. 

If this scenario feels a little too familiar, you probably don’t have a time management problem. Rather, you probably just need a clear roadmap or process to follow to help you make the best use of your already limited writing time.

The good news? This is absolutely something we can fix together. 

Because when you combine effective time management strategies (the ones I'm about to share with you) with a clear writing process, you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish in the time you have available.

So, with that being said, let’s dig into my top five easy time management strategies that will help you write your novel in less time and without the stress.

5 Easy Time Management Strategies To Write Your Novel Faster 

STRATEGY #1: The Pomodoro Technique 

The very first time management tip I have for you is to try the Pomodoro Technique. In case you’re not familiar with this technique, here’s how it works…

You set a timer for 25 minutes and focus solely on writing. When that timer goes off, you take a 5-minute break. That's it! Super simple. 

The Pomodoro Technique completely shifts the mindset that you have to write for hours or you need to complete a whole chapter before walking away. Instead, you're just thinking about the next 25 minutes. 

I see the Pomodoro Technique work over and over again with the writers I coach (and for myself), because when you only have to focus for 25 minutes, your brain stops fighting you so much. You're not committing to this huge, overwhelming task—you're just committing to 25 minutes of focused writing time.

You can also modify this technique to work for you. Maybe 25 minutes feels too long, and you want to start with 15-minute sessions. Or maybe you're the opposite, and you'd rather do 45-minute blocks. The exact timing doesn't really matter. What matters is breaking your writing time into focused chunks that feel manageable to you.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule… 

Every writer knows the magical feeling of reaching a kind of flow state with their work. And when you’re in that flow state, the last thing you want to do is break it and risk losing it, right?

So, when this happens to me—if my 25-minute timer goes off, but I’m in the middle of a flow state—I will keep working instead of taking a break, but then I’ll make sure to take a longer 15-30 minute break once I feel my flow state start to dissipate. 

And speaking of breaks…

Your 5-minute breaks need to be actual breaks. I'm not talking about checking email or scrolling social media. Stand up, stretch, grab some water, look out the window—anything that gives your brain a true rest from the screen.

Pro Tip: Use your first Pomodoro session of the day to get your bearings. Read over what you wrote the day before, jot down some quick notes about what comes next, and make a mini-plan. That way, when you start your second session of the day, you're not wasting time trying to remember where your story left off - you can just jump right in and start writing.

If you want to try the Pomodoro Technique, it's super simple to get started. You can set your own timer or use one of the many free Pomodoro timers online. 

STRATEGY #2: Write Now, Edit Later

The second time management strategy is for all the perfectionists out there. And although it may feel uncomfortable at first, I’m going to challenge you to take your perfectionist hat off to attempt this one.  

Write an entire scene first—or better yet, the entire first draft—without pausing to edit. Take a deep breath, set aside your ‘editing hat’ and focus on finishing before revising.

Are you squirming in your seat, just thinking about this?  

I know I get it. 

But the truth is, perfectionism can really hurt time management because when you’re hung up on creating the perfect sentence, you stay stuck. And that writing hour that you set up for the day, becomes a waste of time. And it’s really hard to move forward when you’re in this perfectionism state. 

In fact—often perfectionism is the main cause of giving up altogether. You have to be willing to get messy and walk away when your writing day isn’t perfect. 

Let me share an analogy that really helps put this in perspective.  

Think about when you're spring cleaning. The first thing you do is pull everything from your closet and throw it on the floor. It looks like an utter mess, right? The next thing you do is throw away or donate the items you no longer need. And then put back the things you want to keep, neatly and orderly. The result is a gorgeous, fresh, clean closet that you're proud of. That’s a great feeling—a crisp closet space that doesn’t give you a headache every time you look at it. 

Your first draft works exactly the same way. First, you need to get all your ideas out on the page—messy and imperfect as they might be. Only then can you see what you're really working with and start organizing and polishing it into something you're proud of.

I know this can feel really uncomfortable. The urge to edit as you go is strong. But when you try to write and edit at the same time, you're constantly switching between your creative brain and your analytical brain. And every time you make that switch, you're breaking your momentum and making it harder to get back into the flow of your story. 

So here's what I want you to try instead...  

When you sit down to write, give yourself permission to write messy. Yes, messy! Not tidy. Your first draft is supposed to be a work in progress—your only job is to get the story out of your head and onto the page. 

If you notice something that needs to be fixed—maybe you need to research a detail, or you want to change a character's name—instead of stopping to fix it right then, just put a note in brackets like [fix this later] or [research needed] and keep moving forward.

The beautiful thing about this approach is that it actually saves you time in the long run. Because let's be honest—how many hours have you spent perfecting a scene, only to realize later that the scene needs to change completely or maybe even be cut? Oomph. Yup. That hurts. 

If you're finding this tough (and many writers do), start small. Try writing for just 10 minutes without allowing yourself to edit. Then, gradually increase that time. You might be amazed at how much more you can accomplish when you're not constantly second-guessing every word. 

Remember: no one writes a perfect first draft, my friend—not even the authors you admire most. The magic happens in revision, but you can't revise a blank page. So, give yourself permission to write imperfectly. You can always come back and improve later.

STRATEGY #3: Treat Writing Time Like an Appointment 

Okay, let's move on to strategy number three. This strategy involves treating your writing time like a doctor's appointment.

What do I mean by this?

Well, for starters, I see many writers get overly ambitious about scheduling their writing time. It makes so much sense, though. We've all done it.

We sit down and block out an unrealistic amount of time to write every day. And then, when we can't stick to these schedules, we feel guilty. Often turning our ambition into indifference. 

And voila, finishing your book quickly spirals into never finishing your book at all. Yikes! 

The thing is—I don't want you to feel bad about this. The fact that you're over-scheduling your writing time is a great sign. It means you're here for it! You are ready to write your novel and finish it. You're ready to get messy and put in the effort.

But the best advice I can give you right now is to scale back those writing blocks to something more realistic—like, way more realistic. Think about your average week and be truthful about how much actual time you have to write.

Look at it this way... 

Would you ever schedule 5 doctor's appointments in one week? Probably not unless something is out of the ordinary. But when you do book a doctor's appointment, you add it to your calendar and stick to it like glue, especially if there's a cancellation policy.

So why do we so easily abandon our writing times but never show this behavior for other appointments? In other words, when someone else is involved, we show up. But when it's just us and our writing—mmmm, not so much.

My point is—it’s time to treat your writing time like a doctor's appointment. Don't abandon it unless there's a valid reason. And that's why it's so important to make your writing blocks realistic every week.

If two hours a day feels overwhelming, scale back to one hour. If one hour every day still isn't sustainable, try three times a week instead. But when you make that commitment, show up for it and protect your writing time fiercely.

And here's what happens when you do this—instead of feeling guilty about missing writing blocks, you start building confidence. Your writing practice becomes something positive and light instead of a task that weighs you down. Because when your writing begins to feel heavy, that’s when time management falls by the wayside.  

This might feel hard at first, especially if you're not used to protecting your writing time. But I promise you once you start treating these appointments as non-negotiable commitments to yourself and your writing, everything changes. Your family starts to respect that time more, you feel more committed to showing up, and most importantly, you actually make progress on your novel. 

Remember, you're building a long-term writing practice here. Cramming in as many appointments as possible isn’t realistic and is a one-way road to burnout— but creating a schedule, you can actually stick to week after week— is a one-way, purposeful road to finishing your novel. 

STRATEGY #4: Give Yourself Writing Rewards

The fourth strategy is all about giving  yourself writing rewards or incentives. In other words, every time you hit a writing milestone—big or small—you celebrate it.

And I really want to emphasize small milestones here. They're actually the most important milestones to celebrate because they're the building blocks that make the bigger milestones possible.

Let me give you some examples. A small milestone might be getting through a good writing session. A middle milestone could be finishing a scene. And a big milestone would be completing your first draft. 

Now, I know the whole "treat yourself" concept isn't new. We see it everywhere—from Instagram reels to YouTube videos to pretty much every mindset coach out there. But there's a reason everyone talks about it—because it actually works.

Think about it—how good are you at celebrating your small wins? Because most of us tend to only celebrate the big stuff, like finishing Draft 1. Instead, we finish our writing for the week and immediately start thinking about all the writing we still need to do—that scene that isn't working, those chapters we haven't outlined yet, that ending we can't figure out.

So, here's how to put this strategy into practice...

Start by setting up rewards for your small goals. Maybe it's writing a certain number of words, writing without editing, or hitting an uninterrupted writing streak. Your reward could be guilt-free social media time or watching an episode of your favorite show. Or reading a few chapters of that thriller you can’t put down. 

Then, set up rewards for your middle-sized goals, too. When you finish your first scene or hit your weekly writing schedule, maybe you treat yourself to that amazing Pain au Chocolat from your favorite café or go see a movie with a big tub of popcorn.

You see where I'm going with this, right? The bigger the milestone, the bigger the reward. Just remember—you only get the reward when you hit that specific writing goal. And don't worry—you don't need to break the bank here. Get creative and make sure the reward is something you'll actually look forward to.

One last tip that I love sharing is to make a physical reward chart and hang it somewhere visible. You can even get your family involved or stick it next to your kid's reward charts if they have one. Not only does this make the whole writing process more fun, but it also helps keep you accountable for your time management goals.

STRATEGY #5: Write When You're Fresh

The fifth and final time management strategy is about working with your natural energy cycles instead of against them.

Some of us are early birds, bouncing out of bed ready to write at 5 am. Others are night owls who get our best creative work done when the rest of the world is sleeping. And then there are the afternoon writers who hit their stride right after lunch. 

There's no right or wrong time to write. But what I see happen all the time are writers trying to force themselves to write at times that don't align with their natural energy cycles. 

We all know the book The 5 a.m. Club. While 5 a.m. writing blocks work great for some people, your peak creative time might actually be 5 p.m. In other words, we all have different energy patterns that fuel our best creative flow states.

What actually matters is figuring out when you feel most energized and creative—when your brain is fresh and ready—not when your favorite author writes or what worked for your friend in your writing group. 

So, the key is matching your writing time to when your energy is at its peak. 

I know this can be tricky because most of us are juggling jobs, kids, and a pretty packed schedule, which means we often have to write whenever we can find the time. But even if your available writing time doesn't line up with your peak energy hours, you can absolutely make this work. 

If you're a morning person but evenings are your only free time during the week, use your weekends to catch those precious morning hours for the big stuff—like drafting new scenes or working through plot problems. Then, use your evening sessions for lighter tasks that don't require as much creative energy, like light editing or organizing your notes. 

Even making small adjustments to align with your natural rhythms, like shifting your writing time by an hour, can make all the difference in your productivity.

And here's something really important to remember—writing when you're fresh doesn't mean writing for longer. It means making the most of whatever time you have by showing up when your brain is ready to do the work.

This strategy becomes even more powerful when combined with what we've already discussed. Use the Pomodoro Technique during your peak energy times, treat those sessions like real appointments, and watch how much more you accomplish. 

Final Thoughts

Alright, friends, there you have it—five time management strategies that will help you make real progress on finishing your novel!

Don’t forget to download a copy of my FREE time management guide that recaps each of the strategies I covered in this post.Think of it as your roadmap to actually implementing time management strategies in a way that works for you and your schedule. It's all mapped out for you right there in the guide.