To Achieve Success, Waste More Time

One of the main mantras of the AI revolution is, “Look, it saves so much time!”

From the introduction of auto-correct and spell-checker - “saves you from checking the dictionary or a grammar book”, to the modern LLMs claiming to help you create everything with prompting - “write 15 books/courses/games/new manifestos for world peace in 24 hours” - everything about our current cultural moment seems to be driven to getting places better, faster, and easier.

I like timesaving tricks as much as the next person. I have limited spoons to deal with everyday tasks, much less my author business. My natural drive for optimization is fueled by the reality that those little scraps of time are precious, and it doesn’t take much for my well to run dry.

I’m sure you feel the same at times:
-If you’re a hobbyist author, you probably have other hobbies that you would also like to explore.
-If you’re a part-time author, that means you likely have other work and responsibilities.
-If you’re a full-time author, the ever-changing shifts of the industry and constant work to produce AND oversee all of those books in your business means that any chance you get to do something more efficiently, you’re tempted to take it.

After all, why wouldn’t you want to do more things? Who doesn’t want more time and space? ← And doesn’t that sentence really belong in a scifi novel?

Here’s the thing: the best way to save time as an author is to do less and focus on what is most important, so that you have more time to breathe and think your own thoughts, however random they might be.

This isn’t just a hippy-dippy, artsy-fartsy do-ten-deep-breathing exercises sort of statement.

(Although breathing is scientifically one of THE most important things that keeps our bodies alive, so I’m not sure what standing the anti-breathing crowd has. If you take even three deep breaths right now, you are getting more oxygen to your brain, so yay you!)

Our brains need that ebb and flow of “on time” productivity and “down time” rest in order to keep the creative gears turning and creative juices flowing. We need that vital creative “boredom” in order to let our brains come up with fresh ideas.

Sometimes this flies in the face of the “writers write” statement.

Sometimes, writing doesn’t mean getting words onto the page, but sorting out things in your brain in the quiet spaces in the morning, or the lull of driving around doing ordinary errands, or the restful time before bed. This can mean that you have to grab a scrap of paper to jot down ideas, and hope that your handwriting is legible in the morning. Been there. I still have a page of text that has clearly been encrypted by some mysterious code half-asleep me created in five seconds.

Yet these moments of “wasted time” are often where the creative magic happens.

What makes these “wasted moments” most valuable is that they come from your brain, your musings, and your thoughts. Not the promptings of an AI bot co-thinking with you. Your unique vision and your unique words. That true, deep story that you have to share with the world in whatever artistic and/or marketable way you choose.

One warning sign that I needed to step back from podcasting was the fact that my down time was no longer playing with story ideas and fun concepts. Instead, I was thinking about video improvements, podcast topics, new script possibilities, and solving the latest tech problems (there are always tech problems). That down time was directing my “on time” to be focused more on podcasting than on book writing. What I realized was that in my current life season, I do not have space for both. After much prayer and thought, I chose to focus on my stories, and put the podcast on hiatus. I have stories to write, readers who want them, and series to finish, and that is where I need to be. I can still connect with authors through blogs and short-form video, but that is it.

What we do in our downtime as authors directs our “on” time. Those relaxed moments, those scraps of boredom and random driving time, are vital for how we show up at our blank pages or blank screens. Moreover, where our heart is focused when we’re not actively working (“wasting time”) affects what we do when we are working.

(Note: Of course there are ways to legitimately waste time. Just enjoying some unstructured rest on your couch, or taking a quiet walk or brainstorming while grocery shopping differs from a 7-hour streaming binge or long moments of doom scrolling.)

Now we come to the takeaway part of this post. I gotta admit, it’s weird to think about action items when it comes to resting. Somehow, ordering someone to “relax, RIGHT NOW” feels a bit counterintuitive.

But also, most of the online world is very intent on keeping you hyped up and overstimulated (*eyes social media, YouTube, search engines, phones in general*).

So here are some ways to make space for that breathing time (seriously people, air is a thing):

-Put fewer tasks on your author plate to start with. If you’re trying to take on too many projects at once, your brain will be on a ceaseless cycle of the next thing on the to-do list, and you’ll never have that satisfaction of completing something because there are 12 more things coming after it (that you’re probably behind on).

Focusing might involve moving from 30 items to 10, or from 10 items to 5, or from 5 items to 1. It depends on a number of factors. But in general, do less work and do it more intentionally.

-Take regular phone breaks. Yes, phones can be incredible devices for productivity. They can also be time-wasting devices of doom. Turn on Do Not Disturb and set the phone aside. Rest in the quiet and the boredom. When you’re in line at a store, don’t automatically hop to the phone. Do some people watching or some random observations. If people are too much or there’s no one around, then pull out a book or a notepad and paper. I have an eReader separate from my phone so I can enjoy a story with my brain instead of giving in to random scrolling.

-Get curious about your story worlds. Yes, story structure is important. No, your book doesn’t need 15 plots or bunny trails. But curiosity and exploration are still good and helpful. Ask yourself questions about your story or your characters or your worlds. Maybe they’ll go somewhere. Maybe they won’t. Considering how the human brain works, I’m betting you’ll come up with some fun things in the midst of all of that mental meandering.

Storytelling isn’t just an act of physically writing the book, but a journey of your mind, your dreams, your hopes and thoughts, and how you want to interact with the world around you. Getting things onto paper (physical or digital) is important because readers aren’t telepaths. But don’t neglect that inner storytelling as well. It’s just as important for your creative longevity - aka, writing more of those fantastic stories that the world needs.

The world is filled with a lot of noise, friend. There is endless drama to be found, an endless news cycle to be outraged or stressed about (or both, these feelings often go together), and endless ways that you can be improving just about everything.

But you were not made to be an endless consumer of vital updates and complex controversy. You were made to create stories that are true, beautiful, and potent and share them with readers who need them.

So take a deep breath (or ten of them) and make sure you’re having that essential, wonderful, boring, vital time to think and dream and explore. Give your mind the gift of chilling out.

And go forth and be awesome.