Solution to Writing Obstacle No. 29:

“My responsibilities at my paying job are taking up all my time and energy for writing.“

It is extremely tough to get writing done if you have a full-time job. I tried to do it years ago with little success. So, I’m sorry you are in this situation.

If you are determined to get some writing done anyway, you need to expect less writing of yourself. Be pleased with whatever writing you do, and never berate yourself.

Learn to reframe all writing as sufficient. If you spend even a minute of a day thinking about your article, tell yourself, “that was a good day, I thought about my article.”

The all or nothing mentality is what gets us in trouble. If you praise yourself for the little acts you do, you will find that just a little more will become possible, and writing can become brief but regular.

And go read my Week 1, Designing a Plan for Writing chapter on setting up a writing schedule. It will help you strategize.

Solution to Writing Obstacle No. 29, one of the distraction obstacles listed on page 32 of Belcher’s Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success (University of Chicago Press, 2019).