This is the biggest issue I have. Having a full-time job knocks out 9 hours (with lunch). But the commute can range from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. When that happens, my brain is the farthest from focusing on writing. I've found that my best bet is to just dedicate all day Sunday. I go to Einstein's and get away from home where there are too many distractions. And I never use the free wi-fi. Other nights are when I try to do my research and prep.

Daily Routine. I get up about an hour before I have to get ready for work and put in my time on whatever projects I'm working on. I usually have two things going on, so if I get stuck, I can jump over to the next project. Some people prefer to work on one thing at a time. At work, I get an hour for lunch. I take a half hour and do prep writing on current projects and potential future projects. This can consist of loglines, snippets of dialogue, plot points, etc. that I email myself. Most nights I read or watch movies or TV. Maybe one or two nights I'll do a short brainstorming session on titles, ideas, characters, etc. Just try to have some fun with words. My philosophy is just too try to kick the can down the road a little more each day.

Meg, is your commute one you drive? When I was working on K-9, I was doing stand-up comedy, traveling up and down the state of California, and used a hand-held tape recorder to work through scenes and sequences. Then once I settled at home for a few days, work through those tapes pulling out the best / relevant information. Now with voice memo function on cellphones which allow you to download directly to computer that could be a way to maximize your time during the week.

Churnage, I applaud that work practice in large part because it enables you to stay in touch with the story on a daily basis, key to immersing oneself in the story universe and with the characters. Ever since I started doing the pomodoro technique, I'm amazed at how much I can get done in 30-minute blocks. If I REALLY focus my attention - no distractions, just writing -- I can pound out content. So your idea of taking a half-hour during lunch to work on writing projects, that's a really good idea. "Kick the can down the road a little more each day." Yep, sounds like that works.

As a point of interest, when Ron Shelton wrote Bull Durham, he basically dictated Annie's entire opening monologue on a drive through the Carolinas. Something about driving that opens up the brain. I have a similar commute time to Meg, and I use the commute to think through just a single problem, such as a character, a scene, some dialogue, etc... I make sure though that I have a notebook & pen in the car so that before I walk into the office, I write down what I've been thinking so I don't lose it.

Thanks for this series Scott. In 2012, I finally finished something, only a short, but it was something. I did it. Now I want to ramp things up to a new level this year and I would like to suggest to anyone who is interested that we start our own accountability group. There is a website called stickk.com where you setup your own goals and create a level of accountability, even your own money, that you’re comfortable with. I’m still setting my goals up but will probably lean towards making it as easy as possible at first until I get in the habit. Hopefully success will breed more success. My screen name on stickk.com is brianb18 and my email is brian r bergquist @ gmail dot com in case anyone is interested in forming some kind of informal email group where we can have weekly check-ins. It would be great to make some virtual writer friends while we’re at it. Good luck to all in 2013 and Happy Holidays.

Brian you should check out the GOYOQ forums if you haven't already. For the GOYOQ Private section, just log in using twitter/ googleconnect and it will bring you to spur you on sections, like the week on week check ins. Just finshed my GOYOQ first draft with the massive help of GITS blogs and forums. Come on in the water's fine.

Hey QuietAct - Thanks! Sounds just like what I was looking for and will check it out! -Brian

No worries :-)

Looking at my schedule, my other commitments break down like this: -Work is 9 hours (one hour lunch) -Commute is about 2 hours a day total -Sleep is anywhere from 6-8 hours (I hope) -One hour of incidentals (hygiene, shower, etc.) This leaves about 4 hours in the day for writing and other leisure (not counting chores that may crop up). Usually at least two of this is spent with my wife. I also have a weekly podcast about horror films that will take two hours at least 3 days of the week for recording, editing, movie viewing, and other preparation. I think that using the Pomodoro technique will help me with my regular daily tasks not related to writing. I am attempting to find time in the morning before getting out of bed to dedicate to writing, so I am not distracted by everything else in my life and my mind is clear to focus. The main way I can manage my time is to not feel tempted to look at my phone or iPad when I have a free minute. This will suck away all my free time if I let it.