This is part of a series of posts where I’m coaching you on one of the biggest challenges writers say they face: time.
It’s the most common challenge writers face: we never have time to write.
I’ve recommended ways to figure out where the time goes and then to find pockets of time when you can write. Even if the Pocket Sessions are brief, we make progress.
What if you could layer in an occasional chunk of time? That’s the dream, right?
With a chunk of time you could do a deep dive into your work in progress—you could immerse yourself in it so your structure takes shape and your chapters emerge. Instead of chipping away at the project in Pocket Sessions, Deep Dives drop us into creative flow. In that state, we binge-write, far exceeding our word count goals.
Finding time for a Deep Dive seems impossible, and yet it’s not as outlandish as you might think.
Schedule it
In the first of our time series, we used our calendar to figure out where our time is going. Today, use the calendar again to block off a chunk of dedicated writing time for a Deep Dive Session.
Then—and this is critical—do not let anything else take precedence. Consider your scheduled Deep Dive Session as inflexible as a doctor’s appointment.
It’ll be tempting to move it around. You might delete it to accommodate something else. But you’re serious about writing. I know you are. And serious writers set aside serious time for their work.
Start with One Hour
If you’ve never done this, start small. Find one (1) one-hour chunk of time this week for your writing and block it off on your calendar. If it’s a shared family calendar, put “Busy” in that block without indicating the activity.
People with access might see “Writing” and, not realizing it’s non-negotiable, suggest something else take over that slot. If you label that block of time simply “Busy” without explanation, they might assume it’s something too delicate to add to the description.
When that time chunk rolls around, drop everything, slip away to your writing space, and enjoy the Deep Dive.
Repeat this as often as possible. In time, you’ll lock in a set Deep Dive Session as part of your routine.
Make a Regular Date with Other Writers
Create the motivation and habit of writing by committing to a regular date with other writers. You could meet up with one person—a writing buddy—or a group of writers. A standing appointment to write with others builds the habit more easily.
Writing Buddies
Connect with a writer in your online or in-person literary groups or gatherings to propose a Deep Dive session of an hour or so.
If you can’t meet in person, arrange to meet virtually and write “with” each other using Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime or other tools.
No time to meet synchronously? Can’t bring up that second screen to see each other? Send a text to check in at the start and end of a Deep Dive session, trusting the other person to actually do the work. To keep it low key, you could text each other your word count.
Co-Writing Groups
Instead of one writing buddy, explore a free or paid co-writing group.
I host WriteTrackers to write alongside others: cameras on, microphones off, we meet to write at the same time on Zoom twice a week, body doubling. This has been an incredible way to dedicate time to my work. And members of the community have said the same.
Other possibilities include London Writers’ Salon and 540 Writers Community.
The Grand Gesture
Finally, consider the Grand Gesture, which Cal Newport highlights in his book Deep Work.
You could design almost anything as a Grand Gesture, but the point is to commit a substantial amount of time to the work. The sacrifice of time and potentially money elevates the importance of your writing.
Maya Angelou, in a Paris Review interview, said:“I have kept a hotel room in every town I’ve ever lived in. I rent a hotel room for a few months, leave my home at six, and try to be at work by six-thirty…I stay until twelve-thirty or one-thirty in the afternoon, and then I go home and try to breathe; I look at the work around five; I have an orderly dinner—proper, quiet, lovely dinner; and then I go back to work the next morning.”1
While pricey, her Grand Gesture committed time and space to complete the work.
However, you need not start quite so grand. For example, commit to a morning, afternoon, or full day of writing locally (no overnight) at your local library or your favorite coffee shop and cafe. That’s still grand…maybe a baby grand gesture.
A more grand gesture could be a DIY writing retreat for a weekend or longer. To save money, you could get creative, like offering to house sit for a friend or borrow a lake house.
If you have the means, you could rent a hotel room or Airbnb in town or a short drive away. It’s not a Maya Angelou-level month-long arrangement, but it’s grander than a Pocket Session writing in the car while your kids finish baseball practice (which, to be clear, is a legitimate way to make progress).
Combine Pocket Sessions with Deep Dives
Deep Dive writing sessions do seem to produce thoughtful prose and/or give us a chunk of time to binge-write. Pocket Sessions maintain momentum as we keep our mind connected to the project more often.
As much as we might long for a beachside writing retreat or a hotel room of our own in town, a realistic approach for most writers will be a combination of Pocket Sessions and the occasional Deep Dive.
By now you’ve likely noted several Pocket Sessions popping up between appointments. Today, can you find a chunk of time for you first Deep Dive of July?
Open your calendar and block it off.
My best writing often comes together when I have a chunk of time to focus. In fact, I wrote a large part of my first two books on Saturdays and Sundays while tucked in the corner of my library.
But I’ve also frittered away chunks of dedicated Deep Dive writing sessions. I’ve let my attention stray. I’ve flipped from one part of a project to the next, struggling to find an entry point. Just because we set aside the time doesn’t guarantee we’ll focus.
Whether you open your laptop for a Pocket Session, slip away for a Deep Dive Session at the library, or organize your own Grand Gesture at a nearby hotel, have a project plan and follow the plan.
Resources:
- Series:
- Cal Newport’s Deep Work
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Footnote:
- Plimpton, Interviewed by George. “Maya Angelou, the Art of Fiction No. 119.” The Paris Review, Issue 116, Fall 1990. Accessed online 29 September 2026. www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2279/the-art-of-fiction-no-119-maya-angelou.
