If you’re a writer, and that is not the only job you have, then you’ve probably been asked the following question more times than you can remember: “How do you find time to write?” I’m asked this question at least a couple times a month.
The answer isn’t complicated, but it is contextual to each individual. You find time to write by, well, finding time to write. For most of the productive writers whom I know, this means intentionally developing writing habits and sticking to them as closely as possible as often as you are able.
There isn’t any one-size-fits-all approach to writing. I’ve heard the Bible scholars Jonathan Pennington and Andreas Kostenberger both say, in as many words, that they schedule time to write almost every day, then plan their other responsibilities around the writing. That makes sense when your job responsibilities allow for it. My friend Tommy Kidd, who is a prolific historian, is famous (or infamous?) for setting a goal of writing at least 1000 words a day. I’d say that plan has worked out pretty well for him. A former colleague of mine, John Hammett, adjusted to each season of the calendar. When school was in session, John rarely wrote at all. When school was out for breaks, he spent a lot of time writing.
Here is the key: I think you have to find a system that works for you, stick to that system, be willing to adapt when you need to, and don’t allow distractions to become derailments.
Writing as an Administrator
In 2015, I took a job as an academic administrator. Prior to that time, I had been a professor whose primary responsibility was to teach classes and whose secondary responsibility was to publish in my fields of expertise. I spent over nine years in administration, first as the dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union University, then as the provost and dean of the university faculty at North Greenville University. In both those jobs, I was encouraged to write by my respective supervisors. However writing was not a key component in my job descriptions for either role. My main responsibility was ongoing administrative leadership, not writing (or teaching).
During those years in administration, I knew that if I was going to write, I had to be more strategic than I had been when I was a full-time professor. So, I scheduled my writing. It looked different during different seasons. I would sometimes write between 5:30am and 7:00am on weekday mornings and between 5:00am and 8:00am on Saturday mornings. I didn’t regularly write during weekday evenings, unless I was approaching a deadline, partly because I’m sharper earlier in the day, and partly because I normally had a couple hours of administrative work to complete in the evenings. (Academic administration is not a 40-hour per week job.) Sometimes I wrote on Saturdays during the day, but this had to always be balanced with family time and other responsibilities. I was more likely to write for longer on a Saturday when I was up against a deadline. I almost never write on Sundays.
Friday afternoons at North Greenville are slow, with many administrative offices closed. When I was provost, I could sometimes write for a couple hours on those afternoons, especially if I was caught up on my other work. My president, Gene Fant, was very supportive of my writing, so he allowed me to occasionally block out a day or two, get off-site, and give attention to some focused writing. I did this once or twice a year. He also allowed me on several occasions to get away for a week during the summer, without using any personal time off, to have a focused writing retreat.
I had to be intentional in all this. And I had to be okay with sometimes going several weeks in a row without writing because of work and family responsibilities. But it worked. During my years in full-time administration, I wrote at about the same rate I had when I was a full-time professor. I just rarely was able to write between the typical working hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm.
A New Season
Now I’m in a different season. In September 2023, I stepped down from senior administration and took a primarily faculty role with some related mid-level administrative responsibilities that are both very focused and directly related to my academic responsibilities. For the first time in years, I can regularly block out time during the academic year to write during the week. There are still plenty of days during the school year where my teaching and administrative load is heavy and I don’t write anything. Sometimes, that might even go on for a week or two. But most weeks, I can block out some time to focus on writing during regular business hours.
This summer, I have had minimal administrative responsibilities most weeks. On those weeks when I’m not traveling, I’m able to devote between three and four full days to writing. Most mornings, you’ll find me either on the front porch of my house or the front porch of my office building, in a rocking chair, typing away. When it gets too hot, I’ll move inside.
I rarely aim for a word count on a particular day. Some days, 300 words feels like a huge accomplishment that is both difficult and draining. Other days, 3000 words is achievable and life-giving. Most days that I’m able to write, I land somewhere in between 300 words and 3000 words. But I have a system. And as much as possible, I stick to that system. When I need to, I adapt. And when I'm distracted from writing by other responsibilities, I get back to writing as soon as I can, lest those distractions derail me from my writing agenda.
What I’m Writing
My ongoing project right now is updating The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement for a second edition. This is a co-authored textbook with my friends Tony Chute and Michael Haykin. I’m responsible for updating four of the chapters and writing a new conclusion. I’ve finished two of those chapters in the past couple of weeks. I hope to finish almost all of my chapters by the first of August.
I also finished preparing a presentation I’m giving at a scholarly meeting next week. Though it is an oral address, I have to write it more or less as if it were an essay. The title of that presentation is “Richard John Neuhaus, Carl F. H. Henry, and the Need for Christian Cobelligerence in a Decadent Democracy.”
On the more popular level, I published a column for WORLD Opinions this week on the mental health crisis facing this generation of college students. Though I wrote the column several weeks ago, I address some of the same concerns I raised about screens in last week’s newsletter.
And a Sermon
I serve as part-time teaching pastor at Taylors First Baptist Church. My primary role at the church is leading a Wednesday night program that focuses on lay theological formation. However, I also get to preach several times a year. This past Sunday, I preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. If you are so inclined, that sermon is available online.