Mute the TV and start scribbling.
For weeks I’d wondered how to fill a key need for my magazine’s next two issues. The official with whom I was working had a history of coming up short on content.
Rather than depend on him to suddenly generate material, I needed to give him specific requests. But my time to draft those assignments kept getting pushed aside by other tasks.
But this weekend, I watched a televised football game – filled with long breaks for commercial messages. As the advertisements played, I found myself thinking about the articles I needed for the upcoming issues.
The next time the game’s action stopped, I grabbed a legal pad and began jotting notes. At the next break, I did the same.
Soon I had filled a third of the sheet with practical ideas for my reluctant author. The prose wasn’t polished, but I’d outlined a solid first draft of the email I just sent.
Sometimes you don’t need a one-hour block to accomplish some writing. It’s amazing what you can do one minute at a time – especially if you’re not in the market for a new pickup truck.
