Everyone’s busy. I’m busy, you’re busy, the neighbor’s dog is busy. And while that’s become the catchphrase of this generation, don’t let it become your crutch. Don’t get paralyzed into thinking that because you have a life full of responsibilities, you can’t have anything else. Many successful writers have written books while working full-time jobs, managing kids underfoot and living through financial, emotional and physical hardships. They wrote, published and promoted their books in the same twenty-four hours that you have. The only difference is that they probably learned fairly quickly that dreams come with a price tag. They needed to give up something in order to get that finished novel, book or query letter.

Your dreams have that price tag too. The question is, what are you willing to give in return for them? When I found that my day was falling too short, I started keeping a daily journal. What that did for me was that it told me how much I’d achieved each day, and whether I was really working as hard as I thought I was. Turns out, checking e-mail every 2.6 seconds does eat into your time. As does posting on message boards, answering writing group e-mails as soon as they arrive, and discussing with fellow writers why my mom is being unfair in thinking I should learn to cook. Point being, even if you’ve been convincing yourself that you’re only networking with fellow writers so that you have another person who’ll help promote your book or a friend to guide you when you get that contract from Random House or someone who could maybe refer you to Oprah, you’re only pretending to write. A lot of work is writing-related but it’s not writing. Keeping a tab on your time will help you eliminate the unnecessary jobs and write.

Cut back on the luxuries, too. What’s more important: watching day-time television or finishing your book? If the latter, why not record your favorite programs and watch them when you’re doing something relaxing, like cooking or crocheting?

And finally, figure out what your high energy times are. Some people like to get up early in the morning before everyone else is awake, and use that morning freshness to bring sunshine to the page. Others, like me, find that they’re less distracted at night when the whole household has gone to bed, and there’s a huge stretch of time lying in front of them. Whatever be your preference, stick to it. If you’ve decided to get up at five in the morning each day to finish that essay, get up and do it.

Sacrifice. That’s what success is all about.