It has become a norm now:
When you’re reading, your phone keeps buzzing all the time; when you have dinner with your family or friends, you won’t forget to bring your phone to the table as well; when you go on a trip, you find the world in your phone more captivating…
As a result, the chances of concentrating on doing one thing for a couple of hours at a time stay low since your 24 hours is divided into smaller parts.
You might even generously give away several hours of your sleeping time, scrolling down pages after pages as if it’s too late to do so tomorrow.
Think about the time you’ve spent on TikTok. The shortest video can be less than three seconds, the next thing you know, however, you’ve been watching it for several hours.
What if, you can write in this way, a bit at a time? And when you add up all your confetti of time for writing, you’ll be able to finish your work eventually.
But how to make use of the time confetti to write? Read on to find out more.
What is time confetti?
Time confetti, also known as fragmented time, was firstly coined by Brigid Schulte, a journalist for the Washington Post, which describes the pieces of time interrupted by pesky tasks.
This is how we live now. You can barely find anywhere else to run away from without getting interrupted.
“A church”, you say?
Hardly so.
There are over 200 church software developed to manage users and facilitate interaction. Maybe you can find one on your phone right now.
This is what you’re experiencing with the fast development of society, which changes your work and lifestyles tremendously. Therefore, your relationship with the outside world is getting more and more intimate yet complex.
So, instead of trying to run away from reality, it’s more practical to figure out how to make use of your pieces of time.
Time confetti is a double-edged sword
Time confetti teaches you to do multiple tasks at a time. So you don’t lack productivity. What you lack is how to schedule your time effectively, as time confetti can also lead to procrastination.
I know it’s impossible to write a book in an hour, let alone within several minutes.
But I’m sure that writing a simple outline won’t take more than 15 minutes. A mind map can be made even quicker as it only consists of keywords and associations.
As long as you have the basic structure at hand, you’re more likely to know where to start and prioritize your following work.
If you won’t start writing until you have a large chunk of time, then don’t bother waiting. You’re less likely to find one.
Instead, start spending a smaller chunk of time on things important, and you’ll finish your writing quicker in a way beyond your imagination.
How to use time confetti to write productively
Although there is hardly any possibility to turn 24 hours into 30 hours, you can always make use of the fragmented time that you’ve ignored before.
1. Record your inspiration
In the face of the ever-growing work and life pace, as a writer, the best way to fuel yourself up with inspiration is to enhance your ability to write at any time of the day.
Many writers love to carry notes and pens to record anything that inspires them anywhere anytime.
Now you have various software with a host of functions and styles that work just the same or even better.
The writing software, Effie, is the one that I’m currently using. It’s easy to record every sprinkle of my ideas with just one device, and all my work sync automatically on other devices.
2. Every little piece of time matters
You indeed need more time for more serious output. But when you fail to find a big chunk of time, don’t be frustrated yet.
Grab the 10-min waiting time for a bus, a meal, the new iPhone, to “write”. In some cases where it’s unlikely to sit down to write, try leaving yourself a voice message by recording whatever comes to your mind.
You can always put them into words later when you do have access to your devices.
At first, you might not be amazed by writing in this way as you’ll get interrupted quite often by other trivial. But in the long run, when you add up all these fragments, you’ll see a whole chapter, and eventually the entire book.
3. Zen your devices
If it’s hard for you to ignore new notifications on your phone or computer, you can make them disappear simply by activating the “do not disturb” option.
Some apps offer Zen mode to help you better concentrate on your study or work at hand without the disturbance from your phone.
Effie can not only provide you with a smooth and immersive writing experience but help to explore more original ideas and inspirations with listing and mind mapping as well.
Whenever I hit a writing block, I’d use a mind map to help me generate more thoughts that are worth to be shared.
4. Make your ideas happen with Effie
The common writing steps for me are as follows:
- collect inspiration
- make an outline
- gather materials
- write
- re-order
Here is how I follow these steps to write with Effie on my phone and computer:
I usually use my commuting time to record any sparkle of inspiration.
Sadly, some writing apps only offer quick editing and viewing function. If I can only access my phone and revise quite a lot of content, I simply can’t proceed.
Effie, however, saves my trouble as it provides an on-screen keyboard and markup insight for phone users so that I can write as efficiently as I write on my computer.
I also enjoy making use of the lists to help me organize my thoughts into clear structures.
Just one tap on the “⑆” button on the top right, and a mind map shows up in an instant. The mind map mode usually serves to generate more creative ideas that I fail to come up with when in the list mode.
In terms of gathering materials, I usually copy and paste the content that I need from the website to Effie’s sheet under the folder I’ve created and named it “Materials” for easier access next time.
When I finally have more time to write after work, I’d extend more based on these inspirations, materials, lists, and mind maps I’ve prepared beforehand, and rearrange the content when necessary.
So I write 5 minutes over here, 10 minutes over there. And I write more, as long as I have time.
When my work is done, I can also share it with anyone in the form of an image, a PDF, a Word, a Markdown, or an EffieSheet file for further improvement.
This is how Effie reminds me of and encourages me to cherish every flick of time, no matter how short it may seem, to put my thoughts into words.
Would you like to get hold of your creative ideas and level up your writing? Download Effie here to make this happen right away.
