Here’s the truth about writing and time. People who say they’d write if they had the time are lying. They have the time right now; they have 24 hours in every day, with 60 minutes in every hour. Just like everybody else. What they are choosing to do with that time is not write.

Candace Havens, who teaches Fast Draft (how to write a book in 2 weeks) finds that most students need 2.5 hours to write 20 pages a day. So for a 2 week investment of 2.5 hours a day, you can produce a book. For National Novel Writing Month, you get 4 weeks, so you spread that out to about an hour a day.

Where can that hour come from? Non-essential activities. Sleep. Streamlining activities so they take less time. Start by analyzing how you spend your time now and see where you can shave off 60 minutes to commit to your November goal. (And it’s okay to do this in 5-15 minute increments. If it works best to write 4 times a day, 15 minutes each, you made your goal.)

When I got serious about writing, the first thing I did was look at my time and figure out what could go to make room in my schedule. I started saying no to some people and some activities to free up time. When I had a commute, I worked four long days so I’d have 3 days off to commit to writing. And so on.

The truth is, if you really want to write, you have the time. What you might not have is good time management. Or you might not realize how many things you can say no to or stop doing without your world caving in.

Claiming time is about claiming priorities, and that comes down to your values. If you don’t know what your priorities or values are, write down all the things you think are most important. And then record how much time you spend on them. The two may not match very well, but today is a great time to start changing that. You have 24 hours, each with 60 minutes in it.