Tips and Tricks for Writing as a Busy Frum Jewish Woman

If writing is your passion, you will know that the desire to write and the ability to actually find time for it are often two very different things. Having spent the past six and a half years writing a book alongside the demands of everyday life, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to keep a long-term writing project moving forward. Between work, family responsibilities, community commitments, and the countless demands of daily life, writing can easily become something that gets pushed to the bottom of the list, not because it matters less, but because life simply feels too full. Especially if you are writing for pleasure rather than out of obligation, it can be easy to convince yourself that it isn’t really important, and that there will always be other things that need to take priority. And when you do finally find a moment, the sheer size of a writing project can sometimes feel overwhelming. 

Yet with the right mindset, a bit of structure, and some practical strategies, it is possible to keep making progress even in the midst of a busy life. If writing is your passion but you struggle to find the time for it amid the busyness of daily life, here are a few practical tips that can help. 

1. Prioritize quantity before quality (at least in the early stages). Don’t worry at the beginning about whether what you’re producing is “good” or “bad.” The first goal is simply to get your ideas out of your head and onto the page. Many people get stuck because they try to edit while they write, but that can slow the whole process down and make it harder to keep moving forward. Focus first on generating material rather than perfecting it. You can always go back later to rewrite, refine, clarify, and polish what you’ve written, but first, you need something on the page to work with. A rough draft can be improved; a blank page cannot. 
2. Stay organized. If you’re working on a larger writing project, such as a book with multiple chapters, create a master spreadsheet or tracking system to help you see your progress at a glance. You might use a traffic-light system, for example, red for chapters not yet started, yellow for works in progress, and green for chapters that are close to completion. This gives you a visual sense of where you stand, helps you break a large project into manageable sections, and can make the writing process feel much less overwhelming.
3. Get feedback from others. Writing can sometimes feel lonely and isolating, especially when you’re working on a project by yourself for a long time. Sharing your work with others can make a huge difference. Feedback not only helps you improve your writing by giving you fresh perspectives, but it can also provide encouragement, validation, and the motivation to keep going. Sometimes, simply knowing that someone else is reading and engaging with your work can give you the momentum you need to continue writing. 

When to write?

Think carefully about when and how you write best. There are really two different schools of thought on this.

Think of it like climbing a mountain: if you spend the whole journey looking only at the peak, you may feel daunted by how far away it still seems. But if you pause and look back, you can see just how much ground you have already covered. Writing is often the same. Progress may feel slow in the moment, but every page, every paragraph, and every writing session moves you further up the mountain.

One approach is to write in small pockets of time. Many people assume they need a large, uninterrupted block of time to write, but that isn’t always realistic, especially in a busy life. Learning to make use of shorter windows, even 15 or 20 minutes, can still lead to meaningful progress. A paragraph written in a spare pocket of time is still a paragraph you didn’t have before.

On the other hand, some writers find that they need longer, uninterrupted stretches of time in order to write well. Writing can be a bit like exercise: if you’re going for a run, you don’t simply launch into it; you warm up first. In the same way, it may take time to settle into your thoughts, find your rhythm, and get into a creative flow. If you only spend 15 minutes writing, it may feel as though you’re stopping just as you’re getting started.

Much of this depends on the kind of writing you do and how you work best. Some projects lend themselves to shorter bursts, while others require deeper focus and longer stretches of uninterrupted thinking. While the short-burst approach may seem more practical or efficient, it will not necessarily work for everyone. Sometimes, there really is no substitute for sitting down and giving your writing the time and mental space it needs. 

* * *

Ultimately, especially when you’re working on a large, long-term project, it is important to focus on how much progress you have already made rather than becoming discouraged by how much still lies ahead. Big writing projects can feel overwhelming when you only look at the distance left to go. Instead, take pride in each chapter completed and each step forward.

Think of it like climbing a mountain: if you spend the whole journey looking only at the peak, you may feel daunted by how far away it still seems. But if you pause and look back, you can see just how much ground you have already covered. Writing is often the same. Progress may feel slow in the moment, but every page, every paragraph, and every writing session moves you further up the mountain.