Wasted days and wasted nights...

I, like most writers, lament not having enough time to spend on my writing. Most writers just can't find the time to properly devote their time to their chosen craft.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know that a part of the writing process often involves staring out of the window, or across the street, clipping your toenails or petting the cat.  I get that.  It is those times of reflection and/or inner conversation that we come up with some of our best work.  I get that.  Unfortunately, what I'm writing about here is honest-to-goodness wasted time.  Time that you could have used to work on your novel, poem, short story, etc., but that instead was frittered away never to be regained in this lifetime.
 Writing, unlike time, is finite.  What I mean by that is that no matter how much you write, it will all come to an end someday.  How much you produce, and of what quality, is up to how disciplined you are when it comes to time management as far as your writing goes.  We all know that "real life" often intrudes into the world of your writing.  The kids, the bills, the pets, the job, household chores, and the list goes on and on.  But when you finally do get the chance to write, how serious are you about getting to it?  Are you more interested in what is going on in social media than in your own writing?
  A report by CNN reveals a dramatic one-hour increase over last year in how often the average American adult gorges on media in a day. Americans devote more than 10 hours a day to screen time. During the same time period last year, Nielsen reported that people spent about nine hours and 39 minutes engaging with their electronic gadgets. Jul 29, 2016
  That's a lot of people wasting a lot of time.
  Yes, I know that social media is a very important way of marketing your writing, but surely you can squeeze a couple of thousand words into your next novel as well?  Is it really that important to spend an hour or more watching cute kitten videos or finding out what Becky did at the family bar-be-cue?  Eventually those things may even end up as grist for your writing mill, but the more time you spend doing stuff like that, the less time you have to devote to your writing.  And ultimately this just winds up being another form of procrastination; a terrible malady suffered by many writers.  And of course it's not just social media, we can find plenty of things to do other than write.  Sort through our mail, fold socks, stare blankly at the wall...  But at some point you simply must shake off the webs of procrastination, stop wasting precious time (because it is precious!), and get writing!
  I know that it isn't easy, I love binge watching some of my favorite t

v shows, but I have to still discipline my time so I can get my writing done.  That can be considered "calculated" procrastination, because I still am aware that I have to get to my writing.  You have to as well.  I know that many writers, like other artists, like to wait for their muse to show up, or to be otherwise inspired before doing their writing, but like best-selling thriller author Michael Blaine once said, "You have to write like you're digging a ditch."  In other words, you have to press forward and write.  Write like it's your job, write like it's one of the most important things in your life, write like it's the thing that's keeping the roof over your head and your family fed.  If you're still having trouble finding that all-elusive time to write, take a time management class... even though that may be another waste of time, because you're supposed to be writing.
  Now, stop reading this thing and get back to your writing!