The two key (skills?) a writer must have is organization and dedication. I have to say dedication is a skill as much as it is a way of life, and alongside organization it is one of my biggest weaknesses as a writer. Dedication means taking things off your plate in order to make the time for writing. It means sacrificing some of the other stuff in your life in order to get that page written. It also means sticking to the (oft maniacal) schedule that you create for yourself.
I usually do my weekly planning on a Sunday, but I found a moments peace tonight to put a few notes in the calendar. Even here in the summer I am a busy dude between wrangling three boys, coaching, teaching, and writing. Still I have more time than I otherwise do, which I discovered isn’t a good thing, because I spend a lot of that time wasting a lot of that time. The key is to lock down the daily calendar and factor in time to stare at a wall every now and again.
I’m serious. That step is important. It is impossible to go full speed all of the time without burning out, and there are posts in this blog that attest to what happens when you finally do burn out. Spark Notes version: It is not good.