Like any habit, writing requires consistency. Writers need to schedule time in their calendar and protect that writing time from distraction.
Practice self-compassion and start with modest, achievable goals. Track your progress (in terms of time spent or word count) and focus on consistency rather than volume.
Sporadic marathon sessions drain the creative well and are harder to sustain than consistent writing. Contact Book Writing Coach for more details.
1. Set a Goal
The first step is to set a goal. This doesn’t have to be an astronomical number, but it should be something that you can realistically meet. Consistency beats sporadic marathon sessions, so even setting a small, non-negotiable target (e.g. 15 minutes or 300 words) can help keep you motivated and on track.
Once you have a target in mind, consider tracking your progress by writing it down somewhere visible. This could be your calendar, a journal, or a spreadsheet. Writing down your objectives also gives you the chance to reflect on what you’ve accomplished and to celebrate your successes. It’s important to celebrate even the smallest victories when you are trying to build habits. This helps keep your morale up and combats the dopamine deprivation caused by a consistent writing schedule.
If you struggle to stick with your goals on your own, a book coach may be the right fit for you. A coach can help you develop a strategy that works with your life and provides support and accountability along the way. They can also teach you craft skills that will apply to future projects. To find a coach, referrals from fellow writers or members of your community are often the best place to start. There are also online directories like the Author Accelerator Directory and social media and writing groups that can connect you to coaches with different specialties.
Ernest Hemingway once compared writing content to water in a well: If you drain it completely, it takes longer to refill. Similarly, consistency and regular writing sessions replenish the creative well and keep you moving forward in a sustainable way. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not other people, life’s circumstances, or a lack of time that’s keeping you from writing consistently. It’s you.
2. Prioritize Your Writing
Writing consistency requires a combination of motivation, discipline, and time. Often, people struggle with feeling like they have enough of each. As a result, they try to tackle too many new habits at once or give up before their writing routine is established. Focus on one new habit at a time and give it complete attention for a month to increase your chances of success.
First, make a list of everything that stands in the way of your daily writing time. This could include cleaning the house, grocery shopping, attending kids’ sports games or performances, social media scrolling, or even answering phone calls. Once you have a clear picture of what you’re currently spending your time on, consider how many of those things are necessary to your overall well-being and livelihood.
Then, choose a workable writing schedule. This may mean scheduling your writing sessions for a certain time each day, such as early mornings or lunchtime. It could also be scheduling a set number of blocks of time over the course of the week.
Whatever your schedule, it should be a time you can commit to consistently and that doesn’t get pre-empted by other responsibilities. In addition to this, I recommend establishing a specific trigger for your writing session. For example, I like to write right after making coffee or before going to the bathroom, as these are rituals that don’t change daily.
Finally, plan to write daily (this is one of Bolker and Jensen’s tips). Eric Hayot writes, “Writing every day is the oldest trick in the book — accomplishing psychologically difficult tasks by making them regular.” Whether you write for 15 minutes or 30 minutes each day, establish this goal in your calendar and stick with it.
3. Create a Writing Routine
The first step toward consistently writing is to create a dedicated writing routine. This doesn’t have to be a big commitment–it can be as simple as setting aside time each day to write, whether that’s five minutes or 30. As you continue to build your writing habit, you can increase the length of your sessions.
Ideally, you should set aside a dedicated writing session at the same time each day for as long as you need to get your work done. This is the best way to make your writing a consistent part of your daily life. You can start by examining your weekly schedule and marking out immovable blocks of time (courses, service meetings etc) then identifying when you tend to have freer time throughout the week (like Sunday mornings before anyone else in the house wakes up or after lunch during the week).
Limiting Distractions
Once you’ve determined where and when you are most able to write, try to establish a routine around that. For example, maybe you do your best work at a coffee shop or public library. Make a point to go there on the days you plan to write, and tell everyone who might interrupt you that this is your writing time.
It may be helpful to set up an accountability partner, who can keep you on track with your writing goals. This person can check in with you to see how you’re doing, and help you stay accountable if you’re not meeting your goal for one day. They can also help you brainstorm ways to overcome challenges like procrastination, distraction, and writer’s block. If you’re not sure where to begin, check out BJ Fogg’s “Tiny Habits” and James Clear’s “Atomic Habits.” These books can teach you how to design a habit that’s so small that it’s impossible to fail.
4. Practice Self-Compassion
If you want to become a writer who is consistently productive, it’s time to start treating yourself with the same compassion that you would treat your best friend. Self-compassion is the ability to show yourself understanding and kindness when you encounter difficult circumstances or experiences, such as failing at a task or experiencing emotional pain. This practice is based on the principle that you are not alone in your suffering and that you are entitled to human dignity, which is defined as a sense of worth and intrinsic value.
One way to practice self-compassion is by writing a letter to yourself. In one study, participants were asked to write a letter as if they were talking to their “best compassionate friend” about the situation. This helped them to identify their own needs and the positive qualities they could offer themselves in support of overcoming challenges.
The researchers found that in addition to improving mood, the letters written to their past self also reduced shame and lowered negative emotions. In a follow-up experiment, they found that writing a letter focusing on a social experience was even more helpful. The study suggests that a letter-writing intervention can be used as an alternative to traditional talk therapy, and can be done on an ongoing basis for those who may not have access to psychotherapy services or are unable to meet with a therapist due to personal reasons.
To help you get started, pick up a journal and some pens or buy an app for your computer that supports this type of writing. Then, find a quiet place where you can be free from distractions and spend some time exploring your thoughts and feelings on paper.
5. Take a Break
Depending on the season of your life, the way you approach writing might have to change. It’s not that writing isn’t important, it’s just that it might not be as central to your daily life right now as it was before or maybe it doesn’t fit into your schedule at all anymore. That’s ok.
This realization might have been thrust upon you by life circumstances, like illness or the pandemic. It might also be the result of a positive but still energy-consuming life transition, like graduating, moving, getting married or having a baby. Or it could simply be that writing isn’t your money-making job and you need to put more time into what does keep the lights on.
If you decide to give yourself a break from consistent writing habits, it’s critical that you find a healthy way to refill your creative and energetic well. If possible, start with a small goal of 15 minutes a day and work up to longer blocks. Make sure to time block your writing session and limit distractions. Set a timer, use your phone’s “do not disturb” feature or download apps and web browser extensions to prevent social media or household chores from distracting you while writing.
If your heart is in this and you want to reclaim your desire for consistency, there are many ways to find a coach who can help. Referrals are a great place to begin, but you can also search online directories or join courses that combine coaching with structured coursework. The most important thing is to find a coach who will support you in finding a consistent, fulfilling practice that fits with the rest of your life.