Do you want to write but struggle to find the time to do it? You’re not alone. Unless writing is your full-time job, you’ll know that day-to-day activities lead you to put off that moment of confronting the blank page. The paradox is that you have to write if you want to be a writer. Create a writing routine to activate your creativity and get a little closer to becoming the professional you want to be.
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Why is it important to have a writing routine?
Routines help to consolidate habits, and that makes them important. Discovering the value of having a writing routine can encourage you to start your own.
The more you write, your texts will be polished. After all, writing is like any other skill: it improves with practice. Imagine, for example, that you are going to run a marathon: if you train daily, you will keep track of your times, recognize the terrain and routes, and increase your pace as the days go by. You can’t run a marathon overnight, just as you can’t write a book in one sitting.
Now, if books aren’t your thing and you’re into writing short texts, like working on a blog, essay writing services online, or freelance, the routine is even more useful for you. Having a writing schedule allows you to produce more texts since you will have a designated time for it and will not depend on some muse to visit you. Consistency keeps your mind active and forces you (in a good way) to explore topics, vocabulary, and trends.
Ideas for creating a writing routine
Routines have detractors who prefer to live each day with eagerness, no commitments, and no rules. Besides, we all know routines are not easy to create, let alone sustain. However, with determination and the help of the following tips, you will be able to start yours sooner and easier than you thought.
Review the routine you already have
Even if you think you don’t have routines, review your daily activities, and chances are you’ll find patterns. Maybe you get up almost always at the same time, have a coffee, exercise, have breakfast, take a shower, go to work… Or in the afternoon, you finish the day, prepare dinner, eat with your family, accompany your children to brush their teeth, read them a book and then go to rest. They are routines as long as repeated actions are in the same order.
Adopting a new habit or creating a new routine is made easier if it is incorporated into the current dynamics of your life. With this technique, you won’t feel like you’re changing your rhythm or missing important things, but you’ll find space to write without disturbing your other activities.
Then, analyze how your days are going. Find a time you could make better use of or activity that you could do more quickly and free up time. See if you could always dedicate that time to writing and doing it.
Allocate a fixed time for writing
When we talk about time, we talk about an hour and a duration. So, make sure that the time you have chosen to write always has the same time and that you can dedicate a minimum of fixed time. It is about being relaxed with this schedule. You could decide that your writing time is between 8 and 10 a.m. and that you will dedicate at least one hour to it. If you feel blocked or inspired, that gives you flexibility and will help you start the habit.
The important thing is that you stick to it. For that, it is useful to try to choose times when you are most productive. Ideally, it should also be a time that is free of distractions and easy to accomplish. For example, if you don’t like early mornings, don’t force yourself to get up early to make the most of the morning. In the end, you won’t make the most of it. Only you know what schedule is ideal for you.
Create reminders
It doesn’t hurt to have extra help while this new writing time is fully incorporated into your routine. Use an alarm, stick a note in your office or on the refrigerator door, ask someone who can monitor you, or use an app like Todoist or Google Tasks to help you remember and keep track of your new habit.
It’s normal to forget or be lazy to stick to it at first. But with consistency and determination, you’ll be sitting down to write on automatic sooner than you think.
Eliminate distractions
For the 30 minutes, 5 hours, or however long you spend writing to actually be reflected in the number of words written, you have to write. Your writing routine should include:
- Turning off cell phone notifications.
- Suspending social media activity.
- Closing email.
- Avoiding visitors.
- Anything else that can steal your concentration.
It’s very easy to procrastinate. You know it. So even if the words aren’t flowing, leave the distractors out of the moment. Relax, breathe, and give yourself time… Only some days you’ll produce as much as you want, and that’s normal. If you allow your mind to wander to things other than your text, you’ll only worsen the situation. So, focus.
Create a ritual
Make the moment enjoyable. If you need help writing sporadically, incorporating it into your routine will be exhausting. However, if you make it special, it will be different. Remember, this writing routine is not a punishment; even if writing is your job, it shouldn’t feel like one. Put on your favorite music, prepare a cup of tea or a glass of wine, make yourself comfortable, find a place to free yourself, and breathe. These are ideas to give a touch of inspiration to your moment in front of the text.
Be consistent
You will likely have exhausting days with frustrating moments and inspiration blocks. It’s not always easy to stick to the routine, but don’t give up. Bad times are normal. Consistency is the strength to follow through with your purpose. No one reaches their ideal weight by not eating a single day. Consistency in eating well is what will lead anyone to lose weight and stay healthy.
Don’t be hard on yourself
Take care of yourself. Don’t put pressure on yourself to achieve that unattainable number of words per day. Accept your limitations and take action to improve, but take it easy. If your routine is not working, is generating anxiety, or you don’t see the results you expected: stop and adjust as necessary. Remember that the main thing is to enjoy the process of writing because it is an art that cannot become your torture. Let it rest if you don’t get your text through. And rest yourself too.
Creating a writing routine takes time
A good routine doesn’t just happen. Nor is it an immutable thing. You can change it until you feel comfortable with it. The important thing to understand is that it’s a matter of time, habit, and discipline. You will know you have reached your ideal routine when it is no longer difficult to execute it, when you notice that the words flow better, when you concentrate easily when you can’t put it off, and when you are calm and satisfied because you see yourself achieving your goals.
