Productive Writing: 4 Habits To Achieve Success

Habit, consistency and practice are the foundations of productive writing.

The quality of the final product matters, of course, but it will be guaranteed as long as these 3 tripods exist in the life of the writer, copywriter, copywriter, journalist, digital entrepreneur or any other professional who depends on writing for a living.

In addition to years of practice, some writers have letters up their sleeve, or rather, good habits, to be more productive while writing.

But, why does the habit of writing matter so much, either for productivity or for achieving genius?

You will understand now:

How the brain works

The human being is very good at identifying patterns as far as they do not exist. Who has never looked at clouds and seen shapes of known elements, such as animals or objects?

This is because our brain needs patterns and habits to function.

So we need daily habits, or close to it, to develop a complex skill, such as writing.

I'm talking about actually writing every day, including weekends, because losing a day can be acceptable, losing two in a row is asking for the habit to be abandoned soon.

How to build this daily habit of writing?

It all starts with choosing the dedicated writing environment.

1. The writer's environment

The place you write should be unique for that purpose. At least in the ideal world.

Avoid writing in the same place that you watch Netflix or surf the web unconsciously.

Suppose you decide to write on the sofa in the living room, the same place you use to relax.

The message that you send to your mind is that in that place everything is allowed. Including procrastinating.

When you set aside an exclusive place for writing or for work, you automatically enter “writing mode”.

In the book A Mágica da Arumação, the author Marie Kondo talks about how the environment affects the body and the mind.

When you have fewer objects in your vision, in your environment, it brings more clarity. Some even believe that the air of an organized environment and with few elements in sight, makes the energy of the place lighter and things flow much better.

Have only the essentials on your desk or work environment and discard everything else, especially if those items distract you in any way.

Organize your workspace once and have a place for everything. If you need to rearrange items every week or even every month, something is wrong.

In my writing place, I have only 3 items:

1. Laptop.
2. Soundproof headset.
3. Bottle of water.

Just the essentials to ensure that I will write with full focus and without giving any arguments for my mind to use to procrastinate.

I don't have an environment to write: what now?

The ideal environment for writing does not have to be a separate room just for that purpose .

It can be a table in the corner of your room, a chair where you just sit to write or even be an equipment, or accessory that you only use to write , such as a computer, Ipad or notebook.

If you can't find the ideal place inside your own home, a coffee shop or co-working can be great alternatives.

The writing environment must be defended just as a Spartan warrior fights for his ideals. Just like the "golden hour", the time of day that you will dedicate 100% to daily writing.

2. Time marked with writing

Writing every day at the same time will install the “writing chip” in your brain, creating a pattern of success that will be easier and easier to repeat.

Each has their best time to write, preferably when the mind is most active.

Mine is in the morning, as the first activity of the day, with a clear and clear mind after having a good breakfast.

If you have a big task ahead of you, like writing a book , and you leave it until the end of the day, the chances are that your mental energy reserve has been exhausted by use in other activities, often not so important like this.

Performing tasks in blocks concentrates your focus and makes you produce much faster.

When we talk about tasks that need imagination, such as creative writing, this becomes more difficult, because with the wear and tear of activities, the quality of the text can drop.

3. Daily research and reading

When you work at a high writing pace you need to find ways to avoid creative block.

Always researching new references and other experts on the subjects you write about is a great way to do this.

But looking for other sources of inspiration unrelated to your niche is even better for generating truly original ideas.

There is no millionaire writer who is not a voracious reader.

But it is not enough to read everything that appears ahead without worrying about retaining that knowledge .

Here are some tips for both reading and keeping your newly acquired knowledge in memory whenever you need it:

You May Also Like: How To Write An Epic Texts For Your Blog

Reading an ebook with the support of an audiobook

By studying with the eBook (visual) + the audiobook (auditory) and emphasizing specific parts of the eBook (kinesthetic), you are maximizing the best ways to retain knowledge.

If you want to know more about ways of learning, check out this infographic: “Which Of These Learning Styles Is Yours? Find Out Never To Suffer By Studying (Or Producing) Content ".

Remember

Mentally or orally recall the important points of what you have read.

Then ask yourself questions and answer in your own words.

Finally, brand and make notes after finishing reading. Make notes succinct and that simplify the concepts.

Today with YouTube it is very easy to find reviews of books, documentaries, films…

In addition to reviewing what you have studied you will have a new perspective on the subject that you may not have noticed before.

4. Separate writing from review

Is fear of other people's judgment and opinion a problem for you?

When you fail to finish, or to do something, for not believing that you are good enough to win the world, this search for perfection becomes a problem. And the big ones.

Some end up in a cocoon and share absolutely nothing. Thus, they will never find out if their works are good, average or even genius.

If we are constantly writing and judging our writing, afraid of what people will think when they read it, whether the text is good or bad, whether the topic is appropriate or not, we are committing the number one capital sin of creative and fluid writing.

We are interrupting the flow of ideas and, consequently, productivity.

During the writing process, there are two parts, both important, but which cannot exist at the same time.

The first is the writing itself; the time to come up with ideas, to create seemingly disconnected points, but that will surprise your audience for their authenticity and originality when they air.

The second step depends on the logical part of our mind, which is very good for organizing ideas better, correcting any errors and polishing the final product of your writing.

Creation followed by revision.

Both need to be done at different times, and even on different days, so that your mind does not block the creative flow that, with training, will allow you to write up to 8,000 words in a single day.

How to get rid of guilt for not being productive

Becoming highly productive requires much more than the correct use of techniques and tools.

Discipline is an important part of the life of a writer who wants to be successful, but like writing skills, it is also built over time. And as you work on that muscle, you will fail in the process.

And feeling guilty for not so productive days will only delay your goal even more.

First of all you need to define what your life dream is.

For those who don't know where they want to go, any path will do.

In addition, it is necessary to build a solid foundation, taking care of your physical, mental and spiritual health before thinking about writing a thousand, two thousand or eight thousand words a day.

When that balance is finally found, you will certainly reach levels of productivity that you never thought you would be able to.

But of course, some simpler tips are also very welcome:

• Find out what are your biggest distractions: social networks, phone calls, emails, side conversations, etc.
• Use these distractions wisely: after a period of work (which can vary between 60-90 minutes), take a break. And in that 10 to 15 minute break you can even access your Facebook page to be distracted.
• How about organizing your week on Sunday night? It will take no more than 10 minutes of your time, but it will save good minutes of your mornings.
• Plan your day according to the priority tasks and not the easiest or smallest.
• Take care of your emotions and avoid negative people and thoughts.
• Do not mix work with leisure, such as working watching television. You will not do either.
• Forget the habit of putting out fires. Don't just react to emergencies, have your day planned.
• Set shorter deadlines for more important tasks: when you limit the time to carry out an activity, you end up concentrating more energy on it.
• Keep a list of tasks. Your head is not a computer and the effort of having to remember what needs to be done is not worth it.
• Know the time to rest. Respect the limits of your body and mind