5 Ways to Make Yourself Write Every Day
From writing retreats to AcWriMo, how to set yourself up for success, and then actually follow through
Hi friends,
As regular readers know, Let’s Write starts on February 27! In a mere 2.5 weeks, many of us will make the commitment to write every day for 10 days, pulling ourselves out of this February slump people seem stuck in.
I’ve hosted or participated in a lot of these “write every day” workshops over the past few years. I’ve learned that there are four keys to making sure I actually write (and one tip that only matters sometimes for me). Whether it’s a writing retreat (more to come on this soon!), a 10-day writing challenge, or AcWriMo, making the commitment is hard, and following through can be even harder. Here are five things that work well for me (and that I build into the writing challenges I host).
1. Block Your Calendar
If I don’t block my calendar and make a public commitment to writing, life gets in the way. Since I’m going to write every day between Feb 27 and March 10, I sat down today and found 1.5 hours for writing every day, and I blocked them on my calendar. I’ll be writing on Zoom during those times, inviting people who are also in the workshop to write along with me. The fact that folks might be waiting to write with me on Zoom is enough psychological pressure not to schedule over those times, and to make sure that I write the whole time.
Make it work: Decide how much time you want to write, how many days, and block it out. Consider inviting someone to write with you, so that there’s a sense of social obligation. Then, don’t do other stuff during that time.
2. Clear the Decks
Along with making the time commitment to write, it’s super helpful for me to look at that period of time and get rid of all of the annoying stuff that clutters my brain. I’m not going to go to the dentist or organize my kitchen during those two weeks. If there are meetings that aren’t particularly urgent, I’ll push those to mid-March. If I have articles that are almost ready to send out or back to a co-author, I’ll make myself do it before the workshop starts. Whatever you can do to minimize mental distractions during that time will go a long way.
Also consider the part of your home life that takes up the most time or mental space, and see what you can do about it just for two weeks. Can you meal prep or order in a lot? (Local restaurants need your support!) Can you leave the kids at daycare another hour? (Judgement-free zone here). Can your partner sort and fold laundry so you can write? (The answer to this is either yes, or that the clothes just don’t need to be sorted and folded. There is no third answer).
Make it work: This one’s on you! Find five things that you can do before the workshop, five things you can delegate, and five things that can wait til mid-March, and make that happen. It’ll feel great, I swear. (Even if you’re not writing with us this time, do it anyway. Give yourself the gift of two calm weeks. It’ll change your life).
3. BYORA (Be Your Own Research Assistant)
Your goal should be to create a universe in which you can have a frictionless writing experience. Ideally, this means that all of the outlining, reading, researching, rabbit-holing is done before-hand and you can just sit there and write.
Make it work: Look at the project you’re working on now. Make a list of everything that needs to get done, as detailed as you can. Find time to do anything that contributes to pre-writing now. Write chapter outlines. Do a literature scan. Run those regressions. Do it now, so that everything is ready for when you’re ready to start writing. Things will inevitably come up during the writing process that need fact-checking or re-reading or re-analyzing; if possible, save those for later.
4. Accountability + Support = So Much Writing
I have never been able to successfully write every day without having a group of people I was reporting my progress to. Maybe it’s co-dependence, maybe it’s the need for external validation, but if I want to write for a prolonged period of time, I make sure that I’m taking people along with me.
This is one of the big reasons I created our lovely Slack workspace, because I wanted people to be able to check in every day, say what their goals were, and then report back when they finished. To my sheer delight, about 30 people still log in each day, and about 10-15 still post. This is amazing. (if Let’s Write is your first workshop, I’ll add you to Slack next week!)
Make it work: Find people who also want to write, and hold each other accountable. Maybe you text each other at morning and at night. Maybe you have a google spreadsheet where you report your progress. Maybe you have a friendly competition for who can write the most words. Whatever it is, find your people who will support you and hold you accountable.
5. Consider: Process Goals, Celebrations
We writer types tend to think in terms of product goals and rewards (if I write 1000 words a day, I’ll reward myself with chocolate each day, and then if I do that for 10 days I’ll earn the big reward of the new super fancy coffee pot I don’t need).
For some people, that works, is validating, and is incentivizing. Great!
If not, think about process goals and celebrations. Writing every day is hard. If you do it for two weeks, whether you write 1000 words a day or 250 words a day, much more of your work will exist in the world than if you didn’t do that. Committing to writing for a certain amount of time means that you don’t penalize yourself for the writing that is harder or takes more thinking. Process goals allow you to give yourself credit for working towards an outcome, for however long it takes to get there. I used to challenge myself to a word count—now, I challenge myself to accomplish a certain amount of time writing. If I do, or if I submit something (even if it gets rejected), that is worth a celebration.
Make it work: How can you encourage yourself to get work done and recognize your accomplishments without triggering your anxiety? Know thy self, and use it to scaffold your writing challenge.
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A Quick, Final Note
Y’all are producing some amazing writing these days, and I am so lucky to get to edit and consult on your projects. You’re changing the world, people! My calendar is now completely full through the beginning of April, and almost full for the summer (phew! What a thing to get to say). If you’re thinking we might work together this year, now is a great time to get penciled in on my calendar so that we can make sure you have time to achieve your writing and submission goals. In the mean time, write! write! write! But only if you want to.