Productivity tips for writers, by author Tom Afford

Staying productive as a writer can be extremely challenging, especially if you work for yourself, or sit alone in a room every day. You might rest on your laurels and twiddle your thumbs. Procrastinate. You might look back on the day and think what did I actually achieve? Where did time go?! But fret not! Read on for top tips to improve your productivity.

Plan before writing

Planning before you write can save loads of time. Even if it's only skeletal. A beginning, middle and end. This provides a frame on which to hang your work. Some direction. It will save you having to delete and re-edit countless times afterwards. For you'll already have an outline in your head of the complete journey.?

You can take it too far, though. You don't need to plan every paragraph or sentence. Allow some flexibility, wriggle room. Spontaneity. Set out key points or events as a headline or chapter, but leave space for spur of the moment writing, and take things from there.

Set deadlines

If you write for a living, you might have deadlines imposed on you. Word counts and time frames. But if you write for yourself, as a creative writer, you might not. Imposing realistic targets and hitting them is the key to success. Little and often mounts up. So set deadlines, and meet them. Make sure they're realistic and achievable. Write down a truthful account for your reference. Reassess and adapt.

Take breaks

Four hours of writing is enough to drain anybody's brain. Consider breaking things up. Write for 50 minutes, take 10 minutes off. Or write for 25 and take 5. You'll come back refreshed, and can keep going much longer.

Keep healthy

If you don't eat, sleep and exercise properly, both your body and mind will suffer. You won't write at your best level. You won't see or think clearly. Productivity can be boosted hugely by keeping healthy, and rested. Minimise caffeine and stay hydrated. Eat foods that release energy slowly, not quickly. Keep moving.

Minimise distraction

When you write, you must minimise distractions. Be it colleagues or family. Social media or phone calls. Cut yourself off from the world for a while. Be strict and be ruthless. Consider noise cancelling headphones. Listen to music that helps you focus. Run off to that cabin in the woods. It might not make you very popular, but you'll be more successful.

Be selfish with time

To be a good writer you must be selfish. With time, energy, focus. Put yourself first, within reason! Set times when you absolutely cannot be disturbed, and times when you can, and try and make others fit in with you. It won't be easy, especially if you have kids or demon bosses, and it might well cause waves if you try, but it's essential to be productive.

Record / monitor progress

It's easy to lose track of your progress. How many words did I write today? How many pages? It felt like a lot, but who knows?! You may only have written a few. Or you may have written loads. Make a note of your progress each day. Tweak and amend. Link those targets and goals. Be honest: don't cheat!

Keep a journal

Keep a journal day to day. It doesn't need to be every thought you have. Key points. Perhaps things you've read. Things you've thought of to improve. It helps you visualise time, and see where the days have gone. You can then track your progress with hindsight, years later.

Use different media

If you're struggling to focus on the screen, try something new. A new way of writing. Of recording your words. Try dictating a passage or piece. Try putting ye olde paper to pen. Try using different fonts. A different keyboard. Record yourself talking in a video. Experiment and find what works best. It may be different work flows better with different mediums.

Do something else

If all you do is read and write every single day, you'll go mad. Do something else in between. Find a hobby or sport. Find other people who are like you. Who like you. Force yourself to go out. Go somewhere new. Eat something strange. Do something fun. And when you come back, you'll find that you've restored much of your energy and enthusiasm for writing.

Read something new

If you're drawn to the same type of writing or novels, force yourself to read something new. Something you wouldn't obviously go for, or might actively avoid. You might find you actually enjoy it and learn something new. You might not! If you don't, work out why. What can you learn from it? Don't get tunnel vision - branch out.?

Be enthusiastic

There's nothing worse than being forced to write something you don't really care about. It will become apparent very quickly to your readers. If you can, write about something you really have enthusiasm for. In a way that's enthused. If you can't be so lucky, make the subject or writing your own. Inject your own humour or thoughts in the mix. Make it more interesting to you. And the reader will notice.

Exercise

Exercise isn't just important for staying healthy. It helps you think better. Helps you write better. Blood flows to new places at a much quicker rate. It improves mind-set and energy if done right. It doesn't need to be a marathon. A quick walk round the block will suffice.

Write early

Everyone is different. Some get up early to write, some stay up 'til all hours. But try to write early, even if it feels difficult. It's a simple time management tool, that gives you more hours in the day. You'll have more time to play with. It helps you stay focused and fresher. You'll probably struggle to begin with. But just because it's hard, doesn't mean you should stop. Push through and keep going.

Try new locations

Writing at your desk everyday might be fine, when it works. But when productivity runs low, it may be counterproductive to sit there and despair. Try writing in different rooms of the office or house. Try writing outside, or in a public space. Try travelling somewhere different. See what impact it has on your writing.

Find your editing style

Productivity is enhanced or hampered by your editing style. Find what works best. Some writers write the whole manuscript and then go back and edit. This discourages stops and starts and maintains continuity. You don't get caught up in every full stop. But you may write a lot which you ultimately don't use. Some writers write a shorter account, and immediately go back and edit each part before carrying on. This can help with a better quality of work, but it might break the flow of your writing. Its continuity.

Find what works best for you. A happy medium.

Create a routine

Writing at the same time each day can help you stay disciplined. If you can, designate days to particular aspects. Monday is writing. Tuesday is editing. Wednesday is blog, social media and marketing. You'll be less likely to miss things. Writing early each day can help you write longer and better. Make your routine, routine.

Finish each thing

It's tempting to lose heart in your work as you're writing. To give up with a novel half written. And start a new one! But this is a huge mistake. Even if the work isn't quite where you want it, keep going. You can always amend things later on. You won't achieve anything with writing half-done. There's no chance of publishing, or gaining readership or making money. The key is to continue. Come hell or high water. Then go back and improve it. Very occasionally, abandoning a work can be necessary, but only rarely.

Keep two things going!

It can be tricky to stay motivated with only one project in play. My advice, is do two at the same time. That way you can jump from one to the other, whilst maintaining momentum, and not losing the will to write.

Invite feedback

It's daunting after pouring yourself into your work, to invite comment from others. But it can help immensely with productivity. Use either professional editors or agents, or trusted family and friends. Approach several people. Take the good and the bad, and take note. Don't get upset or defensive. You need this. Things people repeat often are particularly worth noting and changing.

Avoid isolation

As a writer, it's all too easy to isolate. To cut yourself off from everything around you. But it hampers productivity. You need to force yourself to get out there. Meet new people. Introduce yourself. Sell yourself. Take note what other writers are doing. What current events and trends are happening around you. Get stuck in. And get noticed.

Help others

Helping others might seem counterintuitive at first. Counterproductive. Why should I give up my precious time to help others? What if they get ahead and I don't! But this is an error. Helping others helps you grow as a writer. It gives you perspective and can highlight the things you need to improve yourself.

Make writing enjoyable (and reading it).

A secret to productivity, is to make writing (and its reading) enjoyable. It must be engaging, if not spell-binding. Especially in creative writing or fiction. If you enjoy what you write, the reader will pick up on it and will enjoy reading it more. If you hate what you write, and the way that you write it, what chance will your readers have?

Conclusion

So there we go, several top tips for productivity in writing. Don't get stuck in your ways. Experiment. Tweak routine. Write little, focused and often. And blam, you're productive.