Why You Need a Writing Ritual

Do you have a writing ritual? A lot of successful authors do. It's nothing fancy. A writing ritual is simply the thing you do before you sit down to write for the day.

It's no secret that pre-game rituals and training techniques help athletes get into the right "headspace" before a game. Some are stranger than others, but all aim at achieving the same goal: to put them in an optimal state for success.

Writing rituals are no different. They're about priming your mind and body for a successful writing session.

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, recites Holmer's invocation of the muse before he writes, so did Shakespeare. Copywriter and author David Ogilvy drank half a bottle of rum.

Simply starting at the same time each day and following the same routine is another way to create a writing ritual.

These rituals are powerful tools for habit formation. They act as triggers, priming you and your mind for what's to come.

If you don't have a writing ritual yet, start small. Try drinking a glass of water or playing a short piece of music before you write each day. Or perhaps whisper a mantra or two that will send you into your writing zone.

Once you've created the habit, keep up with it (or even improve on it!) What you do isn't as important as how consistently you do it.

My writing ritual shifts the atmosphere in my writing space, and it's as if distractions disappear. (In reality they don't, I'm simply better at ignoring them because I know I'm doing important work).

On days when I don't perform my ritual, it's like chaos and I can feel it in the air. And focus refuses to come near me.

Frivolous chatter takes place in my head, and I'm easily distracted.

My ritual isn't fancy. I simply play Johann Pachelbel's Cannon in D on repeat, open a word processor, and type whatever article I have to work on that day.

Am I lying to myself? Maybe. But it works.

I also try to start writing by 9 a.m. Notice that starting work and starting to write are two very different things. I check emails, look at my to-do list, and all that jazz first, but I try to sort through all the busy work before 9.

It doesn't matter what you do, find something that makes you feel ready to write and focus at the start of each day.

Do you have a writing ritual?