7 Super Effective Ways to Boost Writing Productivity

Coffee break? Done.

Netflixing? Still on it.

Writing? Later.

Well, you can think of all the things that you want to do but write. This is exactly how I feel when procrastination rears its ugly head. As much as I want to kick it out of my system but sometimes it just seems easier said than done.

If you are a writer then you certainly understand what I’m going through. Needless to say, being a writer is not easy.

Just because you chose to be a writer does not mean that you will always be in the mood to write, like 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There are times when our mood, brain and energy do not seem to cooperate with our desire to achieve our writing productivity goals.

There are times when you find yourself asking -

How can I be more productive in writing?

To be more productive in writing is to find ways to overcome procrastination. Moreover, you should get rid of other excuses and double check your reasons for not writing when you have to. Failure to do so may bring your writing performance on a downward hill.

How can I improve my writing performance?

The best way to improve your writing performance is to keep writing. The more you write, the more chances you have of learning more about the niche you have chosen. If you make it a habit to write everyday, your knowledge about the different writing techniques will improve.

Therefore, your writing productivity and your writing performance affects each other. When you find ways to boost your writing productivity, you can easily overcome any hiccups that occur along the way.

What is the best description of a productive writer?

Productive writers have the ability to keep going no matter how hard the topic may be. They wouldn’t let a day pass by without accomplishing the whole or a certain portion of the writing draft.

Productive writers believe that finishing one draft after another is a sure ticket to achieving higher writing productivity and better writing performance.

How do you stop procrastination in writing?

Fortunately, you don’t need a therapist to help you get over it. You only need this blog post (which means you need me, too! LOL 🙂) and put into practice the following ways to boost your writing productivity.

7 Super Effective Ways to Boost Writing Productivity

1. Always bring your “idea” notebook.

I always have my “idea” notebook wherever I go. It is small enough for me to be able to quickly jot down some ideas that suddenly pop up even when I am on the go. This idea notebook helps me avoid being stuck in the writing process.

When you seem like your ideas are about to reach the end of the line, this idea notebook will save you.

You will be surprised to find that the ideas you wrote yesterday, last week or forever ago are perfect for the writing task that you are currently working on.

To those who say this is such an old school tip, my apologies. I love writing using my colored pens and small notebooks. The look and feel of my written texts on a piece of paper brings me a sense of joy that maybe only writers like me can fully comprehend.

Don’t like bringing your notebook with you? You can always use the notepad app on your smartphone or tablet.

2. Stick to your writing schedule.

If you don’t, then I doubt if you could finish one blog post in a week. Your writing schedule will help you get an idea of just how productive you can be in a day, week or month.

When you have a clear calendar of your writing schedule you will be able to keep track of just how much you have written (or just how you’ve procrastinated).

The best thing about it is that creating your own writing productivity calendar is not complicated. You just have to assign dates to your writing topics and have these as a guide to know when it needs to be accomplished.

Make sure you cross out each finished writing task. Use bright colored green or red pens to cross out those completed topics. This way, you will have a visual proof of your productivity levels.

The more bright colored pens on your calendar, the more productive you have been.

Needless to say, the absence of crossed out topics would mean you have procrastinated too much!

3. Set a daily word count target.

Setting your daily word count target will help boost your writing productivity. Just make sure that you are setting the minimum number of words that you can produce. Don’t set it too high lest you will only get frustrated when this isn’t met.

The lowest number could be 250 words a day. So, even when you think your brain or your mood is not fully activated for several reasons, 250 words a day is so achievable. In fact, you can achieve this goal within 30 minutes. That is, if you’re already well-versed about the topic.

To make sure you achieve your word count target each time you start writing, do some research first. Doing some research first is much like performing a warm-up exercise. By the time you’ve done enough readings about the topic, you’ll be surprised how much you can write.

4. Be in the mood to write.

Not in the mood to write? Then, do everything and anything just to make yourself in the mood to write.

Because hey! We don’t have forever to wait for your writing productivity to come rushing through your neural nerves and get your brain to start working! (Oh, wow that is such a long sentence right there).

Being not in the mood is for me, not a valid excuse to not write anything at all. You have to get yourself to write or suffer the consequences of lost writing productivity.

Turn the music on, lock your room, go outdoors or have some coffee in your fave cafe. Do whatever it takes to enable your creative juices to weave the right words so you can start typing.

5. Harness your research skills.

One of the reasons why you get stuck even before you start working on any topic is the fact that you really don’t know much about the topic. This is when research plays a crucial role.

Sometimes, we pressure ourselves too much to become productive and end up opening a new document right away. But, only to find that you have very little knowledge about the topic at hand.

So, instead of jumping right into your laptop, visit Google first.

If you’re a newbie and would like to improve on your research skills, check out my blog post titled “How to Be A Research Expert and Be Able to Write Just About Anything!”.

When you think you have researched and digested enough information to get your brain working, start writing. But, never hesitate to always go back to Google whenever you get stuck or need more information to be able to elaborate well on the topic.

6. Check your writing environment.

A person’s writing productivity is sometimes affected by his or her own writing environment. A noisy surrounding and cluttered space are just some of the things that must not be present in your work station.

If you’re writing for a living, setting up an ideal work space is a must. This is to ensure that your writing productivity will not be affected by the adverse conditions in your physical environment.

To help you get an idea of what an ideal work space is for writers, feel free to check out my blog post titled “Boost Writing Productivity with Your Ideal Work Space”.

7. Employ the Free Writing Technique.

I have been using the free writing technique since my college days. It helps speed up my writing productivity because I don’t have to be worried about the form, grammar, tone and mood of my writing at first.

With the free writing technique, I can just keep writing for an hour or so. Whatever it is that comes to mind that is relevant to the topic, I write them down quickly, without putting so much thought on the paragraph sequence or the overall form of the article.

Then, once I’m done writing I just leave my work for at least two hours or even a day. When I get back to it, only then will I start polishing my thoughts and the overall form of the article.

The main point of the free writing technique is to get your brain continuously working. The more you write without being conscious about the grammar or form, you will find that your brain will just continue spitting out relevant ideas as you write.

After everything has been written down, leave your written output for a couple of hours. Give your brain enough time to relax. This is a must so that once you get back to your writing, it will become easier for you to better organize your article and rectify all errors.

See? You don’t have to find yourself getting stuck in the writing process.

The truth is, when you want something to get done, you will find ways. But, if it’s something that you’re reluctant to even lift a finger on, you can find plenty of excuses.

I do hope that the ways listed in this post will outweigh all the excuses you made for not achieving your writing productivity goals.