Three Quick Tips to Boost Your Writing Productivity

Sometimes, writing is easy and natural, and you feel as if you could luxuriate all day in the process of creation. But most of the time? Not so much. Writing is a discipline, and it takes practice to reliably shut out distractions and get the job done! The next time you find yourself feeling distracted and restless, consider these tactics from Inspira editors Kerry, Chelsea, and Tim:

“I have a notepad or sticky note beside me when I work and whenever I have a brilliantly distracting idea, I write it down. All the Ooh, I should put laundry in, or, I should turn on the twinkle lights, or, I should respond to that email thoughts get written down. This lets me write the distraction down without interrupting my writing to do it.”

“Sprints! Writing a book is a marathon, for sure, but unlike a proper marathon, you don't have to do it all in one go. Set a timer for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or whatever you think you can manage, and write as many words as you can in that window. They don't even have to be good ones. Once you finish, pat yourself on the back and treat yourself to a break. For many writers, a solid 30-minute sprint  or two can be more productive than a full-day writing session without any constraints.”

Chelsea: “If you’re the type of person who claims to work best under pressure, create some pressure for yourself. When I struggle to buckle down and focus on my writing, I put time constraints on myself by going to a coffee shop I know closes early in the day or by booking a yoga class an hour earlier than is comfortable. I also like to tell a friend what I plan to accomplish for the day: even if there are no serious consequences for falling short of my plan, the fact that someone is going to follow up with me keeps me more accountable to my goals. While I don’t want to go back to my college days where I’d cram for exams or spew out research papers the night before they were due, recreating a bit of that sense of urgency helps me kick into gear!”.

What about you? Do you have any foolproof ways to boost your productivity? Comment below with your top tips!