How Busy Writers Can Boost Productivity Without Burnout
Are you a writer looking to boost your productivity without burnout? Stick around to find out my five tips for finding time to write while avoiding burnout. These points are simply advice based on my experience as a writer and book coach—every storyteller’s process is unique to them. However, if you find yourself spending less time on your manuscript, try these five steps.
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These are my top productivity tools for improving an author’s time management. If you implement even one of these five productivity tips, you may find yourself spending more time on the writing and less time on everything else, such as: doom scrolling, content creation, meaningless to-do’s, etc.
Make it a priority: mindset and passion
Schedule it
Work on writing first
Create a writing ritual for each session
Write with a book coach
How Busy Writers Can Boost Productivity without burnout
1. Make it a priority: mindset and passion
To begin—and this is a no-brainer—mindset is crucial for the success of any story. When we stop viewing our writing as a hobby, and more like a job (but one that we enjoy), we spend less time putting it off. Writing a book is hard. It takes determination, grit, and time to create. And it should. This concept is challenging because as author’s, we’re our own boss. If we don’t show up, our book won't get written.
Now let’s talk about mindset. Your mindset. Reflect: If you’re going to spend years writing a novel, make sure it’s a story you believe in. You must be passionate about the story you’re writing, otherwise why are you writing it? If you don’t care about your book, your reader will feel it within the pages. While mindset and passion are the first priority, you also must be realistic about your lifestyle for scheduling writing time; let’s get into the next point.
2. Schedule it.
Whether you’re an advanced planner or someone whose life is constantly in-flux, scheduling writing time is crucial. Allotting a duration of time you can simply be in your writing world is non-negotiable. But in order to pull this off, you need to do it right. Schedule writing time when you know you can be alone. I know this can be challenging, but you need solitude, even if it’s a small pocket of time. No distractions. No to-do’s. Just writing time. Schedule it strategically; be realistic about your lifestyle and creative bandwidth. Within my email book coaching planner program, I share my exact self-scheduling process. Check it out for some ideas on what this could look like for you.
3. Work on writing first
This can be difficult to execute, especially if you have multiple obligations. However, schedule writing time first. I don’t necessarily mean to write first thing in the morning, before your full-time job, or even before your kids wake up. Although that is ideal, let’s be realistic—that can most likely only happen on a Saturday morning (which would still be consistent progress if that’s you!) Therefore, what I mean is to work on writing with the first amount of free time you have within your day. Any day. I’ve found that this works exceptionally well for building writing habits. The moment you find yourself free from obligations for 30 minutes or longer: write. Skip the scroll. Skip “creating content” and don’t just tell yourself but I need to market, or I just need to relax for five minutes (it’s never just five minutes) — we’ve all been there. Turn back to the first point: prioritize writing. All you may need is 30 minutes a day to gain the momentum your story needs. When you choose to write during free time instead of scrolling on your phone, you’re rewiring your brain from demanding instant dopamine, to receiving methodical creativity. Even if you end up only thinking about your book, you’re churning over ideas that you will come to eagerly the next time you’re at your laptop. If you do not work on writing first, your brain will tack on too many obligations and to-do’s that take you away from your creative spirit. That’s not easy to get back.
4. Create a writing ritual/routine for each session
When it comes to writing rituals/routines—and I use those term loosely—you don’t have to get fancy with it. And you shouldn’t be rigid about it either—you’ll survive if you don’t have the exact lighting or cup to drink from. Simply put: ensure you’re secluding yourself from distractions and people. That’s the secret. Get into a quiet space, open Scrivener or your Word doc, and simply write. Track it. Time it. Do whatever you have to do, but the key is to pull yourself away from the outside world and into your fictional one. What I’ve done in the past when I’m writing is to open up my processor and nothing else. The phone is put away and no distracting tabs are open. Just me and the words. This is the surest way to keep distance from your distractions and write more within your session. Invoke self-control. I’ve also timed my writing sessions. I don’t set a timer per-say, because those are startling, especially when I’m in flow! What I do is glance at the clock at the outset so that by the time I’m ready for a break—or to step away entirely, I know how long I’ve spent on my creativity. Also, I write until I mentally need to step away, (no arbitrary time slot) this could mean five minutes, fifteen, or two hours. Tracking the time helps me feel the momentum more so than the word count. However, I track both.
5. Write with a book coach
One of the surest ways to keep yourself accountable is to work with a book coach. When you have another person waiting on your next chapter or scene, they help you ensure you’re making time to write. Your book coach will also help work through ideas that feel flat or weak. They are truly helping bring your vision into reality.
We’re running a discounted book coaching program that helps authors build a writing habit. If you’ve been stuck on an idea, let’s chat about it. You get a free 30-minute consultation! If you decide it’s not what you’re looking for after our call, no worries!
How to avoid burnout as a writer
While all of these tips sound good—how do you avoid burnout?
Ahh—yes. Burnout. We’ve all been there, and let’s be honest, if you’re looking for productivity tips for writing— you may not actually be burnt out from the writing, but everything else. Examine your life and habits. Are you endlessly marketing or consuming content? Social media is mentally and creatively draining. If this is you, take a step back from the rat-race. Go back to the first tip and make writing the priority.
Or, are you in a busy season of life, such as: having a new baby, buying a home, the holidays? My advice: don’t try to do everything all at once. You may simply be in a period of life where time is truly limited. Do not force yourself to write if you’re spent. Refill your cup and come back to your project when you can.
Burnout comes when you’re trying to do too many things at once. It can be amplified if you have a creative job on top of being a writer—that’s a lot of creative energy you’re utilizing, and like everything in life, that energy is limited. You need to refuel.
Ways to recharge from burnout
You can recharge by going for a walk and listening to the ambience of nature, reading a book for fun, or journaling. Ensure that however you choose to recharge, it isn’t outcome-oriented. We live in a hustle-culture world that is unhealthy and constantly draining us. So much so, that when we finally sit to do what we love—which is to write—we can’t find the motivation to do it because our creative well is empty. If you’re feeling this way, do something that doesn’t have a goal attached to it. Go into nature, read for fun, listen to music, workout, or cook something.
After you’ve done the aforementioned, it’s time to go back to tip one: prioritize writing. But how can you work a full-time job, take care of your family, or both, while making time to write a book? Adjust your schedule. Maybe you can write before you go into work. Or maybe you can dedicate 30 minutes to writing versus forcing two hours. Maybe you can focus on writing your book on the weekends because you’re simply too exhausted during the week. That’s okay!
If you were to write for two hours a week—say, only on the weekends, that’s eight hours of writing within four weeks. And if you write about an average of 1,000 words in one hour, that’s 8,000 words per month. Multiply that by a project about 70,000 words, and you could have your first draft written within a year!
The key to writing and productivity is to remain consistent without demanding too much so you don’t cause burnout. You can’t rush the creative process. Enjoy it.
If you’re feeling burnt-out, do a self-evaluation:
Ask yourself: What is mentally and emotionally draining me right now?
Ask yourself: Can I start small? Can I write for two hours each week?
Ask yourself: Where can I eliminate distractions that are making me put off my writing?
Ask yourself: Am I passionate about this project? What do I love about writing this book?
Be painfully honest with yourself when asking these questions, no one will see the answers but you. And this self-evaluation will only bring you closer to writing and finishing your book.
Need help jump-staring your writing process? Get in touch with us for book coaching.
Happy writing!
