How I learned to write more frequently

Guest post by Anita R.

I would like to share my experience with writing. I am a writer by trade, but for some reason, I had trouble writing on a regular basis. It could be that I was too busy or that I just couldn’t get the words out of my head and onto the page. Whatever the case may have been, it wasn’t working for me.

Every day when I sat down to write, all of these thoughts came into my head about how good (or bad) what I had done before was and what people were going to think about it. And then there were days where nothing at all would come out-not even one sentence! I found myself getting frustrated because this is something that should come naturally to me and it just wasn’t.

Time for a system

I needed a system to help me consistently produce quality writing on a daily basis, so I decided to start small. The first thing I did was sit down and write out all of my ideas for articles that would be easy to do without too much research required. Once I had this list, the next step was figuring out what time period they could fit into (by day/week).

When doing this exercise, try not to think about your current schedule or how busy you might get with other projects-just focus on getting one thought onto paper at a time. Even if there is no way possible you can get something done today; take an hour each week and set some uninterrupted time where you can work on it.

The reason I wanted to do this is that you have a lot more control over what gets done when, so you can allocate your time in the best way possible for each project depending on how much time is required and the priority of each task.

Once all my thoughts were sorted out by day/week, I started avoiding distractions during that certain period of time every single day. If something came up where I couldn’t write at all, then too bad-I just had to figure out a different solution or reschedule for another day that week (which was challenging!). The important thing here is not letting other things come before your writing no matter what happens; put first! This might mean setting some boundaries with people in your life or working on projects during off-peak hours.

One method that has worked really well for me, especially when starting out, is to break the task down into smaller goals. For example, instead of thinking “I have to write 1000 words today”, try setting a goal of 500 words or even 250 words. This will make it feel less daunting and more manageable because you can complete it in shorter periods of time.

Results come slowly, then all at once

After a while, I started to see results and my discipline began to build (similar to how it is when you work out). This was encouraging for me because it meant that if I could do this for writing, then I can do it for anything else in my life that requires effort.

The final step was finding tools that would help me along the way. There are many great resources out there like Evernote, which allows you to take quick notes/ideas and save them for later use (I have an entire notebook dedicated just to ideas for articles). The other tool that has been helpful lately is called “Hemingway App”. It is a free online tool that highlights mistakes in your writing and how you can correct them. I also started using Writemo to set my goals and make sure that I had a third party holding me accountable.

Having these tools available makes the process less daunting because it gives you a sense of direction and lets you know what to work on next.

Friends helped tremendously

Lastly, I want to talk about encouragement from friends — because who couldn’t use some of that? When starting out any new project or goal, it is always helpful to have people in your life who will support you along the way (whether they are doing something similar or not). I was extremely lucky to have friends who were supportive and offered me words of encouragement when I needed it most.

Of course, I didn’t get everything right. At first, I had to deal with some people giving me flack for taking time out of my schedule (when they didn’t realize how much was already on it). As long as you know why you are doing something and what your end goal is; then that’s all that should matter.

Despite the challenges along the way, writing every day has become easier than ever before because now it’s part of my life instead of an obligation. Instead of constantly thinking about when I will get around to it or worrying if anyone will read/like it; I just do it without thinking twice.

It might sound silly but this simple act has proven to be one of the most beneficial things in my personal development so far because not only does it help me grow as a writer, but I feel like it has helped other areas of my life too.

The bottom line

I hope this post helps you in your writing journey! Whether that’s reaching your word count every day or just getting started with any type of project; know that anything worth having requires effort and it isn’t always easy. In summary, these are the steps I took that helped me:

- Created a system and built discipline

- Used tools to help me along the way

- Encouragement from friends

Try implementing some of these things into your routine and see if it makes writing easier for you as well.