Who doesn’t love New Years?

The parties, the fireworks, the energy. You look forward to something new next year. Make it a chance to change something in your life.

And this year you promised you’d write. Something. Anything. Even if just a note every single day.

You did it for 1, 2 maybe 3 days. But something comes up. You overslept. You’re struck with writers block. It’s one excuse after the other.

I am the same. So save it I know all your tricks you sly little fox. Any excuse you can make, I’ve made it.

Today, I regret making those excuses. I mean can you imagine what it would’ve been like if I DIDN’T make those excuses? If I actually stuck to a schedule and wrote every single day.

So I’ve come up with 5 Habits that’ll make writing everyday seem less daunting.

Don't let your ideas evaporate

You can write about anything. But like most of your thoughts, if you aren’t actively trying to catch them… it’ll evaporate.

See something interesting? Write it down.

Think about a good topic to write on? Note it down.

Read something you feel like sharing? Same thing.

See, sometimes you get amazing ideas. When you’re taking a shower and you’re belting out your favourite songs at the top of your lungs you get a lightbulb moment.

Or when you’re taking a run and your head becomes extremely clear and great ideas on writing topics flood into your head. You need to write them down.

If you don’t catch it when they come, they’ll evaporate and you’ll be stuck with nothing to write about again.

Empty out your nugget.

Here’s a favorite of mine. Every night before you go off to bed, keep a little notebook beside your bed that you can empty your nugget in. Write everything you can think of.

Things you thought about today. Things you saw. It could be a dog crossing the street. Or a funny video you saw on YouTube. Maybe something in an article you read resonated with you and you feel like there’s an opinion you want to share about it.

Pen it down.

Writing things down physically has a way of making it more ingrained in our minds. And when you write it, you’re physically sorting out your thoughts so when you actually need to write… you can just flip through these pages and find something that tickles your fancy.

Blocking off time to write

This is important. You won’t have time if you don’t make time. And it’s absolutely important that you BLOCK time in your day to write.

Stephen King does this religiously. He blocks off 2 hours a day minimum to write (and recommends new aspiring authors do the same).

Why?

Because you need to be intentional about writing. You can edit bad work but you can’t edit a blank page. Making it a habit means making it a part of your routine. So try scheduling time to write around your day, see what feels best then stick with it.

Start small

Everyone likes BIG. Nobody is going to sit down write an Instagram caption and call it writing. But that’s exactly how you need to start. Find something to write.

Instagram captions
Tweets
Poetry
Short stories
Letters

What matters is you write. What exactly you’re writing is not as important as the act of writing itself. I like waking up and writing first thing in the morning. 45-60 minutes. That’s my limit. I stop once I hit the time.

Why? If I’m on a roll I should just keep writing shouldn’t I?

Maybe. But I am trying to build a regular habit so I want to make it easy to commit to. Easy and effortless to maintain.

Throw your filter out the window.

Don’t mull over what you’ve written in your scheduled writing time. Just write. As the words form in your head, type it out.

Don’t stop yourself and think, that doesn’t sound right. Or No way! I can’t write that.

I promise you it’s okay. This is your first draft and there aren’t any secret government agencies spying on your laptop right now laughing at how silly you sound.

Write exactly what you’re thinking. Don’t think about alternative words. Don’t rephrase. Don’t correct errors. Not now. You’ll do it all later when you read through the piece and edit it to clean it up.

Try weaving these into your day. Don’t try to do all 5 at once. Pick one and roll with it for a few days, a week. And if it works add on another. And another. And another. Then you’ll see how writing starts to feel not like a task that you need to get done but a part of your daily routine.

5 Habits to Build a Daily (or close to daily) Writing Habit

Who doesn’t love New Years? The parties, the fireworks, the energy. You look forward to

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