5 Things I Do to Increase My Productivity as a Writer

Let’s all agree that anyone and everyone who’s even remotely interested in writing, wants to write more.

If someone publishes one article a week, they want to do one a day. If someone is writing one article a day, they want to write two a day.

Ever since I started this blog in April 2020, the main intention has been to make my writing more systematic and consistent. 8 months down, this is the most consistently I have blogged in 11 years.

Looking back, the last 8 months have made me not just a better writer, but a more productive one too.

My whole system around how I eventually publish an article has evolved more in these 8 months than it did in the previous 11 years. And it’s not due to any planetary changes. It’s just been a few simple steps.

1. Think of writing as a process. Not a task.

All these years when I would write content for my clients, and even for myself, it was mostly a task. A chore.

I would be doing it to finish the article. It was more about the destination than it was about the journey. And I was wrong.

To become a productive writer, we have to stop thinking of writing as a task. It has to become a process. A journey. Something that is constantly happening. Either on paper, on your computer screen, or in your head.

2. Always have a notebook/note-taking app handy

I have said this before and I’ll say it again. Have a note-taking process where you write down each and every idea that comes to your head.

Don’t be judgemental about whether the idea is good or bad. Leave that to later. First, just write it down. Days, weeks, or months later when you approach this idea in your notes, it might not look as bad as you thought it would.

I write down all my ideas in the Evernote app, or in a Google Excel sheet. And before I start writing any blog post, I go through these notes to see if there’s anything that either helps me directly with what I am going to write; or augments it.

These notes even help me gather pointers before any of my speaking sessions.

3. Write first. Edit second.

Being a productive writer is all about making good use of your time and finding the most efficient writing process.

For almost 10 years, I edited my work while I was writing. I would write two sentences, read them, and then edit them. That was what I was most comfortable with.

But after I read that a lot of consistent bloggers write in one go and then edit later, I decided to try that out. And it worked well.

Focusing on writing brings a better flow of ideas to my mind. Instead of breaking the flow with editing, I started giving all my attention to what I was writing about. This not only speeded up my writing but also made the end result crisper and concise.

4. Do not publish immediately.

While we might feel compelled to hit the publish button as soon as we finish editing, just don’t.

Either sleep over it or wait for a few hours before you come back and read the article with a fresh pair of eyes. 99 out of 100 times you will find some new edits to make your article better and more refined.

5. Write every day.

And I don’t mean 500 worded blog posts.

Even if it’s just a few tweets or a couple of sentences for your next blog post; write daily. Exercise those finger and brain muscles of yours.

I cannot even begin to explain the true value behind building this habit. On days when my brain is absolutely fried and cannot process any words, somehow my fingers do a better job. It’s almost like muscle memory.

Yes, some of the stuff that you write would seem stupid when you come back and read it later. But always remember,

Bad writing is better than no writing.

Hope you start your journey towards becoming a more productive writer as soon as possible.

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