How To Increase Your Writing Productivity

It doesn’t take much to reach a high level of writing productivity

This has come up several times in the last couple of months. People have been asking me this one question over and over again:

“How do you stay so productive as a writer?”

This is an important question, especially if we want to live a dream of being a full-time writer. As I look into my own journey, it looks different in the many seasons of life.

However, there are a few things that seem to be consistent for me.

I think the best way to work through what works to help me be a super productive writer is to look at some of the questions that come up about productivity and writing.

How Much Time Do I Spend Writing?

This is a question I field a lot. Especially as I have been posting 5–7 posts a week for the last few months. There have also been months where I post 30–40 posts in a month. So clearly, I am pumping out content.

Which I understand causes people to think I am writing all the time. After all, that is what I thought when I would see people post so consistently over time.

The truth is, I write 1–2 hours every day.

The key isn’t the time I write, but the fact I write every day. Some days, I knock out three posts. Other days, I get halfway through one. But, the key is being consistent.

As a writer, you must be writing. The best way to do this is to be writing every day. Whether it is 500 words like the challenge Jeff Goins encourages people to do. Or spending hour writing stories for Medium which is suggested by Tom Kuegler.

The key is consistency in our writing habits will allow us to become very productive as writers. The more we write, the faster we get, the more we are able to post content.

How Do I Come Up With So Many Ideas?

The idea generation is like water. When you consistently capture ideas, create from your ideas, and publish them, they will keep coming. However, there are some great systems available to help prime the idea pump.

For me, I capture ideas all day long to start.

I look at my life and find thoughts, situations, and experiences that might be helpful to other people. Sometimes these are stories, or life lessons, or common questions. When they come up, I capture them.

I use three main ways to capture ideas.

In the morning before I write, I enter them into an OneNote document I have. I try to come up with 10 fresh ideas that morning.

During the day, I will capture ideas with my Notes app on my iPhone. I make sure I don’t let anything escape and keep them there until the following morning I can add them to my OneNote.

In the evenings, I tend to capture ideas as Medium drafts. This happens because I am reading through stories I have seen throughout the day. One of the best places to get ideas is from the work of others.

Ideas will come to you, as long as you are harvesting them when they come to you.

How Do I Balance Writing, Publishing, and Promoting Work?

Here is what I do every week at a minimum. I post five stories at a minimum on Medium. I always post one blog post on my standalone blog. I also post independent content on LinkedIn at least three times a week.

That is a total of nine pieces of content every week.

The way that I do this is with a set system. Now, when I say the system, it isn’t elaborate by any means. In fact, I keep trying to dumb it down to help me produce better content and more content over time.

Writing

I have shared a little about this already, but the key is writing every day. Give yourself a goal. I strive for at least 500 words or 45 minutes of uninterrupted writing. This way, I can do the other things I have to do in order to actually get content out.

When I write, I only write. I don’t edit. I don’t look around the internet. I only write. Sometimes I will make note of something I might want to back with more research or link to another article. But most of the time, I just go for it.

The key is to spend enough time to work out the cobwebs of writing and getting into a groove.

Content Calendar

I started the year trying a few different things, however, with the help of Jim Woods, I was able to figure out the best way to do this. Jim would love to help you too!

My calendar focuses on different topics for different days of the week. Monday is fatherhood, Tuesday is Productivity, Wednesday is general Self Improvement, etc.

Sometimes these topics come together on an overall topic for the week. Sometimes they don’t. However, that is how I plan my content across Medium, blog, and LinkedIn.

Publishing and Promotion Routine

When I publish a piece of content, I share it the same way every time. I hit publish. Then I head over to Facebook. I share it through the different outlets there. Then I share it on Twitter. Next, I go to LinkedIn (unless of course, it is a piece on LinkedIn).

After this, I share it with a few specific places as well.

If it is a Medium story, I head over to ManyStories and share it there. If it is a blog post, I send out my weekly email. Sometimes, I will add a Medium story here too. And if it is on LinkedIn, I share it there as well as my other social media outlets.

This typically takes me 10–15 minutes to do. So, not a lot of time out of my morning. There are probably ways I could shorten this time using apps that keep all of my social media in one place, but I currently don’t use them. (If you have a suggestion, share in the comments!)

This is the routine I have been using since the very beginning.

What It Looks Like Each Day

For me, my day looks like this when it comes to writing. I start with idea generation using my 10–5–1 method. I capture my ten ideas, pick 5 to consider for writing, then choose one to actually write. This is five to ten minutes.

I spend 30–45 minutes writing a post most mornings (except on Saturday and Sunday, I don’t publish these days typically so I write longer). During this time, I might get two posts done. Or simply get partway through one.

After this, I edit and publish a previously written draft. This takes me about 10–15 minutes. I will get pictures, formatting, and add hyperlinks. Now, this can be a determent to my work because I miss little things, but I’m not convinced this matters much.

I hit publish and start shaking like crazy. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, sometimes Instagram, ManyStories, and email. This 10–15 minutes and then I am basically done for my day.

Of course, I am still capturing ideas and if I’m lucky working on other things sometimes during the day. But this is how to be super productive as a writer.

Especially if you have a family, a full-time job, or other time commitments that you cannot focus on writing all day long.

Final Thoughts

Being very productive as a writer starts with our commitment to writing. If we aren’t fully committed to being a writer or have a goal for our writing, we will not be able to sustain consistency in a way that keeps us productive.

Also, be flexible on the details.

Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we want them to or plan for them too. That is okay. Be flexible with the details. Don’t let a messed up day or two derail you from your writing goals and dreams. Pick things up the next day and keep running toward your goals.

Lastly, if there is nothing else you can do, remember that productive writing will be made up of consistent habits, a simple system, and tools that work for you. What works for me, may not work for you.

Pick a starting point for yourself, use what sounds helpful, and start being productive today!

Jack Heimbigner loves to see people’s lives change and see them chase their dreams. Check out his Maximize Your Morning email course to start chasing your dreams today!