This New Writing Routine Made Me 10x More Productive
It no longer involves writing with a pen!
Ever since I started Medium, I’ve been a journal writer. Something about putting pen to paper gives off a more intimate experience in writing.
Physically writing causes a person to slow down their thoughts and think about each pen stroke carefully.
My old writing routine took me about two hours to have it fully completed, ready to be published.
For thirty days, I experimented with writing by doing so directly on the platform straight from my laptop. No more hand-writing transferred to Google Docs transferred here.
Typing up stories is such a time saver.
No longer am I spending time crossing out pen marks or struggling to get in a comfortable writing position. No more hand fatigue to worry about, either.
Anywhere my laptop goes, I go. Here is my extremely efficient writing routine that has worked for me for the past thirty days.
1. Eat Breakfast to Start the Day
When I don’t start work at 6 am or earlier, I sleep in until 7:30 am. At this time, I throw on my clothes and run to breakfast to get my mind right.
The gears in my head start turning faster with food in my system.
I never skip a meal. Otherwise, I’ll overeat snacks and get in my feelings.
2. Check Stats & Notifications from Night Prior
Most creators who are serious about engaging with their community understand the habit of checking notifications.
Any comment that comes my way never goes ignored. I must acknowledge people who care about my work because they are incredibly motivational.
To gauge an idea on which type of writing is performing well, I’ll check my statistics. If a particular topic ultimately falls on its face, I’ll try to see where I fell short.
Questions I ask myself include:
- Did I post in the best publication possible?
- Did I proofread it enough?
- Is the headline captivating?
After a personal after-action report, I develop a gameplan for my writing for the day.
If you’re a statistics addict, you can read this article to help.
3. Review My Notes Page
Any time I come up with a potential blog post idea, I write it down. Typically, I’ll track my thoughts on the notes page of my cell phone.
Since my cell phone is always on me, I rarely ever forget to transfer an idea before it disappears.
Depending on the day, I’ll be in the mood to write about some topics over others.
I’ll start from the top of my notes page and work my way down. I’ll work my way down until I jump excitedly to write about the topic at hand.
Once the topic is selected, I’ll open the “New Story” page and jump right into it.
4. Start With a Title
To paint a clear picture of the topic I plan to write about, I prefer starting with a title.
The title provides structure. It allows me to ensure that I deliver a message in lineage with my claim.
5. Write an Introduction
Writing an introduction is crucial to captivating a reader. The first few paragraphs are the difference between someone reading your entire article or skimming through it.
I’ll typically write about a personal experience to provide credibility and earn the trust of the reader.
Instead of starting a story by giving advice, I prefer to have context from the author about how or why their story should matter to me.
6. Select an Image
I know what you’re thinking. Jordan, if you’re in a writing flow and already have your introduction written, why would you bail from your writing?
To seek inspiration.
When I go onto Unsplash and search long and hard for a thought-provoking image, I immerse myself in the picture, and my message becomes crystal clear.
For more information on selecting quality images, read here.
7. Tie Personal Story in With Practical Lessons
To give my writing the cherry on top, I like to share advice and a “Takeaways” section so that by the end of the reading, the key points are narrowed down.
It’s much easier to make connections and relate to a piece when there are personal stories and clear takeaways.
One writer who does this exceptionally well is Anthony Moore.
8. Run Article Through Grammarly
By the time my article is complete, I’ll run it through Grammarly and make adjustments as needed. Often, I need to make my sentences more active than passive.
Lately, I’ve been using the synonyms feature and choosing more persuasive words.
Without Grammarly, I’d miss a lot of critical pieces.
9. Add a Subtitle
By the end of writing a piece, I’ll have a good idea about what my main message is.
When writing a subtitle, I want it to provoke readers’ thoughts while providing more context on what’s to come.
10. Add 5 Tags
I have a list of the top tags that receive the most traffic that I use when picking five.
It’s key to select five powerful tags that will allow your piece to gain traffic and perform well across the platform.
11. Submit Unpublished Drafts to Publications
To get the best exposure of any given article, I submit an unpublished draft to publications.
When they post it fresh off their thread, it reaches a much higher audience because it is recently published.
Preparing a few drafts for different publications is satisfying.
12. Rinse and Repeat
When I utilize this given writing routine, I’m able to write anywhere between two and four articles in a day.
Quality and quality are both critical, and for that reason, I never write when I’m short of sleep, burnt out, or feel like taking a break.
The key takeaways for my brand new writing routine are as follows:
1. Eat Breakfast to Start the Day
2. Check Stats & Notifications from Night Prior
3. Review My Notes Page
4. Start With a Title
5. Write an Introduction
6. Select an Image
7. Tie Personal Story in With Practical Lessons
8. Run Article Through Grammarly
9. Add a Subtitle
10. Add 5 Tags
11. Submit Unpublished Drafts to Publications
12. Rinse and Repeat
Everyone has a unique way of producing content. My routine is not going to be ideal for everyone, but if you are willing to try something new, I highly encourage you to try out what has worked for me!
You’ll probably refuse, but click here to read about my old writing routine.
