Writing Inspiration
Five Tips to Become a Prolific Writer Despite Full-Time Work
Here is how to write prolifically in five steps based on 40+ years of experience.
Purpose of the Article
After introducing the methods to increase views and reading times of content systematically in a previous article, subscribers asked me how to write prolifically in their busy times.
The key concern is that full-time work delays the writing goals and prevents them from producing desired results. Since I wrote prolifically as a full-time worker for over 40 years, these readers wanted me to provide handy tips.
Sharing my knowledge and passing along my experience is an absolute pleasure. In this article, my goal is to give practical tips to become a prolific writer when working full-time based on my experience and observations.
This is not a theoretical piece. Instead, my intent is to provide valuable and practical information that writers can customize.
I was a prolific writer before finishing my full-time job for several business organizations. However, after being full-time self-employed, I became more prolific.
The journey starts with the mind.
Taming the mind is crucial for success.
Our minds wander constantly. It is a natural and inevitable human trait. Unless we find practical ways to tame the wandering mind, our creativity and productivity will suffer.
Learning this simple fact opened the path to a prolific writing journey for me. Every healthy person can tame the mind using proven techniques.
The body of knowledge documented the mechanism and benefits of mindfulness practices.
The solution at a high level is to use the neocortex (the thinking part) efficiently and silence the limbic system (emotional component) and amygdala (alert system) intentionally. This process takes time but is doable.
After learning about the mechanism of mindfulness and practicing meditation regularly, my creativity and productivity skyrocketed.
This approach made me an unstoppable and unflappable writer despite many challenges of life manifesting as setbacks in my journey.
In summary, despite constraints and setbacks with my full-time job and part-time studies, I managed to create at least 1465 hours annually to allocate to recreational and professional writing that bring me tangible and intangible benefits.
A Brief Introduction to My Writing History
First, let me give you a brief background of my writing history so that my points resonate with you.
I started writing purposefully in the mid-70s. However, although I loved writing daily, I faced writer’s block because of lacking knowledge and experience in the writing profession. As a result, I couldn’t be a prolific writer in the 70s.
The lack of an emotional self-defense system resulted in low self-esteem and no self-compassion. I did not know how to set emotional boundaries on those days. Emotional manipulations distracted me and prevented writing at the desired level.
In the 1980s, I developed a hands-on system in the academic world with the help of mentors. While working full-time and studying part-time as a postgraduate student, I wrote 100 pages of my Honor’s thesis, 150 pages of my Master’s thesis, 360 pages of my doctoral dissertation, and over a hundred postdoctoral papers.
In those years, I also wrote over 100 scientific papers, authored twelve non-fiction books, wrote numerous patent files, and posted several articles and blog posts to scientific communities. In addition, I ghost-wrote multiple books on technology, leadership, and professional development topics for busy executives.
In summary, I wrote daily over the last 40 years, which became a lifestyle for me.
Key Success Factors
These structured studies during that period taught me to create more with less effort refraining from perfection.
Leveraging RAS (Reticular Activating System) allowed me to accomplish my dreams without stressing my mind too much preventing analysis paralysis.
Improving my BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) using the power of ketosis was a critical success factor.
With lifestyle habits like skipping breakfast and later having a lifestyle of eating one meal a day, I gained physical energy and mental power.
After this background, I summarize the five steps that allowed me to become a prolific writer. As they are comprehensive, I linked to relevant articles to keep this piece digestible.
1 — Write in a Flow State.
My secret weapon to becoming a prolific writer was being able to enter the flow state quickly and stay in it as much as I needed. The key enablers of a flow state are intention, focus, and attention.
Gaining focus and attention with intention requires removing distractions. Eliminating mental clutter is essential to maintaining focus and concentration. Removing distractions is crucial for a successful writing career.
To become prolific writers, we need to learn how to enter a flow state quickly and remain in this unique state as long as we need. I provided steps for entering the flow state and maintaining it in an article.
Here are the three takeaway points to enter a flow state quickly.
1 — Understand the meaning of “Now” and live in the moment.
2 — Focus on a single task with full attention.
3 — Trick the brain for self-chosen priorities.
These points are detailed in an article titled Enter a Flow State with Three Simple Steps.
2 — Overcome the writer’s block.
Even though some people might deny it, in my experience, writer’s block is real, as I suffered it for a while in my younger years.
I also observed it in many writers who suffered from it in my circles.
Nevertheless, I came across practical and proven methods to solve them. I wrote an article about it titled Writer’s Block Is Curable with Proven Techniques.
Here are the takeaway points.
1 — Forget perfection but aim for excellence.
2 — Start with a quick structure.
3 — Schedule a short writing time.
4 — Challenge your inner critic.
5 — Maintain physical energy.
You may read the details from the article.
In addition, I shared my personal experience with examples in an article titled The Three Reasons I No Longer Suffer from Writer’s Block.
3 — Make writing a passion intentionally and systematically.
Once you resolve the writer’s block, the next important point is to keep the passion for writing. Creating a purpose in life is essential for productivity and achieving our goals.
Being a writer is a uniquely human capability. Writing is not only a therapeutic activity (scientifically proven), but it also can rewire the brain as a cognitive ability. Thus, writing can increase our mental flexibility and enhance emotional regulation.
This is not just an ordinary statement or assertion. I researched the topic as part of my studies in the cognitive science discipline diligently. Besides, I experienced cognitive flexibility and emotional regulation myself in addition to observing them in others.
In short, writing contributed to my physical and mental health as a therapeutic and transformational tool.
Self-talk is one of the creative tools to keep the passion. I enjoyed talking to myself even though it was awkward in the beginning. I have no fear and intimidation of self-conversations as perceived by others.
I see self-talk as clever, not crazy. In addition, I documented my self-conversation method with examples in an article titled This Was How I Talked to Myself Yesterday.
To conclude the section, unless we make writing a passion and priority in our busy schedules, it is impossible to become prolific writers, in my opinion and experience.
4 — Collaborate meaningfully and rigorously.
Collaboration, as opposed to competition, is an invaluable personal and professional development tool. There are various ways of collaboration for writers.
Replying to comments in articles, responding to subscriber requests, mentoring new writers, joining promotional activities to support book launches, supporting writers, writing testimonials, reviewing content, sharing information via newsletters, volunteering for publications as editors, guest blogging, and being a beta reader for book authors are a few examples.
The return was remarkable when I performed these collaborative activities, even though they consumed my time. Collaborative people might return the favor abundantly. Therefore, I believe that the more we give, the more we receive.
Moving from a scarcity to an abundance mentality is the crucial principle of collaboration and meaningful engagement with others. I experienced this in my life.
Turning envy into admiration was a key mindset shift for me to become a good collaborator. I introduced the process in an article titled Replace Envy with Admiration for a Joyful Life.
Believing in synchronicity and practicing serendipity opened the path to productive collaboration. Synchronicity and serendipity are not new age concepts. They are scientifically proven forces affecting the quality of our lives.
Meaningful engagement is an excellent investment for our karma account. We are part of the collective consciousness. Even though we are separate individuals in the physical domain, we are also connected invisibly in the spiritual sphere.
Science cannot prove this point of view yet as it cannot define consciousness using the scientific method. However, humans have known it intuitively for centuries, even before the start of history.
I had a vision of it in a lucid dream and shared it in a story titled A Glimpse of the 33rd Century Altered My Perspective on Life.
5 — Celebrate every success with gratitude.
Gratitude puts us in a positive and optimistic mindset. When we think positively and have optimism, the brain primes itself to a can-do attitude. On the contrary, a negative attitude and pessimistic mindset might delay our progress.
Celebration is a fun activity for humans. Fun is the most important human need for health and well-being. When we have fun, the body and mind become happy. Fun activities can balance our hormones and neurotransmitters with joy.
Having fun does not mean instant gratification. Joyful activities can be planned strategically and tactically to bring us tangible and intangible benefits such as preventing burnout.
Scheduling fun is necessary for happiness and joyful life. Unless we make time intentionally, wandering minds will not allow us to enjoy the fun activities, even though joy is a human need, ironically.
Our minds love creating anxiety when we deprive them of joy and leave them untamed.
Regarding fun, we also need to support the body to stay healthy and fit. Therefore, physical health is critical to enjoying life.
Meeting the fundamentals like restorative sleep, movement, good nutrition, and rest are non-negotiable for maintaining a healthy life.
Section Summary
To be a prolific writer, we must learn to work in a flow state. Overcoming writer’s block is critical. Making writing a passion, meaningful collaboration, and celebrating success with gratitude can contribute to becoming prolific writers. In addition, we must keep our body and mind healthy to create more with less effort.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Becoming prolific writers looks impossible to me unless we make writing a passion and priority in our busy schedules.
Of course, work gets the priority to earn our living. Work takes an average of eight hours of our daily schedule. We spend around eight hours of essential sleep.
So using the next eight hours within the 24-hour window is where magic for writing happens. My point is to prioritize writing, among other activities, within this eight-hour window.
I documented my experience using spare time to allocate 1465 hours of priority time for writing.
In my experience, the best tool to write more was working in a flow state. By practicing, we can enter the flow state and maintain it.
The takeaway of this story is to make writing a passion and prioritize writing within an eight-hour window after work and sleep. Thus, writing desire must create an urge to become a prolific writer.
Unless we make writing a passion motivating and inspiring us, we won’t have the urge to prioritize it. Other activities will take priority. And distractions will waste our precious time.
When writing becomes a passion for a writer, it becomes a fun activity rather than a chore.
The vital point is seeking fun proactively by scheduling it like work and sleep. Celebrating every small achievement can inspire us and maintain motivation.
As each of us is unique with different lifestyles, we must customize the points in this article to suit our needs and goals.
I hope you can benefit from the therapeutic and monetary value of writing with passion, optimism, and gratitude.
You may check similar stories in my collection. I hope you find some relevant ones for your needs.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Medium now has a new distribution approach called BOOSTING. If you want to learn more about it, I documented my initial findings, perspectives, and personal experiences in an article presenting it in a checklist format for new writers.
New Writers: Enhance the Chance of Boosting via This Quality Checklist
If you enjoyed this story and have time, you might also check my experience on other topics in the original stories that impacted my readers.
Sugar Paradox: Key to Solve Metabolic and Mental Health Disorders
Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively
Healthy, Wealthy, and Happy People Taught Me 10 Valuable Lessons
I wish I had Gone Self-Employed 40 Years Ago for Three Reasons.
Ten Hobbies Enhanced the Quality of My Life over the Past Five Decades
I also wrote about nutrients like:
Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and other nutrients that might help to improve metabolism and mental health.
Here are sample health improvement articles for new readers:
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease and Strokes, Liver Cancer, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, Brain Health, Brain Atrophy, Dementia, Depression, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular Health, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Autoimmune Conditions, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholestrol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, and other Major Diseases.
Disclaimer: Please note that this post does not include professional advice. I documented my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives only to provide information.
About the Author
Thank you for subscribing to my content. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria. If you are new to Medium, you may join by following this link.
You may also join my seven publications on Medium as a writer requesting access via this weblink. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis. I reflect on important life lessons of people in my professional and social circles.
You might find more information about my professional background. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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