Writing efficiently and maintaining high quality is a skill that eludes many writers. How do you learn to write smarter instead of harder? It can be difficult to find a balance between your creativity and the discipline you need to be most productive. Here are 7 essential tips to help you supercharge your productivity.
- Avoid distractions
What can you do to immerse yourself more deeply in what you write? The first step is to do away with any distractions. Make sure you turn off social media notifications when you sit down to write. Using noise-canceling headphones can be helpful. You also need to pay attention to the environment in which you write. Factors like poor lighting or physical discomfort can distract you.
Another distraction can be the computer you use. Your device must function optimally if you want your workflow to be most productive. You can’t research, write, or edit proficiently when technical interruptions constantly disrupt your creative process. If you’re using a Mac, one of the issues you may face is overheating. This can happen for various reasons such as if you have too many apps and browser tabs open. Finding out more about how to cool down your Mac can save you from technical problems and enhance your productivity.
- Write on a daily basis
If you don’t have the discipline to practice your writing on a daily basis, it will be hard to become a productive content writer. It’s good to have a plan in place and set some writing goals. Identify which time of day works best for you and decide on a manageable daily goal. When you set realistic goals you will feel a sense of accomplishment when you achieve them. For example, you may decide that you will complete two blog posts within a week. The repetition helps to train your brain and create a writing habit.
- Practice free writing
Having goals and a specific word count doesn’t work for everyone. This can prevent you from wanting to write at all. The answer may be to start by doing some free writing. You may think free writing is a waste of time. It means you will simply write down whatever comes into your head. What this can do is take off some of the pressure to perform.
A deadline or a word count will often bring on writer’s block. Do some free writing on a daily basis and you will look forward to your sessions more. You may be surprised by how free writing stimulates your creative juices. When the writing flows, you become more productive.
- Focus on what you’re trying to achieve
It’s helpful to keep what you’re trying to achieve in focus. Are you wanting to inform, persuade, instruct, or something else? In persuasive writing, you will focus on the argument you present to the reader. Once you are clear about the argument, the evidence to support it falls into place.
Every idea you present should be related to what you want to achieve. Being absolutely clear about what you want to convey can help you to keep your focus. It will prevent you from rambling incoherently and trying to include too many ideas at once. If words don’t contribute to what you’re trying to achieve, eliminate them.
- Write first and edit later
It’s easy to become paralyzed by the mechanics of writing. Rather try and get some words down that you can start working with than focusing on your grammar. Let your ideas flow and guard against the temptation to quickly look up a statistic or verify a quotation.
You can mark the places where you want to come back, add a statistic or quote and come back later. Making a start by writing down your initial impressions after doing your research can help you to avoid procrastinating.
- 6. Leverage technology
Technology can help to streamline the writing process. You can use different tools and find out what works best for you.
- A digital voice recorder allows you to record ideas as they come to you.
- Online calendars help you to keep track of deadlines.
- Grammar and spelling checkers like Grammarly will help you to avoid common errors.
- Online mind maps and outlines help you to organize your thoughts.
- Online organization tools will help you to keep your research, outlines, notes, drafts, etc. in order so they are easy to find.
- Plagiarism checkers help you to see where you may not have quoted sources correctly etc.
- If you are dealing not only with content writing but also with SMM processes, sheduling tools can help you boost your social media posting workflow.
- Timers can help you to stay aware that the clock is ticking and you can’t afford to waste time.
Many writers today leverage AI writing tools to help them with writing tasks. While they can significantly reduce writing time, you should never rely on them entirely. Rather use them to generate prompts that get your own ideas flowing.
- Take care of your health
Unless you take care of your health, you are sabotaging yourself as your creative spark and productivity will suffer. There’s scientific proof that taking regular breaks increases productivity. Ten-to-fifteen-minute breaks for every hour you write will help your mind stay fresh.
Find a natural resting place, such as the end of an article, where you can take a pause. Take a good break to recharge and you will be more productive when you return. When you take care of yourself physically by eating a healthy diet, exercising, and getting enough sleep, your productivity and creative energy are likely to soar.
Conclusion
Do you find yourself looking for distractions when you have a writing deadline? This is more common than you may think. It is also tempting to try and cram too many ideas into a single piece and lose your focus. You need to find a way to deal with distractions, focus on what you’re trying to convey, and make use of technology to streamline your writing. Taking good care of your health and finding balance in your life will also help to increase your productivity as a writer.