Maintaining a consistent writing habit is no easy feat.

It can seem impossible to fit writing into our days between work, life and the unexpected.

To be clear, writing does not need to be a daily habit.

Consistency can occur on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. 

It doesn’t matter how often you write. 

What matters is that if you are truly eager to achieve your writing goals, you are building a writing habit that supports your unique situation.

Often, writers find it easy to set goals and even plan their novels. 

But when we get to the writing stage, we’re left without a plan for how and when we’ll commit to sitting down and doing the thing… writing.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss actionable strategies to help you stay on track, build a consistent writing routine, and make those goals a reality.

If you call yourself an ‘aspiring writer,’ you’re making it harder to commit to the act of writing. 

The word ‘aspiring’ means you hope or desire to attain something. 

You are hoping to be a writer. You’re telling yourself that you aren’t one yet.

That’s not true!

If you write, you’re a writer. That’s all there is to it.

We don’t need our mental blocks to hinder our writing progress. 

Once you believe you’re a writer, your writing habit will meet less resistance.

However, if you don’t believe it, then this mindset shift won’t work.

If saying to yourself, “I am a writer,” feels wrong right now, break it down even further. 

You can build up to this identity.

Try:

“I am someone who writes 5 minutes every afternoon.”

“I am a writer who writes once a week.”

Once that identity feels achievable, build on it.

Recognize when you’re living this identity.

Take pride in it.

Sometimes, when we have a goal we care about, it can seem scary to work toward it. 

Our negative self-talk rears its head, bombarding us with useless worries, name calling and what-ifs.

Paying too much attention to these will not serve you.

In her book, Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft, Natalie Goldberg states that this negative self-talk is “…the guardian at the gate. We need to prove our mettle, our determination…before it surrenders…”

We can’t wait around for these fears to disappear.

We need to prove to ourselves that we can write consistently.

We must put in the effort to write before realizing it’s achievable. 

The friction has a purpose. 

Action comes before reaction.

Right from the start, treat writing like an appointment you can’t skip.

You add doctor’s appointments to your calendar, right? 

Do the same with writing. Add it to your calendar or planner.

Commit to writing during your scheduled block.

Let nothing dissuade you from that plan, bar an emergency.

With time, your writing habit will flow easily and you won’t need to be as rigid.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear describes systems as the daily behaviours and habits that help us progress toward our goals.

If our goal is to develop a consistent writing habit, we must examine all the tiny routines surrounding that goal.

Habit stacking is a useful way to create systems that work for you.

Pairing a new habit (consistent writing) with an existing habit can make it easier to remember. 

Your current habit is the cue to get you writing!

For example, I might decide…

“After I drink my morning tea, I will write for 30 minutes.”

I’ve stacked the habit of drinking tea onto my new writing habit.

I could also decide: “After I attend my Saturday workout class, I will write for 30 minutes at the cafe across the street.”

In this scenario, I not only stacked the habit of my workout class as the cue to get me writing but I’ve also considered ease of location. 

When determining the systems that you need to refine or add to maintain your writing habit, consider: 

1. What obstacles can I remove to make writing an easy and convenient habit?
2. Should I use a focus tool like the Pomodoro technique or writing sprints?
3. How will I keep track of my progress? 
4. How will I reward my progress? 
5. What accountability system will help me remain consistent? 
6. How will I check in regularly with my writing habit to ensure it serves me?

Putting systems in place to support your writing habit allows you to grow as a writer. 

They give you enough structure to confidently achieve your writing goals.

The first writing habit that you create might not work for you.

No worries!

You can change and adjust it until you’ve found your writing rhythm.

I first heard this concept on Muchelleb’s Podcast, Grow With Intention.

It made a whole lot of sense!

We can build the most consistent, easy-to-follow habit that works for us on our best days, but sometimes life gets in the way.

We need a different plan or habit for those days.

In this concept, you’ll think about your habits as marbles in a jar.

Some are big and some are small. 

Usually, you can follow that writing routine to a T.

On other days, we’re so high energy and filled with enthusiasm that we’ll pick a big marble from that jar and go above and beyond our writing habit.

But not every day is like that. 

Sometimes, we’re just feeling off. 

Sometimes, we need a break and no writing will get done. That’s totally fine.

But, if setting aside our writing habit will have us spiralling into that negative self-talk, we can pull a small marble from the jar.

We might decide to set a 5-minute timer and just write a little. Enough to feel accomplished and prove to ourselves that we are still writers!

Muchelleb states that this flexible approach to routines can make them more sustainable. 

So, my final strategy for you is to take a little time now to fill up your marble jar with high and low energy writing habits.

Consider: 

1. What does my consistent writing habit look like on a regular day?
2. What does my high-energy day writing habit look like?
3. What might I do to maintain my writing habit on low-energy days?

With these flexible routines planned, you can pull from your marble jar whenever you need. 

Together, these 4 strategies can help you build a consistent writing habit that motivates you to keep progressing toward your writerly goals.

While this post is about consistency, it’s just as important to remember that setbacks are to be expected.

We all have off days but they don’t need to derail us.

Focus on progress, not perfection. 

Your habit and its systems are your guide, not your jailer.

It’s alright to miss a day or a week.

It’s alright to take conscious breaks.

By allowing room for bad writing days, your flexible mindset helps you to keep going.

With these new strategies in your back pocket, take one small action this week to reinforce your consistent writing habit.

There’s no better time to get started than right now!

What’s one change you can make to stay consistent with your writing?

Share below!

Talk soon!

Julia