If you read my article on Returning to Creative Writing after a long break, you know that I cited James Clear’s Book Atomic Habits as a resource that helped me develop a sustainable writing routine. 

Today, I want to give you an overview of Clear’s habit-building concept so that you can apply this tool to your own writing routine. 

I’ve had a lot of success in using these laws of behaviour change and I hope you will too!

Atomic habits are the small, repetitive actions that you complete which should be easy to initiate and will provide big changes in your life over time. After continual repetition, behaviours become a habit once they are automatic (Clear 55).

Our lives are filled with habits, good or bad, and many have become so automatic that we rarely think about them. From brushing our teeth to your morning routine or reading before bed, habits can determine the pathway for many areas of our lives.

Goal setting has become a hot topic, especially in the area of self-help. We’ve heard of SMART Goals and many set New Year’s Goals.

Writing daily is one of my goals. Publishing a novel is another.

Goals are often our great future-forward-thinking plans for our lives- something we can’t get checked off of our to-do list in a matter of hours.

Goals are great to have, but Clear says that if we want to accomplish these goals, we need to shift a portion of our focus away from them and instead take a long look at our systems.

Our systems are the atomic habits and daily behaviours that we engage in, helping us to make progress toward reaching our goals.

If our behaviours conflict with our goals then in the long run they will counteract any progress that we intend to make. 

In the past, I thought that I could successfully get some writing accomplished while watching TV. 

Not only was I distracted by the screen but it also took me longer to write a single sentence with my unfocused mindset. This system worked against my writing goal. It was a bad habit.

We need to build systems that support our writing habits and routines.

Reflect deeply on the writing routines that you currently have. Be honest with yourself! 

Are they supporting your goals as best as they could?

Are they barring your progress?

What systems need to be changed, adjusted, or left behind?

Do you have imposter syndrome? 

I’ve definitely gone through it! I used to feel like I couldn’t tell others that I was a writer because I wasn’t published.

I felt like a fraud. I’d stop writing for months. It took me years to finish a novel. These can’t be the habits of a writer, I’d thought.

In his book, James Clear talked about feedback loops. He stated that your habits shape your identity and your identity shapes your habits.

No wonder I couldn’t keep up a writing routine. Not only wasn’t I writing most days (habit), but I was so scared to be called out by others as a fraud that I kept my identity as a writer at bay. I was exhibiting some destructive self-fulfilling prophecies here. 

Every time you complete a habit, your brain receives evidence that confirms your identity.

When I write, I prove that I am a writer.

It sounds simple, but the feedback loop is a real part of the habit-building process. 

Take a moment to think about your own identity.

I am a writer.

Say it aloud if you need to.

Does any resistance come up?

Any shame or embarrassment?

Your connection to your writer’s identity may also be hindering your development of a solid writing routine.

Clear wrote, “The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become” (41).

Each time we stop writing, we provide evidence that is contrary to our identity. We are making it difficult for us to be our own greatest cheerleader.

Clear laid out four laws for building strong atomic habits. These tiny steps may help you break out of a slump and create a writing routine that strongly aligns with your identity.

Before developing a new habit, we need to reflect on our current habits.

Take a look at your writing routine. Consider where and when you write. 

Do you…

Only write when inspiration strikes? 

Try to simultaneously write, clean the house, and watch TV? 

Do you write late at night, but find yourself falling asleep? 

Does your environment support your writing routine? 

Can you be productive there?

Clear suggests that we need to gain clarity on our atomic habits. It’s not often a lack of motivation that keeps us stuck but rather an unclear understanding of what time and place is needed to be successful in completing a habit.

Try pairing a new atomic habit with a current one.

For example, After I walk the dog, I will write for 20 minutes at my desk.

Now, I’ve given myself a time and a place to write. Plus, my current habit (walking the dog) is one I absolutely cannot skip so it can keep me in check!

To make this habit even more obvious, I can curate what I see. I can leave my notebook or laptop open on my desk ahead of time. I can keep my desk free of clutter (it’s hard to be creative when your space is chaotic). I can post a start-off note for my next writing session where I will first look as I sit down, triggering my writer’s brain into action.

Once you’ve practiced a habit numerous times, your brain will begin picking up on cues that predict your next step! So when I walk Rupert, my brain is already getting into writing mode! And I’m feeling ready to go by the time I sit down at my desk. 

Consider when and where your writing routine could be successfully placed in the shape of your daily life. 

Give it a try!

Here’s another feedback loop: rewarding yourself causes the release of dopamine (that feel-good brain drug). Dopamine motivates you to do the thing again thus gaining another reward and hit of dopamine. Pretty soon, dopamine is released in advance of that reward- anticipating the feel-good response to come.

Many of us don’t reward ourselves enough. We put off celebrating until we get to the big wins in life- graduating, getting a promotion, or publishing a book.

Instead, if we begin celebrating our small wins, we continuously motivate ourselves to keep working away at those giant goals.

Take pride in your tiny accomplishments. Celebrate all the milestones and you will find that you are more eager to keep slogging away at those “daily grind” habits.

Clear suggests that we build this motivation by connecting something we want to do with something we have to do.

So, I can add to my time and place writing plan from earlier like this:

After I walk the dog, I will write for 20 minutes at my desk (need).

After I write for 20 minutes, I will read a chapter of my book (want).

Consider what reward would motivate you to accomplish your writing routine.

Take Some Time to Further Consider if This Reward Will:

• Align with your writer’s identity or work against it
• Leave you feeling satisfied and overall well in the long run

I could reward myself with eating handfuls of sour keys each night (my fav treat) but that probably won’t have the positive effect I’m looking for.

The most difficult days to stick to a routine are the days when you’re exhausted, have a headache, or nothing seems to go right. Report cards are deadly times for my routines!

Clear states that we need to set ourselves up for success by making routines easier for us to accomplish on those harder days.

Two Ways to Keep Your Routines Easy Breezy:

1. Environment Design: 

New habits should fit into the daily paths of your lives.

There are some lovely places to write in Vancouver. However, if I’m planning to write after work, I’m more likely to stick to this routine if I choose a location that’s on my route home. It’s not adding further time to my commute and I can easily fit it into my busy schedule.

“When we remove the points of friction that sap our time and energy, we can achieve more with less effort” (Clear 154). This quote resonated with me. Some of the tiniest annoyances in life cause more stress and effort than they should.

If I can spend some extra time frontloading a task to make it easier in the long run then I am setting myself up for success in maintaining the routines that truly matter to me.

What can you adjust or curate in your life now that will make it easier for you to stick to your writing routine in the long run?

1. The Two-Minute Rule: 

Work on making it easy to start a habit because once you’ve started, it’s easier to continue.

Clear states that clarifying the first step you take in a habit (something small, atomic-sized that takes no more than two minutes) will provide you the momentum to keep going.

Writing a chapter of my novel can be broken down into the following atomic habit:

Open up my document. 

That’s it. I pull out my laptop, turn it on, and open my document.

Don’t think about it, do it and see where you can go from there.

On the topic of overthinking, Clear cautions against overplanning. When planning becomes a means of procrastination, we’re in trouble.

Overplanning is a safety net. It can fool us into feeling productive without risking failure.

Remember, at some point, an action that has been consistently repeated becomes a habit. The first, second, or third time we complete an action doesn’t need to be perfect. We practice, evaluate, refine, and practice some more. Practicing your routine is taking action. 

Ie. Outlining a blog post is planning. Writing the post is action.

We often stand static in planning mode for far too long to keep ourselves safe.

Give your writer identity evidence that you are authentic by practicing your writing routine over and over. 

Tweak it when you find ways to make it easier. Keep going even when it’s flawed.

Practice doesn’t have to make perfect. Practice can make progress!

It’s important to choose short-term rewards that align with your identity. If you are interested in building the identity of a person who works out weekly but then you eat ice cream after every workout to treat yourself, your identity conflicts with your actions.

How might this conflict play out in your writing routine?

Rewards do not need to be big and splashy. Clear suggests that marking an X on your calendar each time that you complete a habit could be an easy, visual reward that proves you are making progress.

Imagine stepping back at the end of the month and seeing all the tiny Xs splashed across the calendar. So satisfying!

We don’t like disappointing others. When our actions impact another person, when they have high hopes for us, we’ve added a heightened consequence to our actions.

An accountability partner is there to check in on your progress. It could be on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis- whatever works with your routine.

The person you choose should have an investment in your progress. Perhaps, you’re conducting a challenge where both of you are checking in on the progress of the other.

A friend who is only half committed to their plan will only demotivate you. Choose someone who will try their hardest to complete their habit regularly. Find ways to celebrate together. 

Consider a habit contract. What’s the consequence of not completing the habit? Share the plan with your accountability partner.

Choose the visual reward that satisfies you. 

Whatever you decide to do, ensure that it aligns with your identity and easily suits your natural skills. Don’t add another difficult element to your routine. Keep it simple.

“We have to fall in love with boredom” (Clear 235).

A new habit won’t stay interesting forever. Eventually, it becomes a consistent part of your routine, something you can accomplish with less thought. But that consistency is crucial to accomplishing your goals.

If we wait for inspiration to strike before we write, it will only hurt our progress in the long run.

James Clear has a lot more to say on the topic of Atomic Habits and I recommend picking up a copy of his book or checking out his website. It’s totally worth the read!

It’s time for you to take a close look at your writing routine. Give it a thorough check-up!

Feel the routine out for a while and remember to reflect consistently. Revise it when needed until you’ve got a habit that serves you best in your current season of life.

Share your identity hang-ups and short-term rewards for writers in the comments below.

Let’s gather a list of ways to keep our identities aligned with our behaviours!

Talk soon!

Julia