This New Writing Routine Will Boost Your Motivation 100%
This is nothing complicated, it’s really very simple
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I am a notorious pantser. Although there are some things I love to plan in my life, like travel or future purchases, writing is not one thing I ever plan. I don’t set aside time each day to write, because I can never tell what my new day will bring.
My wife and I work at home, and we are trying to save money on our electric bill, so we only run the air conditioner in the living room/dining room/kitchen. We live in the Philippines and central air is really not a thing. Because it’s so hot, we all sit in this one room. My wife is working at her desk. She is a VA. My daughter is sitting across the dining room table from me, playing on her iPad. My son is running screaming around the room, watching Sesame Street on YouTube, and sometimes riding his little car. I am sitting shirtless, typing when I can, chasing my boy around the room when he wants attention.
I get interrupted a lot. There is no quiet time in my house, so if I want to write, I do it with all the noise and chaos. I try to keep my wife from being interrupted because she is on the clock, where I am free to pretty much do whatever I want.
I never know if I will get an hour, or 5 minutes to write. I never know if I have to change a diaper or get my daughter some breakfast. I never know when I can string together enough time to put two words on the page.
But you know what? I am prolific. In addition to the website work I do every day, I write at least 7k words a day (okay, sometimes I’m lazy so maybe it averages to 4K). I publish on Medium almost daily, and I have another blog called Blog Differently. I am also creating content for a personal blog I am building.
I also spend quite a bit of time writing in a journal. It helps to keep me centered and I can write about things that are just too sensitive for the public.
I write so much because I want to be a great writer one day, and I know the only way to get there is to write as much as I can when I can. Right now, I think I am passable, even good at times, but I want to be so good in the future that people can’t ignore me.
So I write. And I don’t plan when I am going to write. I go about my day as a father and househusband and write when I can. And I am motivated, even more so because when I can’t sit down and write, I am thinking about what I am going to write when I do get a chance.
Because I am always thinking about writing, when I can sit at the laptop, I am excited to do it and motivated to get as much done as I can.
That is all great, but how does that benefit me?
One of the best ways I have found to make sure you are 100% motivated to write is to never plan. Don’t plan at all. When you have the time to write, sit down and do it. Do it with excitement for the joy of being able to do what you love.
When you cannot write, for whatever reason, be thinking about writing and what you will write when you have the chance.
Not everything has to be planned. Not everything has to be on a to-do list. Most of us lead busy lives, especially since the pandemic and many of us are working from home. We are stretched in so many different directions because we have so many things clamoring for our attention. Even if you don’t have a family, there are so many things that crave attention, most times it doesn’t plan to plan at all.
Imagine not having to deal with disappointment when it comes to breaking your plans. Say you intended to write all morning, but the kids needed help with schoolwork and you spent your time with them. You probably feel like crap for missing your writing time.
One of the best ways I have found to make sure you are 100% motivated to write is to never plan. Don’t plan at all. When you have the time to write, sit down and do it. Do it with excitement for the joy of being able to do what you love.
But what if you never planned, but found you had two hours free in the afternoon to spend doing your favorite thing and you get thousands of words written? How would you feel? Pretty great, I would guess.
I know this flies in the face of all the advice you have ever gotten about writing, but I am only writing about this because I have a busy life, and being a pantser actually works in my favor and helps me to become more excited and motivated to write.
At least 100% more.
Can it help you? I know it could.
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