"Savannah Cordova is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world's best editors, designers, and marketers. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and writing short stories. She does her best to take her own productivity-related advice."
How
To Maintain Writing Productivity Through Tough Times
I
don’t need to tell you we’re living through tough times — and
have been for a while. Many of us have spent the past year at home,
dealing with more distractions than ever. Whether it’s kids
clamoring for attention, noisy neighbors, or just the siren call of
the couch, there’s constantly something trying to pull our focus
from work. And that’s before you even begin to consider all the
unprecedented external stresses of our soon-to-be post-pandemic
world.
To
compound the issue, we’ll often beat ourselves up even more during
tough periods for not achieving enough. The space between expectation
and reality can lead to a whole lot of unhelpful guilt, which in turn
stifles creativity even more.
One
upside of this predicament, however, is that we can practice
mechanisms and skills to overcome these feelings — skills that we
can employ for the rest of our writing careers. I’m here to help,
with 7 tried-and-tested tips for maintaining writing productivity
during difficult times. I hope these will get your pen scratching and
your keyboard clicking!
1.
Start small
The
writing you do doesn’t have to be directly related to your main
project(s), or something that’ll ever see the light of day. But
establishing a daily writing habit (think: quick creative exercises,
writing to a prompt, or morning pages) will flex that writing muscle
in a low-pressure way, and can spark ideas if you’re struggling for
inspiration. As Leanne puts it, “the
key is not writing fast, but to keep writing”
— and a daily writing habit, however brief, will keep the thread
going even when times are tough.
2.
Take time to set out your goals in an actionable plan
Creating
a concrete plan that sets out a) what you want to achieve and b) how
you plan to get there can help provide the intrinsic motivation you
need to keep going when you’re facing resistance.
Say
you want to publish
a book
within the next year: by setting that goal in writing, and by
breaking down your abstract ambition into a timeline of realistic
steps, you’re providing yourself both with something exciting to
work towards and
giving yourself a bit of that all-important structure we tend to lack
in difficult times.
3.
Build a virtual community
If
your discipline is wavering (and who can blame you?), consider
finding other ways to stay accountable. Leanne swears by this method
for overcoming
writer’s block:
make yourself accountable to another person, or people. This might
mean messaging a writing buddy a couple times a week about your
progress, working in silence with a friend on Zoom (my preferred
method), or joining message boards or Facebook groups for writers to
talk through your worries.
You’re
not alone, and building yourself a community of supportive
individuals will not only give you the extrinsic motivation of
meeting someone else’s expectations, but will also expose you to
new methods of working. Plus, sometimes all it takes to relieve
anxiety and get your creativity flowing again is to hear that someone
else is in the same boat.
4.
Incorporate procrastination into your workflow
It’s
not realistic to expect yourself to never procrastinate; the human
brain can’t stay on task 24/7, especially if you’re feeling
stressed or unmotivated. Anyone who claims they can is either lying
or a robot. However, rather than writing off your procrastination as
a complete waste of time, consider pivoting to make “procrastination
time” part of your workflow.
It’s
often said that a change is as good as a break, and that principle
can apply to procrastination, too! If you feel your concentration
waning, rather than doom-scrolling on social media, use that time to
“procrastinate” with a different type of work. Authors these days
have to wear many hats, and there are plenty of non-writing tasks you
can occupy yourself with. Getting ahead on a practical task like
promoting
your next book
is still satisfyingly productive, while being different enough that
you can return to writing with a refreshed and reset mind.
Bonus
tip: if you don’t want to write or work, you can also read!
Anything related to your current project, like a book in the same
genre, can subconsciously help your creative process and
will also provide some much-needed escape.
5.
Establish boundaries with yourself and others
Unfortunately,
we can’t pack up and head on a solo
writing retreat
as often as we’d like. What we can do, however, is create a
mini-retreat for ourselves within our own homes. By setting up clear
rules to others on when you should and shouldn’t be disturbed,
you’re not only minimizing interruptions, but also making a promise
to yourself
that this is your productive time, and you’d better use it wisely.
Life
happens, and chances are you won’t always be able to maintain a
serene environment of monastic silence, 100% free from intrusions —
especially not if you have kids, or a particularly needy dog. But
sitting down at your desk, putting your phone on Do Not Disturb, and
asking the people you live with to respect your designated writing
time is a good start. Plus it’ll go a long way to distracting you
from any real-world troubles, if only for an afternoon.
6.
Change your setup
True,
there’s only so much of this you can do in lockdown, but even
moving from one room to another can be a handy reset when
productivity is stalling. I usually write at my desk in my bedroom,
but when I find myself struggling to concentrate (read: staring out
of my bedroom window aimlessly), I’ll move downstairs and work at
my kitchen counter for a couple of hours. It helps jolt my mind by
changing up the familiar environment — plus it puts me within
reaching distance of coffee, so it’s a win-win.
7.
Be kind to yourself
Despite
what hustle culture tells us, you don’t need to be productive all
the time. Firstly, you’re a real person with lots happening in your
life, so cut yourself some slack. Secondly, overworking will only
serve to make you less productive in the long run. Writing can be
tiring, and you need to take breaks to produce your best work.
Check
in with yourself once in a while, to spot when you need to take a
break before you reach total burnout. You don’t have to take every
opportunity that comes your way if it comes at the cost of your
mental and physical health. Sometimes, the key to productivity is to
spend a little while not
being
productive.
Productivity
isn’t about working every hour of the day, but about working
efficiently. By implementing the tips discussed here, and knowing
when it’s time to step away from work for a bit, you can establish
the healthy habits required to reach your writing goals — even
through the toughest of times.
