How I Maintain A Consistent And Successful Writing Routine
Writing isn’t easy. It takes time and effort to come up with an idea and write about it. But what’s harder is staying consistent and motivated to continue writing. Sometimes we feel stuck and that we don’t want to continue writing or we feel like we’re not moving forward in our writing career. Sometimes we write amazing articles and only get a few views and low engagement. It’s sad when this happens. But it’s very important to stay consistent. The time when you want to quit is the most critical, other people continue and become successful and others give up, what do you want to do in this situation?
In this article, I’ll tell you how I stay consistent during a hard time and I hope this could help you as well.
1. Set realistic goals:
- Setting realistic goals is important for any writer, regardless of their experience level.
- It helps you stay motivated. When you set SMART goals, you'll most probably try to stick with your writing practice to see progress. This can help you stay motivated and inspired to keep writing.
- However, if you set unrealistic goals for yourself, you'll feel discouraged and may give up.
For Instance:
You’re a new writer and your goal is to write every day for one month and reach 5M followers. That’s unrealistic.
Instead, you can write 3-4 times a week and reach hundreds of followers on Medium. That’s doable.
• When I first started writing on Medium. My goals were:
- Write 4 times a week.
- Engage with people.
- Have 10k followers in 7 months.
But when I think about these goals now, they're unrealistic to me.
Instead, my goals now are:
- Write 3 times a week.
- Engage with people and get to know talented writers.
- Have 1k followers in 7 months.
For me, that's realistic. I can achieve these goals.
- So instead of setting unrealistic goals that'll make you feel discouraged by not achieving them. Set realistic goals that'll make you feel happy and encouraged to continue when you see the results.
- Also, setting realistic goals can help you avoid burnout and maintain a healthy writing practice.
- When you set achievable goals and see how far you've come. You'll be motivated and focused and want to stay on track.
- If you can't decide what your goals are and what works best for you. Keep experimenting and trying different ways until you find your goal.
2. Reading comments:
- Sometimes, I feel discouraged and that I don't want to continue writing. I'm not achieving my goals and I'm receiving low engagement.
- One of the reasons that keep me going and stay consistent is reading comments:
- I receive lots of comments from amazing people that motivate me to keep writing and publishing my articles.
- Receiving positive comments can help writers stay motivated to keep writing. When writers know that their work is appreciated, it can motivate them to continue writing and help them feel more confident, even when things get tough.
- Also, receiving positive comments can help writers feel more connected to their readers and build a stronger relationship with them.
- Of course, not all comments will be positive. There'll always be people that leave negative comments, no matter how good your writing is.
However, It is important to not let these negative comments get you down. If the person who wrote the comment provides real feedback but in a negative way, try to improve your work and not be affected by their attitude.
- Receiving positive comments is one of the reasons that keeps me consistent.
- So, if you read an article that’s informative, or funny, or good, thank the writer. Let them know that you appreciate their work. You may help them during a tough time. Stay positive and supportive.
- And as a writer, it's important to appreciate the positive comments that you receive and to use them to improve your writing.
3. Take breaks:
- If you're feeling stuck, discouraged, or can't think of anything to write about, take a break.
- You can take a few minutes to walk around, stretch, have a cup of coffee, meditate, or do something else that will help you clear your head. Then, come back to your writing when you feel refreshed and ready to focus.
- You can check out my previous article about how to overcome writer’s block.
- Taking a break recharges you and enhances your creativity which can make you more productive when you sit down to write.
- Sometimes, the best way to come up with new ideas is to take a break from writing. When you take a break, you give yourself a chance to think and come up with new thoughts and ideas.
- Don't be hard on yourself, if you feel like you need a break, take a break and do something that you enjoy. If you can, take your break outside and get some fresh air.
- Also, don't be afraid to take longer breaks, maybe a few hours or the whole day or even a couple of days or more. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to step away from writing for a while and come back to it with a fresh mind.
Finally, Don't give up. Don't get discouraged if you don't see the results you wanted. Sometimes we feel like we're going to quit but we don't and that's the hard part. Try to keep going and keep writing and eventually you'll start to see improvement.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. The more you experiment, the more you’ll learn about your writing. Consistency is key to becoming a successful writer. That’s why you need to stay on track to develop a writing habit that’ll help you reach your goals.
How do you stay consistent? Let me know in the comments.
