7 Tips For Increasing Your Writing Productivity

Productive writers use their time wisely.  Whether you are traditionally published or are an indie publisher, you will achieve more if you do more. Improve your writing productivity by following these seven tips.

Writing productivity tip #1: Know what you want to achieve

To be a productive writer you need to know what you want to achieve. Make sure the work you do helps you reach your business goals.

Writer productivity tip #2: Know the system you will use to get your work done

You need a system for determining how you are going to spend your time if you are going to be productive. I use the Rule of Three method.

1. Write down what you want to accomplish and the system you will use to reach your goals.
2. List three things you can do each month for the coming year to achieve that goal.
3. Determine three things you can do each week to accomplish your monthly goal. Identify three things you can do each week to hit your monthly objective.
4. Note three things you can do each day to realize your weekly goal.
5. Review what you wanted to accomplish at the end of a week, month and the year.

If you follow this strategy, you will accomplish 1095 tasks in one year and increase your writer productivity. Remember though, “Productivity isn’t about doing more things — it’s about doing the right things.” (Chris Bailey, author of The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy.)

There are many different systems writers use to be productive. Learn about as many as you can and experiment until you find the system that works best for you. If you try the Rule of 3 and it isn’t working well for you or if you just get tired of it, try the Auto Focus system that Mark Foster has developed or David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

Writer productivity tip #3: Know your deadline

If you don’t set a deadline for your work, you will not finish your tasks and hit your goals. Some writers join writer groups that require work be submitted each week or month so they have a deadline they must meet.

Writer productivity tip #4: Know when you will perform each task

Each day record on your calendar the period you will complete your tasks.  If you don’t commit to a time slot on your schedule for the work, it won’t get done.

Writer productivity tip #5: Know what you will not work on during the day

If you don’t take the time to decide what you will NOT work on each day, other activities will soak up your time.

Writer productivity tip #6: Know what you intend to do, what you did and what you want to do

Increase your writing productivity by reviewing your written list of what you intended to accomplish each day, what you did complete, and write down what you will do tomorrow.

Writer productivity tip #7: Know when you’ve completed your work

Perfection is the enemy of writer productivity. If you don’t realize when your writing project is complete, you will always try to improve your work and never finish.

You can learn more about how to increase your productivity and how to meet writing deadlines you set or your publisher sets in the new book, Meeting The Writer’s Deadline.

For additional information on writer productivity visit the Resources/Tools page.

You can find links to productivity books for writers at the Recommended Books page.

You can find some helpful downloads for increasing your writing productivity on the Downloads page.