Get back into a writing routine: 5 Tips

It’s September now, and apparently that means we’re officially in “back to school” / “back to work” mode but my brain hasn’t completely gotten the memo yet. 

(Case in point: It took me forever to come up with a topic for today's newsletter, because every time I tried to decide on an angle, my brain resisted and ran off in another direction.)

While I do appreciate the fresh start feeling September can bring, it can also be challenging to shift back into regular routines, especially if you’ve been deep into the summer vibes as I have. 

I’m guessing I’m not alone here, so you’re looking to restart or refresh your writing routine, here are a few ideas to consider.

#1 Put yourself on the hook. 

Truthfully, I wouldn’t be writing to you right now if I hadn’t already committed to it. Luckily, I have committed to it — so thanks for the accountability. 

It’s nice to imagine doing a bunch of writing ahead of time, getting it all nice and polished, and then sending it out in a steady stream, all according to plan — and while this can definitely work for some projects, it tends not to work so well for ongoing communications, especially if the process is relatively new to you. 

Most of the time, I believe the desire to delay publishing till you’re “ready” is in fact, a desire to dodge the discomfort of committing to the work, and the inherent vulnerability in that process. 

So, my first piece of advice when it comes to establishing a routine for yourself is to put yourself on the hook in some way. 

This might mean starting your own email newsletter or subscription-based communication, or it might mean teaming up with a friend or two with an agreement to share your work at appointed times. 

Whatever you choose, tell the other people involved (whether they’re subscribers or accountability buddies) what you are going to do. Make sure they know what to expect from you. Then you’ll be far more likely to follow through.

#2 Commit to a realistic, sustainable pace

With that said, while committing is important, it’s also wise to choose a reasonable pace for writing and publishing.

I’ve found that a lot of people — even great leaders who’ve succeeded at other massive goals — struggle to write and publish consistently.

Despite their good intentions, they find themselves unable to keep up the commitment they’ve made. A weekly e-newsletter turns into one every month... or three. A monthly newsletter turns into an apology for not writing regularly. Or a daily email turns into... radio silence.

It’s completely understandable. Writing can be challenging, and time consuming. And it’s not just the writing so much as it is the other stuff: Planning and thinking. Turning a first draft into a final draft. Formatting. Design. Marketing. And so on.

What’s more, it can be easy to exhaust your initial ideas. The more regularly you write, of course, the more frequently you need to come up with new content.

So while I encourage you to commit to something, make sure it’s something you can stick with.

A good rule of thumb here: Think about a cadence that’s probably sustainable… and then lower it. If you think you could write a newsletter every week, start with every two weeks. If you want to write every single day, maybe shoot for 5 days a week. There’s nothing wrong with monthly or even quarterly, either. Even if the pace is slower than you’d like, it still adds up. 

#3 Book time for writing… when you are likely to actually WANT to write.

If it isn’t scheduled, it’s probably unlikely to happen. 

While we might think of writing as something that happens when great flashes of insight are struck upon us from the writing gods, the truth is, writing is something you do. Not something that happens to you. And that means you need to make time for it. 

(For all my fitness pros, I think you’ll get this: waiting to be inspired to write is like waiting to be motivated to go to the gym. It just doesn’t work that way.)

Having said that, you can help yourself out by choosing a time when you are least more likely to feel “more inspired.” 

If your time is extremely limited and you know you’ll only have 30 minutes between meetings at 3:30 in the afternoon on a Thursday, cool — I’ll take it. But you’ll likely get better results (and be less likely to bail on yourself… or spend your allocated time agonizing over what to write) if you can do it at a time when you typically feel more creative, or at least less bogged down by other stuff. 

For many people, that’s the morning — but go with whatever works for you, your schedule, and your own brain.

#4 Stockpile ideas like a squirrel stockpiles nuts 🐿️ 🥜

You know how squirrels get extra, well squirrelly this time of year? They rush around trying to bury everything they can possibly get their little squirrel paws on so they’ll have enough food to get them through winter. (I even caught a squirrel stealing my neighbor’s patio lightbulbs and burying them in my flower pots!)

Writing and idea generation are in fact, two separate activities. If you haven’t thought about what to write about until you sit down to write, there’s a good chance you’ll be left staring at the blank page for a while. 

That’s why I encourage making story stockpiling a habit. Be on the lookout for story ideas as you go about your day, and make a quick note of them when they arrive. I recommend putting them in one place: for my clients this is often via a private Slack channel where they “brian dump” ideas as they come in. Later, we organize and track them in a spreadsheet. But you can do this in any way that works for you — in an app on your phone, on a stack of Post-its, or through voice memos if you prefer to talk rather than write.

#5 For a super quick jumpstart, do a 5 minute brainstorm.

Quick, grab a sheet of paper or open a document or notes app in your phone. 

Without thinking too much about it, list any or all topics you might want to write about now or at some point in the future.

Don’t overthink this — you can sort them out later and pick some, if any, to write about. If you toss them all out, that’s fine too. Just capture any ideas that come to you, no matter how random or silly.

The very act of starting to think about story ideas will help your brain start to get into “story collection mode”, so you can keep your eyes peeled for future ideas whenever and wherever they pop up.

Remember, if you want help with any of this, I’m here for you. 

Need some accountability and support to write regularly? Want to take your thought leadership up a notch? Reach out. I’m always happy to explore how and if I can help.