Reading time: About 3 minutes

Do you think your writing would improve if only you could become more creative? Here are seven ways to boost your creativity….

We’ve never had pets in our household. Although I’d dearly love a cat, my husband is highly allergic to animal dander — and the thought of a hairless cat (pictured adjacent) strikes me as creepy rather than comforting.

Truth told, however, our children felt the pet absence more profoundly. When they were still young enough to want to go hiking with us, they’d pick up slugs, carry them and name them. Mom and dad couldn’t supply a pet, so they’d find one of their own.

I always thought this illustrated one of the best things about kids — their deep wells of creativity.

Whenever someone tells me they’re not “creative” enough to write, I want to beg them to remember their childhood. We are all born creative. Some of us just lose it faster than others.

Here are seven tips to rediscover your own creativity.

1-Become an expert. I know, I know, an expert sounds like the polar opposite of a creative person. You’ve been picturing Beethoven, and I give you an engineer. But think about it: Someone who is creative joins things they already know into new and unexpected arrangements. By having a rich understanding of a particular subject, you’re in a better position to think of creative ideas. Make sure you really know what you’re writing about.

2-Brainstorm. For writers, one of the best possible ways to be more creative is by mindmapping, or as I like to call it, “brainstorming with yourself.” Mindmapping is fast, visual and fun. It’s the closest thing to a cure-all for writers I’ve ever found.

3-Don’t just sit at your desk. Sitting and staring at the computer screen until beads of blood form on your forehead is no way to create. Go! For a walk. For a run. Even out for a coffee. Sitting is toxic to creative thought. Get moving. Now!

4-Ask questions. Have you ever noticed how smart people are never afraid to ask “stupid” questions? In fact, there is no such thing as a stupid question. There are only people too stupid (too afraid, really) to ask it. When you’re interviewing someone, the stupider the question, the better. I frequently ask subjects to talk to me like I’m a 10-year-old. That often makes them smile, and it encourages them to get rid of the jargon and tell me stories.

5-Try different perspectives. Maltese writer Edward de Bono argued the human brain thinks in several distinct ways — not all of which are natural to every person. In his marvelous book Six Thinking Hats he presents six systematic ways in which you can challenge your brain.

1. Red hat (emotional): What do your feelings tell you?
2. White hat (objective): What are the facts?
3. Yellow hat (positive): What do you know will work?
4. Black hat (negative): What do you know won’t work?
5. Green hat (creative): What are some alternative ideas?
6. Blue hat (broad perspective): What’s the best overall solution?

6-Challenge any negativity. We like to think that working better will make us happy. But, instead, the opposite is true: when we’re happy we work better. If you want to be more creative, try to make yourself happier first. You might do this by listening to some music, reading a good book or meditating. Do whatever it takes to reduce or eliminate negative thoughts or self-criticisms.

7-If at first you don’t succeed, take a break… Getting access to your creativity takes effort, but it needn’t feel like the grim repetition of banging your head against a brick wall. If you keep running into roadblocks, then stop driving and try again when the roads are clear.

Creativity cannot be “ordered” to perform. It appears on its own terms when it has a welcoming audience. As long as you keep inviting it, creativity will eventually return.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like Is stress killing your creativity?

An earlier version of this post first appeared on my blog on Jan. 29/13.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours. 

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My video podcast last week addressed how to deal with perfectionism. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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How do you boost your creativity? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by April 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 4 minutes

Here is a long list of hacks to help you increase your writing motivation so that it really supports you….

Have you heard of the national competition that challenges people to write a novel in 30 days, NaNoWriMo?

I haven’t participated. But I have written and published two books — one shortish (roughly 40,000 words) and one standard length (70,000 words) — and I understand how easily our energy can falter when we’re mired in a Really Big Writing Project.

It may be a cliché, but writing something long is a marathon and not a sprint. We need to train ourselves to do it and accept that this training requires time and effort.

Here are 11 ways to support your writing motivation when tackling a project of 40,000 words or more.

1-Set small daily goals

With large projects, the deadline often stretches far into the future, like a boat on the distant horizon. This makes it challenging to feel motivated today.

Working only irregularly forces us to spend significant energy reacquainting ourselves with the material every time we open the file.

Instead, commit to spending a small amount of time (between five and 30 minutes) on your massive project every day. You’ll stay familiar with it this way, and your regular progress will help keep your spirits buoyed up.

2-Mindmap before writing

If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll know I’m a passionate advocate for mindmapping. (For guidelines, see an index of all my posts about it.) That said, there’s more than one type of mindmapping, and the one I recommend for long projects is a planning mindmap.

This sort of mindmap takes longer to complete than the daily, inspirational ones I typically promote, but it will help you organize your entire project and create a realistic plan for finishing it.

3- Write early in the day

I have worked with thousands of writers over 45 years, and I’ve observed most of us find it easier to protect our morning hours rather than our afternoon ones. We generally have more energy in the morning, better moods (the dog hasn’t escaped and the teenager hasn’t crashed the car) and clearer minds.

Write for at least five minutes as soon as you can in the morning, avoiding news, social media and email until you’ve done it. Even seemingly urgent matters can always wait for those five minutes.

4-Understand that only writing produces text

Many of us talk a good game about our writing. We’re happy to discuss the concepts we’ve developed, the research we’ve read and the flawed ideas others have proposed.

But serious writers don’t talk much about their works-in-progress.

When we talk about our ideas, our brains can trick us into feeling like we’ve already communicated them, making the actual writing seem redundant and too difficult.

Remember this simple truth: only writing produces text.

5-Always track your word count

I’m consistently surprised by writers who can’t tell me exactly how many words they’ve written for their book, dissertation or report.

This is like trying to lose weight without knowing how much you weigh now. Or taking a trip without knowing the distance to your destination. Or planning a dinner party without knowing how many people will attend.

Keep your writing numbers top of mind — know how many words you’ve written and how many you have left to write. I offer a free progress chart on my website. Please download it and use it.

6-Recognize that your first draft will be a hot mess

Do you sabotage yourself by believing your first draft must be perfect? This misconception only holds you back. Instead, embrace what I call the “crappy first draft.”

First drafts shouldn’t be of high quality. They’re meant to be edited. Later.

7-Show persistence

Writing demands both creativity and self-criticism. These two modes of thought use different parts of the brain and often conflict with each other.

The creative part (writing the first draft) should be fun and fast. The self-criticism part will take longer and, for many people, will feel more tedious.

To succeed, you’ll need to develop persistence. Editing demands tolerance for long hours, difficult decisions and self-doubt. Yes, it’s challenging, but understand it’s something all writers need to face.

8-Take care of your physical and mental well being

When we’re caught up in a project, it’s easy to neglect our health. Here are six important questions to ask yourself:

• Am I getting enough sleep each night?
• Am I eating healthy food that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables?
• Am I getting daily exercise? (Walking counts!)
• Am I remembering to breathe?
• Am I getting enough social time with friends?
• Am I experiencing enough “art” — books, movies, music, visual art?

Don’t put self-care “on hold” while writing. It’s what gives you the fuel to write.

9-Balance external and internal writing motivation

When we start on a long writing project, payoffs like better job prospects, the possibility of getting more clients, receiving more public recognition or earning money may drive us. But these eventually become less effective.

That’s why developing internal motivators is crucial — curiosity, a passion for your topic, wanting to contribute to your field or becoming a more skillful writer. Shifting to these internal motivators can keep you energized for a longer time.

10-Always prepare for the next day’s writing

The hardest part of writing? Facing the blank page every day.

But you can get around this problem if you give yourself clear direction.

After finishing writing each day, spend five minutes planning tomorrow’s work. Jot down notes about the topic or area you’ll cover next. Bullet points work perfectly.

Doing this exercise directly after you’ve finished writing for the day means your mind will already be on the project, making planning easier. And the next morning? Instead of a blank page, you’ll have instructions about what to do next.

11-Practice self-compassion

Accept it: in any project of 40,000+ words, you’ll make mistakes. Emotional resilience — the ability to recover from challenges — is essential. Writing inevitably triggers self-doubt, frustration and fear. Developing resilience means recognizing these emotions, accepting them and finding healthy coping mechanisms. Liberal doses of self-compassion will help.

The effort is worth it

Remember that completing a large writing project isn’t just about reaching the finish line — it’s about who you become as a writer and a person.

Each day you show up at the keyboard, you’re not just adding words to your manuscript; you’re developing discipline, creativity and resilience. The struggles you overcome and the habits you build while writing 40,000+ words create a foundation for future success.

So when writing motivation wanes (and it will), remind yourself that this journey is transforming you into not just a better writer, but a more focused, determined and accomplished person. Your future self will thank you for persevering through today’s challenges.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like 17 tips for how to deal with overwhelm.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week described how to write sentences with more impact. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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What writing motivation hacks have you used successfully? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by April 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 5 minutes (faster to scan)

Do you ever write down what you need to accomplish? Here’s why all writers need checklists…

Before I get into today’s column, can I ask for a quick favour?

I’m looking for testimonials from people who get value from my newsletter. If that describes you, would you consider giving me one to two sentences describing what you like about it? Oh, and please be sure to include a photo of yourself. (If you include a hotlink for your website or Substack page, I’d be happy to use that as well.)

Just email your short testimonial here, attaching your photo. Thanks so much! Now, on with this week’s column…

I recently mentioned in a by-the-way sort of manner that I had a 17-item list of tasks I perform first thing every morning. Here’s what amazed me: More than two dozen people emailed me asking for a copy of this list. (Really, it’s not that interesting!)

Perhaps it was this experience that predisposed me to stumble across a blog post by another writer (sorry, I didn’t note the URL or who wrote it) mentioning a 2009 book with the intriguing title The Checklist Manifesto. I raced to the library to borrow it because the author, Atul Gawande, is a favourite of mine.

A surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a staff writer for the New Yorker, Gawande appears to be one of those Renaissance Men who can accomplish dozens of different tasks and do them all unbearably well. I like to imagine he carves larger-than-life “Davids” in his spare time, or perhaps he composes symphonies to relax.

The Checklist Manifesto arose out of Gawande’s work for the World Health Organization where he has headed the Safe Surgery Saves Lives program, which has reduced deaths and complications following surgery worldwide by more than 30 per cent.

How did he manage this remarkable feat? With a checklist. Really. Gawande’s book recounts this fascinating story, presenting compelling evidence from two worlds seemingly at odds with medicine: building skyscrapers and flying airplanes. And, I suggest, what engineers and flight officers and now doctors have done should also work for writers. But first, let me give you a quick overview of Gawande’s book.

The job of building a skyscraper requires vast — and widely diverse — skills and careful planning. Imagine the thousands of people who would die if such a building were to collapse. Not only would the event kill the people inside, but the falling debris would crush those standing outside as well. (Remember the collapse of the World Trade Center?)

My brother-in-law, Doug, is a retired engineer who worked on the so-called “building envelope” of towers and, from talking to him, I already knew some of the points Gawande addressed. For example, engineers always work with lists. One of Doug’s regular jobs was to review deficiencies against the building plan and make sure they were all addressed. Engineers must ensure the buildings they oversee meet city codes and also the demands of the owner/developer. Doug has two post-secondary degrees and more than 30 years’ experience with building. So why did he work from a list — something a 12-year-old could do? It’s because a list allowed him to operate without forgetting anything important.

Nowhere is this principle more important than with airline pilots. I didn’t know this before reading The Checklist Manifesto, but a key part of pilot training involves learning and following checklists. Imagine all the lives at risk in airplanes. In fact, imagine the 155 lives that were specifically at risk in US Airways Flight 1549 to North Carolina in 2009. This was the flight that famously landed in the Hudson River after three Canada geese had choked both engines.

The pilot was widely lauded for being able to land the plane — in three minutes — without killing anyone. But what the public didn’t know was that he was simply following a list. Of course, having the mental power to stick to the list, when you’re afraid you and your passengers might die, is no small feat. But pilots train for this sort of situation and investigators use previous crashes to develop rigorously tested to-do lists that work. With Flight 1549, the pilot even had time to walk through the cabin to double-check that no one remained on the plane before he made his own thoroughly safe exit.

When Gawande thought to develop checklists for surgeons, he used the models of skyscraper builders and pilots to guide his own thinking. Here is what he found:

• Checklists should focus on only the most important tasks — ideally, five to nine items. If they are any longer, people might want to skip them. At the same time, they shouldn’t leave off anything important. In the six-item checklist for engine failure of a single-engine Cessna, the number-one instruction is to FLY THE PLANE.
• There are two types of checklists: the Do-Confirm and the Read-Do. The former is based on memory; the latter comes from a written list that you check off. Neither is better than the other. You just use them in different situations.
• The checklist must be tested in the real world and then adjusted. It’s not enough to follow someone else’s list — after all, your circumstances may differ. Test it and change it in response to the real-life issues you will inevitably encounter.
• There is an important “social” aspect to checklists. In airplanes, and now in surgery, team members begin by introducing themselves to each other and stating their responsibility. (In fact, Gawande credits the successful landing of Flight 1549 to this step. When the disaster occurred, the pilot said, “My aircraft,” to his co-pilot, showing that he was taking over the controls. “Your aircraft,” the co-pilot replied immediately, agreeing that he was ceding control. Gawande argues convincingly that if the two pilots weren’t such a close working team, they could have wasted considerable time on this very simple step.)

So, how on earth does this relate to writing? Well, as I read this book, I realized that I’ve been using checklists for decades. I did it instinctively to make my job easier and more effective. Now, however, I understand that they’re useful in the creative world of writing, where it’s easy to get caught in the moment and forget something important.

Here are the checklists I use. I generally perform them as “do-confirm” lists, but when I’m worried I might forget something (the proofing checklist falls into that category) I turn them into “read-do” lists. Study my checklists and see if you can adapt them to suit your own working challenges. Note that the order in which you do the tasks is also important:

Writing checklist

1. Do research.
2. Prepare at least one mindmap, maybe more.
3. Write without editing in 30-minute increments (using a timer, preferably one that ticks, so you can hear it).

Editing checklist

1. Take a break after writing (at least one hour, ideally more).
2. Read for content (logic, flow, interest and persuasiveness).
3. Run story through ProWritingAid (free for 500 words or fewer).
4. Ensure average sentence length is between 14–18 words.
5. Look for and eliminate clichés.
6. Look for and reduce passive voice.
7. Look for connectors and try to add more.
8. Check rhythm by reading aloud.
9. Check grammar.
10. Check spelling.

Proofreading checklist

1. Take a break after editing (at least one hour, ideally more).
2. Print out story (or, if this is too difficult, change the typeface and the font size so that the text looks dramatically different).
3. Read out loud while proofing (reading aloud increases the chances that you’ll catch errors).
4. Check all URLs to ensure they work.
5. Double-check all dates (ensuring, in particular, that dates match days — e.g., is May 30 really a Friday or is it a Saturday?).
6. Double-check spelling of names and people’s titles.
7. Double-check names of books and movies.
8. Look for any errors you habitually make (for some people this is anything to do with numbers, for me, it’s item 7, above — I often get book titles slightly wrong).

Web publication checklist

1. Run through spellcheck and look manually for homonyms.
2. Look for any errors you habitually make.
3. Check keywords (are they optimized for Google?).
4. Check tags (do they make sense?).
5. Check all hotlinks to ensure they work.
6. Check URL for this piece (is it short and succinct?).
7. Check photo (is it the best one you can use? Do you have copyright permissions?).
8. Double-check headline for typos.

Print publication checklist

1. Check folios (page numbers).
2. Check all headlines, reading aloud for typos (reading aloud increases the chances that you’ll catch errors).
3. Check all captions, reading aloud. Pay particular attention to names and ensure they match the person in the photo.
4. Check resolution of all photos (300 dpi is required for print).
5. Check all “turns” (when you have an instruction such as “see page 3,” does the correct story actually continue on page 3?)
6. Check date on the front page and any other pages where it’s repeated.
7. Check colour correction.

My number-one takeaway from reading Gawande’s book? I’d never adequately considered the value of “social” factors in writing and editing. For anything requiring teamwork, it’s a good idea to begin your project by reviewing who’s doing what and the deadlines involved.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like 9 mental models to write smarter not harder.

An earlier version of this post first appeared on my blog on Feb. 16/16.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours. 

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My video podcast last week addressed how to write sentences with more impact. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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Do you ever use checklists for writing or editing? How? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by April 30/25 , I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 3 minutes

Are you making writing too hard for yourself? Here are seven common mistakes that plague many people…

When I wrote my first book, 17 years ago, I struggled to sit down to produce the first draft.

I procrastinated constantly (I’d rather have worked on my taxes), I edited while I wrote and I set monster-sized goals for myself.

That I finished my book, in roughly a year, said less about my writing skill and more about my I’m-going-to-do-this-or-die-trying stubbornness.

Please, learn from my mistakes! Here are seven ways you’re probably making writing too hard for yourself:

1-You’re procrastinating

Putting off writing until the last minute not only increases your stress, it also decreases the quality of your writing. I encourage you to break your projects into smaller segments (How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!) and to start planning your next project the moment you hear about it.

If you do a little bit of work every day, even the most enormous project becomes much more manageable. The secret sauce to writing daily is doing it first thing in the morning. If you write before your day goes sideways on you, and before other commitments stack up, you’ll feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment, which will make you feel more like writing tomorrow. 

2-You’re doing too much (or too little) research

People tend to fall into one of two categories: over-researchers (who love the topic and also use research as a form of procrastination) or under-researchers (who find the task overwhelming). I’m an under-researcher by nature, but the trick is to KNOW your tendency and take steps to address it.

My simple tip for dealing with research problems is wonderfully easy and even a little fun: maintain a research diary. It’s simple to do, and it will dramatically improve your writing.

3-You’re failing to plan

Ironically, many people get so fussed about their deadlines they start writing too early. This is just as unhelpful as procrastinating, and it leads to serious problems (mainly, you sit and stare at a blank screen until beads of blood form on your forehead).

Instead of jumping in to write text ASAP, spend the first 30 minutes of your project making a plan for how to succeed. Most of all, make sure you allocate enough time for editing. (See tip 7, below.)

4-You’re editing while you write

This common mistake makes writing a miserable task. Even worse, it makes you both a bad writer and a bad editor. Why?

Trying to do two different things at the same time dramatically increases your stress levels and the number of mistakes you’re likely to make. Also, if you try to edit too soon, you don’t yet have the perspective you need to be a decent self-editor. Only time can give you the necessary clarity.

5-You’re expecting inspiration to bail you out

If I had a nickel for every person who told me they needed more inspiration, I’d be wealthy. But in fact, inspiration almost always comes once you’ve started writing. It’s the act of doing that inspires us.

Professional writers like Stephen King and Margaret Atwood don’t wait for inspiration. Instead, they start writing and let inspiration find them.

6-You’re setting goals that are too big

If you want to write a book (70,000 words) or you need to write a dissertation (40,000 to 100,000 words depending on the faculty), you’re facing an almost-insurmountable mountain. From the bottom, it looks daunting and overwhelming. How are you possibly going to get the strength and endurance to climb that monster?

Simple. Don’t think of it as a book or a dissertation. Instead, regard it as a series of chapters or sections and focus ONLY on what you are writing that day. Strategic blindness to the overall size of the project is exactly what will help you finish it.

7-You’re not doing nearly enough editing

Many writers don’t allow themselves nearly enough time for editing. Here’s my rule: editing should generally take twice as long as writing. Don’t trap yourself by leaving your writing until the last minute, when there’s almost no time left for revision.

Instead, start and finish your first draft early so you have ample time to refine and improve it.

The real secret to successful writing

By addressing these seven common pitfalls, you’ll transform writing from a dreaded chore into a manageable, even enjoyable practice.

Remember writing is a skill that improves with consistent effort. Each time you sit down to write — even when it feels difficult — you’re strengthening your writing muscles and building good habits.

The most successful writers aren’t necessarily the most talented — they’re the most persistent.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like Are you working too hard?

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed whether it’s wise to revisit old mindmaps. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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How do you stop making writing too hard for yourself? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by April 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 3 minutes

Do you ever let your mind wander? Here’s why that might actually be a good idea…

You’re lying on your couch reading a book, and all of a sudden you realize you’ve read three pages and you don’t have a clue what’s been going on in the text. Why?

Your mind was wandering.

You may feel irritated with yourself. Perhaps you even throw the book across the room in frustration. But it may help you to know the science behind the issue.

It’s not a weakness on your part. All of our minds wander all the time. We’re doing one thing, but we’re thinking about another. Incredibly, research shows our minds wander roughly 30 to 50 per cent of our waking hours.

Moreover, these studies also show the frequency of mind-wandering tends to increase over time when performing a task. In other words, the longer we engage in a continuous activity, the more likely our attention is to drift.

So how can writers deal with this physiological phenomenon?

Pros of mind wandering for writers

First, understand how mind wandering benefits your writing. A wandering mind is a feature rather than a bug because it:

• Boosts your creativity: Have you ever noticed how having a shower or going for a walk in a nearby park results in new and interesting ideas popping into your head? This is the primary benefit of allowing your mind to wander. The act of thinking about other topics and doing something different allows your brain to make new and interesting connections.
• Improves your problem-solving: When we’re able to help ourselves think differently, we come up with creative and unusual solutions to longstanding problems. Our subconscious brains work all the time, and they are happiest when they can go in any direction they want.
• Encourages deep reflection: The freedom to think widely also encourages us to think deeply. It even allows us to dive into rabbit holes that might seem pointless on the surface, but that help us explore complex emotions and themes.
• Prevents burnout: We get burned out when we do too much of the same thing all the time. But a wandering mind takes us to interesting and sometimes novel places, allowing us to feel as though we’ve had a “break,” even though the break is only in our minds. Letting the mind rest helps prevent creative exhaustion.

Cons of mind wandering for writers

But next, make yourself aware of some of the cons of mind wandering. This activity:

• Distracts you from tasks: If you do nothing but let your mind wander, it will be hard for you to finish your writing. It’s so much more delicious to think about your next holiday than about the boring article you need to write.
• Makes it harder to make decisions: When you allow your mind to wander, your brain is less able to process external stimuli. This means you may miss important cues or details you need to make informed decisions.
• Might worsen your mood: There’s significant evidence showing that people who allow their minds to wander to (and then fixate on) impossible problems are more likely to deal with depression.

How to make mind wandering work for you

Here are five tips on how to allow your mind to wander in ways both healthy and helpful:

1-Schedule a specific time for mind wandering

I know, mind wandering might sound lazy and indulgent, but it’s actually a helpful activity. Instead of forcing yourself to focus all the time, build mind wandering into your daily schedule. Try giving yourself at least 15 minutes every day for a good amble with your mind.

2-Use activities as a trigger

Don’t let your mind wander at your desk. It’s not the right environment. Instead, get yourself up and moving. Walking is excellent for mind wandering, but so is gardening, washing dishes by hand or grooming a pet.

3-Wander into the future rather than the past

While unhappy minds tend to wander in the past, happy minds often ponder the future. Ruminating on past events is far more likely to cause you to mope or lament than it is to spark creativity.

4-Balance mind wandering with more focused work

Too much of anything is a bad idea. As 18th century poet and satirist Charles Churchill put it, “The best things carried to excess are wrong.” You won’t get your writing done if you allow your mind to wander too often. But you’ll write more happily and more creatively if you allow some time for it.

5-Put away your cellphone

Did you know the average American checks their cellphone some 205 times a day? Worse, they spend an average of five hours and 16 minutes on the device every 24 hours. We seem to have developed an intolerance for being bored. But boredom is a gift. It gives us the chance to reflect and to become more creative.

So, the next time you catch your mind drifting away from your writing, don’t berate yourself. Instead, recognize it as your brain’s natural process — and understand that, when properly harnessed, it can enhance your creativity and productivity.

Your wandering mind isn’t your enemy — instead, it’s a creative resource. Embrace it, guide it, and watch your writing flourish.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like How to calm your wandering mind.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed how to protect your sleep. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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How do you let your mind wander? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. And congratulations to Violetta, the winner of this month’s book prize, for a comment on my recent blog about the perils of panic editing. (Please send me your email address, Violetta!) If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by April 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 3 minutes

If you ever find yourself writing through uncertainty, you’ll likely feel uncomfortable. But, instead, thank your lucky stars you have a chance to write this way…

I met with a client just last week who was stuck in the messy middle of his book.

He’d been wrestling with it for several months without finding a solution, so he was doing what most of us do when faced with uncertainty — procrastinating.

Procrastination isn’t laziness — it’s fear

This is an incredibly common problem. Uncertainty goes with writing like salt with pepper and peanut butter with jelly. But while procrastination is a problem, it’s NOT a sign of laziness.

Instead, it’s a clear signal of fear.

• Fear of writing something that’s not nearly as good as we’d imagined.
• Fear of doing all sorts of extra, unnecessary work if we pick the wrong “solution.”
• Fear of looking stupid in front of others.
• Fear of being uncomfortable.

The hidden value of writing through uncertainty

Why do we have such an aversion to fear and discomfort?

In a recent book, Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, journalist Maggie Jackson argues there are many advantages to uncertainty. Uncertain people learn more easily, make better decisions, respond more effectively in a crisis, show improved mental health and have warmer social relationships.

But here’s the interesting point: Tolerance for uncertainty is both innate — something we’re born with or without — and situational. In other words, if we’re tired or overwhelmed or dealing with bad news, we tend to want an answer — any answer — right away.

7 steps to writing through uncertainty

If your tolerance for uncertainty is tanking, here’s a series of steps you can take to make yourself more comfortable:

1-Understand that writing through uncertainty is inevitable

Whether in life or in writing, there are all sorts of times during which we’re faced with not knowing. The job opportunity. The offer on a car or a house. How we’re going to end our damn book. Remind yourself that you don’t have to figure out all the answers right away and that uncertainty is always temporary. Eventually, you will figure out a solution. What you may need right now is a break.

2-Recognize that discomfort often leads to growth

Discomfort is actually a sign of progress and an opportunity to improve your writing ability. Neuroscience supports this approach: By adopting what’s called a “growth mindset,” you create neural pathways that reinforce resilience and adaptability.

3-Notice how creativity thrives in adversity

Not having everything you want or need — whether ideas, time or solutions — can push you to explore themes and concepts you might otherwise avoid. As Aesop said: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” And as author Simon Sinek reminds us, “Innovation is not born from the dream, innovation is born from the struggle.”

4-Write about your discomfort

You’re a writer. So use your fear or your frustration as a subject for your writing. This approach, called expressive writing, was developed by social psychologist James W. Pennebaker in 1986. Since then, more than 200 studies have demonstrated that writing about emotional upheavals for just 15 minutes a day over three or four days can improve both physical and psychological well-being.

5-Remember to breathe

When we become stressed, many of us forget to breathe or forget to breathe deeply enough. When you breathe inadequately, your parasympathetic nervous system assumes you may be in danger, which will make you feel even more uncomfortable. Whenever you face a problem or a stressor, always start by focusing on your breathing. Box breathing is a simple technique that can help immediately.

6-Understand that rejection rules the world

Writers who are comfortable with discomfort are better equipped to handle negative feedback, rejections from agents or publishers and critical reviews. Rejection is everywhere in this world! Instead of being discouraged, successful writers see negative experiences as opportunities for growth. Having a mindset like this is crucial for long-term success in any competitive field.

7-Learn to sit with discomfort

Every time you sit with discomfort — whether it’s staring at a blank screen, struggling with self-editing or submitting your work despite your fear of rejection — you strengthen your creative muscles. Writing isn’t about waiting for perfect conditions. It’s about writing anyway. The more you embrace discomfort, the more resilient, creative and productive you become.

A practical tool for writing through uncertainty

While uncertainty and discomfort sound miserable, they needn’t wreck your writing life. Expect them and learn how to deal with them. One of my favourite tricks is to use mindmapping.

For example, if you’re reluctant to resume your writing because you can’t decide between three competing ideas or solutions, then create two mindmaps for each option.

• First mindmap: “Why is this solution a good one?”
• Second mindmap: “What are the downsides of this solution?”

Do these mindmaps for each of the three competing ideas, and you’ll quickly discover which one is likely to work best for you. Best of all, this approach is fast. You should be able to do each mindmap in roughly one to five minutes.

By embracing uncertainty rather than fighting it, you’ll not only finish your current project but you’ll also develop the resilience that distinguishes successful writers from those who give up too soon.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like How to get unstuck from your writing obstacles.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed the best way to paraphrase. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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How do you cope with writing through uncertainty? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by March 31/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 3 minutes

Do you ever indulge in panic editing? Here’s why you shouldn’t and how to beat down the impulse…

We’ve all been there. Our deadline is mere hours away, and we haven’t finished editing our writing project.

• Maybe we became lost in the research cycle.
• Perhaps we spent too much time writing.
• Probably, we procrastinated.

Whatever went wrong, we’re now facing a deadline we can’t possibly miss. So, we make ourselves a strong cup of coffee and sit down to kick the rear end of the writing project across the finish line. Even though we don’t have nearly enough time.

Did you know that the word “panic” comes from the name of the Greek god Pan, who was associated with sudden and irrational fear? My friend Peter has the nickname Peter Panic, which I’ve always found very funny.

Panic, however, can be serious business. It’s characterized by suddenness, intensity, irrationality and an ability to inflict psychological pain.

I first heard the term “panic editing” from my client Sylvia, who confesses to having engaged in it from time to time.

Even though the term was new to me, I instantly understood what she meant. But when I Googled it, I didn’t find any definitions or description — just some smart editors who were selling themselves as people who could turn around editing jobs in a hurry. (Presumably by charging enormous fees for the work. Either that or by using AI.)

Why panic editing fails

If you actively dislike editing, you may prefer leaving the job until the last minute. But I encourage you to rethink your strategy. Almost nothing becomes easier or more pleasant when you’re doing it with an approaching deadline breathing down your neck.

I know panic editing feels productive. Your heart races and your adrenaline flows as you make changes left and right. But this last-minute approach undermines your writing in many critical ways:

You don’t have the perspective you need. Editing too soon after writing is always a bad idea. Think about it: You did the research for your piece. You did the planning and preparing. You did the thinking. And, obviously, you did the writing. All of that activity puts you in a bad position to be a reasonable self-editor. Why? You’re too close to the material to be able to understand the problems your readers are likely to have. And the only way to get the perspective you need is with time.

Your body is flooded with stress hormones. This is a result of the fight-or-flight response, triggered by your deadline. But under stress, our brains prioritize quick reactions over careful analysis — the opposite of what effective editing requires.

You make mistakes related to speed. Rushed edits often create new problems. You might change a term in one section but forget to update it elsewhere. And in your rush to fix content issues, you’re likely to miss technical errors — bad punctuation, formatting inconsistencies, citation errors or referencing problems.

Your creativity shuts down. Panic narrows your thinking. Those innovative solutions and elegant alternatives that make good editing transformative? They rarely emerge when you’re watching the clock tick.

Breaking the panic editing cycle

Fortunately, there are practical ways to avoid the frenzy of panic editing.

• Allow enough time for incubation. Work to finish your writing at least 24 to 48 hours before you start editing. This gap — where you don’t even glance at what you’ve written — will allow you to approach your work with fresher eyes. (And if you’re writing a book or a dissertation, I recommend you give yourself an incubation time of six weeks.)
• Use the multiple pass system of editing. Rather than a single edit — or worse, reading and re-reading your work with the vague intent of making it better — break your work into smaller pieces (chapters for books or dissertations, sections for anything shorter) and go through each one, looking for one problem at a time. Your first pass should focus on content. Subsequent ones can look at issues such as clarity, sentence length, passive voice, spelling and grammar.
• Give yourself a fake deadline. Just make it earlier than the real one. And if you struggle with procrastination, create consequences for missing your self-imposed early deadline. (Maybe a donation to a political party you find abhorrent?)
• Use rituals. Develop specific routines signalling to your brain it’s time to edit. These might include changing locations, using different tools (editing on paper vs. screen) or even simple actions like making tea or coffee before beginning your editing session.
• Get help. It’s always a good idea to have someone else review your work. And it needn’t be a professional editor. Some people are born editors while others are born proofreaders. Odds are high you know someone in each category. Ask for their help, and do something kind for them in return.
• Practice self-compassion. Perfectionism often drives panic editing. Remind yourself that all writing is imperfect and that your worth isn’t determined by a single document.

By respecting the distinct phases of the writing process and giving editing the time it deserves, you’ll produce stronger work and spare yourself the perils of panic editing.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like 4 strategies to change how you think about stress.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed how to find your thesis statement. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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Do you sometimes fall victim to panic editing? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by March 31/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 5 minutes (faster if you scan)

How to deal with overwhelm is a question that plagues many writers, especially academics. Here I offer 17 tips to help make your writing life much calmer.

I’m generally a calm person, but I can remember a time when I felt truly overwhelmed.

My children — triplets — were about five months old, and I was home alone with them. It was late afternoon, and all three of them started screaming at the same time.

They weren’t hungry (I’d just fed them) or wet (I’d just checked), but they were all desperately unhappy. I put one in a bouncy chair, the other in a kiddie swing and I rocked the third in my arms, and they still all howled. I’d heard that the noise of a vacuum cleaner would help some kids calm down, so I turned it on. Our house sounded as loud as an airport runway (with babies!). Or a rock quarry.

After 10 minutes of enough noise to cause permanent hearing loss, my very kind next-door neighbour came over to offer her help. I was embarrassed, but I gladly accepted.

Writing overwhelm usually doesn’t involve screaming babies, but the feeling of helplessness and paralysis is remarkably similar.

Here are 17 ways to deal with overwhelm related to writing:

1-Make sure you’re getting enough sleep          

Odds are high you’re not getting enough sleep. According to data from a Gallup poll conducted in December 2023, Americans are currently averaging only 6.5 hours of sleep per night. We all require seven to 10 hours a night, and if we don’t get it, our creativity and our calm suffer. The next time you’re on holiday, figure out how much sleep you really need by tracking the time you go to bed and the time you wake up (without an alarm). Then, plan to get that much sleep every night moving forward.

If you’re feeling stressed about a writing project, you may think it makes sense to stay up late and get the work done when it’s quiet. Actually, this is a bad idea because you need your sleep more when you’re stressed. Figure out how you can protect your sleep. Your body will thank you by helping you stay calmer.

2-Remember to breathe

Many of us forget to breathe when we get stressed. I call this writing apnea. Whenever you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, the first thing to do is to pay attention to your breathing.

A 2017 study involving university students suggested that deep breathing can help reduce stress and improve mood. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, try box breathing, a technique recommended by Navy SEALs. Here’s how to do it:

• Inhale through your nose for four counts. Expand your belly and ribs to ensure a full breath.
• Hold for four counts without inhaling or exhaling.
• Exhale through your mouth for four counts, emptying your lungs and allowing your belly and ribs to return to their normal positions.
• Hold with empty lungs for four counts.

The beauty of this technique is that you can practice it anywhere — at your desk, in a meeting or even while staring at a blank document. Just 30 seconds of intentional breathing can reset your nervous system and help you approach your writing with renewed focus.

3-Stop multitasking

Many people figure they can become more efficient by trying to do two things at the same time. But neuroscientists will tell you this is impossible. At best, you can do what’s called “rapid sequential tasking,” which means you move quickly back and forth between different tasks. And while this may make you FEEL as though you’re accomplishing more, the evidence shows it will cause you to make more mistakes and to feel more stress. If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, don’t make the situation worse by multitasking.

4-Reflect on your “why”

When we are overtaken by overwhelm, we feel lost in a sea of misery. Our brains race, and we find it hard to focus on any one task or feeling. This is a good time to require yourself to focus on your WHY. Why are you doing this task? What do you hope to achieve? Why is it worth putting up with the pain you’re currently experiencing? Focusing on your why will help you stay immersed in what you’re trying to accomplish.

 5-Name your feelings

Underneath overwhelm, most people have more specific feelings — fear, impatience, shame, anger, guilt. If you can name the feeling, you can start taking specific steps to deal with it. Ninety-five per cent of the time, I find the problem behind overwhelm is fear.

Remind yourself that no feeling — not joy, not unhappiness, not pride and certainly not fear — lasts forever. Awful as the fear may seem, you can be assured it will go away, likely soon.

6-Accept your feelings

Many of us don’t want to accept feelings we don’t like — we think ignoring the problem is the best way to overcome it. But telling yourself to ignore something is usually a sure-fire way to cause yourself to think about it. Research into what’s known as the “white bear problem” (from a scientific experiment that told subjects not to think of white bears) suggests that we need permission to accept and think about something in order to prevent unhealthy rumination.

7-Get your thoughts on paper

It’s fine to think about issues in your own mind’s eye, but as writers we get far more value from writing down our thoughts. When we write, we focus more clearly and become more aware. Take five minutes a day to note your feelings (on screen or on paper) so you can make them more concrete.

8-Clean up your immediate surroundings

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I like to clean something — my desk, a drawer or a cupboard. It makes me feel calmer and more organized. Don’t use this as a chance to procrastinate about working on your writing project. Instead, give yourself five minutes to restore order to your immediate surroundings. “Outer order, inner calm” is how the expression goes.

9-Rethink your to-do list

One of the problems with feeling overwhelmed is that you likely have too much stuff to do. Many of us have ridiculously long to-do lists with several hundred or, worse, several thousand items on them, all jockeying for attention. If you’re battling overwhelm, now is the time to pare your list to the bone. Do ONLY the bare essentials. Delegate (or ignore) everything else.

10-Take the next tiny step

The biggest mistake most of us make is setting goals for ourselves that are way too daunting. I’ve worked with many writers (frequently academics) who beat themselves up for not being able to write two hours a day. They don’t realize that two hours is an enormous amount of time that only makes them want to procrastinate. If you start small (say, five to 15 minutes), you’re less likely to procrastinate and you’re more likely to achieve success.

11-Use some techniques from psychologists

Here are two tools recommended by psychologists for how to deal with overwhelm:

The 5-4-3-2-1 method, which aims to ground you in your senses:

• 5 – Name five things you can see, right now, from where you’re sitting.
• 4 – Name four things you can hear.
• 3 – Name three things you can touch, like the pages of a nearby book.
• 2 – Name two smells you can smell.
• 1 – Name something you can taste.

Use cold as a distraction: Grab some ice and eat it, put an ice pack on your back, legs or arms or dunk your face in some really cold water. (This allows your neurotransmitters to refocus on the “pain” of the cold.)

12-Be sure you’re taking enough breaks

When we’re overwhelmed by a work project that feels too big for us to handle, we’re often tempted to try to work harder. Remind yourself that you don’t want to work harder — you want to work smarter. Paradoxically, if you take more breaks, you’re likely to do your work faster and more efficiently.

13-Make enough time for fun 

If you have a big project, you may figure you no longer have enough time for fun. That’s crazy thinking! This is precisely when you most need a break. Writing is a creative act, and it’s fueled by the fun we have in our lives, like:

• listening to music
• going for walks with friends
• seeing movies and plays
• spending time with loved ones

14-Take enough sensory breaks

Sometimes, we just get worn out by the demands of our go-go-go society. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consider dimming the lights and steering clear of loud environments (or wearing earbuds or earplugs when you can’t avoid noise). Make sure your clothes are comfortable and even consider using a weighted blanket when you go to bed at night.

If you’re spending a lot of time staring at a computer, your eyes are probably getting tired from taking in so much light. Take frequent breaks (every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds). Then, at the end of the day, spend five minutes with a warm compress on your eyes.

15-Get some exercise

Exercise can help burn off some of the “fight-or-flight” response that appears when we’re feeling overwhelmed. Yes, I know you’re pressed for time, so I’m not suggesting you take an hour to go to the gym. But how about taking 10 minutes to walk around your block? Or doing 10 jumping jacks beside your desk? Or shrugging your shoulders a dozen times? Every small bit of activity helps.

16-Make your self-talk more positive

Writers talk to themselves every day (usually saying pretty negative stuff), but people who speak to themselves as if they were another person (in my case, by using the word “Daphne” or “you”) perform better under stress than people who use the word “I.”

When people talk to themselves in the second or third person, “it allows them to give themselves objective, helpful feedback,” says Ethan Kross, associate professor of psychology and director of the Self-Control and Emotion Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

In fact, Olympic athletes are taught to say such things as “Come on!” or “Let’s go” or “You can do this!” This is motivational self-talk, and it really works.

17-Accept what you cannot control

It’s possible you’ll be unable to complete your writing project — for reasons entirely beyond your control. Perhaps you bit off more than you could reasonably chew, or maybe your boss or supervisor made an unreasonable decision on your behalf. Trust that you’ll be able to deal with the consequences of whatever happens.

Remember that learning how to deal with overwhelm isn’t about pushing through the discomfort or ignoring your body’s signals. It’s about recognizing when you’re reaching your limits and responding with self-compassion and action.

Start by choosing just one or two techniques from this list. Small, consistent changes often lead to the most sustainable improvements.

Taking these concrete and easy-to-implement tips will help make the difference between burnout and balance.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like Dealing with burnout and boredom.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed how to deal with competing great ideas for writing. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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Do you know how to deal with overwhelm? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by March 31/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments,” directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: About 4 minutes

Does a five-minute workday sound ludicrous to you? It shouldn’t. Not if you want to establish a sustainable writing habit…

Have you spent days, weeks, months, perhaps even years failing to find enough time to write?

Perhaps failing to find any time to write?

I have three suggestions for you. If you adopt them, they will change your life and “magically” make you able to write.

You might not like them.

You might even think they’re impossible for you.

But they work.

1-Start small. Start really small

I mean five minutes. Write for just five minutes, every day. But not a nanosecond longer than five minutes. Even if you feel like writing for longer. Even if you desperately want to write for longer. No more than five minutes. For at least two weeks.

I can just hear you complaining!

I can barely turn on my computer in that time, you’ll say.

I won’t get enough words to make a difference.

I want to write a book that’s 70,000 words. How will five minutes help with that? 

The point of writing for just five minutes is twofold. First, it’s for you to prove to yourself that you can do it. It will allow you to build a record of success that will buoy you up and make you feel great about yourself — even though it’s just five minutes. This will make it easier to write the next day.

Second, the idea is to establish a habit. Habits don’t require willpower. Or sustaining. They take care of themselves. You want to have a writing habit just like you have an eating-dinner habit and a brushing-your-teeth habit and a watching-Netflix habit. You do these things without thinking about them. Without angst. They’re just habits.

And if you have any trouble with five minutes (some people do — no shame here!), start even smaller. Cut the time in half, to 2.5 minutes. And if that’s too much, drop all the way down to one minute. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it’s not. You’re making a commitment to yourself, and the commitment needs to be small enough that you don’t resist doing it.

Can you really look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have the time for one minute a day? Can you tell yourself that?

Now, let’s consider the other end of the spectrum. Let’s say you nail the five-minute objective and you want to increase your time. That’s fine. Just don’t increase it too quickly. You don’t want to set yourself up for a fall.

Once you’ve done your one-to-five minutes for at least two weeks, then you can gradually start increasing your time. But only gradually. And only if you wish. It’s also perfectly reasonable to stick with the small amount of time into infinity. What harm could it do? It’s your writing habit.

Shape it any way you wish, but just make it manageable enough you’ll be able to do it for years.

2-Do it in the morning

I know, some of you are night owls who are going to tell me that night is absolutely the best time for writing.

You’re too slow in the morning. You sleep too late, and you need to rush out the door after getting up. Your mornings are hectic, while your nights are quiet and welcoming.

Still, I want you to find a way to write in the morning. For just five minutes. Why?

I want you to get your writing out of the way. I want you to be able to do it and then forget about it. If you spend all day worrying about the writing you’re going to need to do that evening, then it’s going to take on monster-like qualities. You’ll feel anxious about it, even dread it. But there’s no need to get so worked up about five minutes of writing. Just do it and be done with it.

Did you know that you don’t even need to be wide awake to write? In fact, the dreamy quality of the morning is only going to help you. (Yes, you need wide-awake attention for editing, but not for writing.)

Now, some of you may tell me you’re not night owls, but you have really busy mornings with small children and dogs and the need for exercise. If that’s the case, fine. But understand that by morning, I mean before noon. Just so we’re clear, I’d never suggest setting an alarm for early morning writing — particularly if you’re not already a morning lark. No 5 or 6 a.m. stuff is necessary! You can even do your writing on a coffee break, if you like.

The biggest benefit of morning writing is that you’ll actually get it done — before too many things start to go wrong in your day. Before your kid throws up on your feet, before your boss demands a report before the day’s end, before your teenager gets into a car accident.

One other point — you’ll help yourself a lot if you take a minute or two to prepare for the next day’s writing, too. So the next time you finish writing, also take the time to plan what you’re going to write tomorrow. And if you need to do any research (it will be minimal if you’re writing for only five minutes) do that the day before as well.

So, we’re probably talking about a seven-minute commitment. (But the research part, if necessary, can be done at any time of day — as long as it’s after the writing.)

3-Stop evaluating the quality of your work

Step 3 is the secret weapon. And I’m serious about it. Stop evaluating the quality of your work. Just stop. Write to put words on the page. Write to express yourself or to make a point. Don’t write to get a gold star, or an A+ or a pat on the head. Because you’re not going to get any of those things from writing.

It’s impossible to evaluate the quality of your own work until it’s something like five or 10 years old and you’ve completely forgotten having written it. Why? You’re too close to your own writing right now. You’ve done all the thinking, planning and writing, for goodness’ sake. How can you possibly know if it’s any good? You can’t, because you have no perspective.

And when you try to figure out if what you’ve written is any good, you just tie yourself in knots. I know because I did that for about 25 years, and it made me miserable. And slow. Instead, just spit out the words as quickly as you can.

Stop editing while you write.

Stop even rereading what you’ve just written. (Rereading what you’ve just written won’t really help you figure out if it’s any good — again, you have no perspective on your writing yet.) Just write. Get the words out of your head and onto the page. Then you’ll be able to edit them later. Much later.

You can write

Don’t entertain the thought that you can’t do it. Of course you can. Did you know that if you write just 200 words a day — the length of a shortish email — for 365 days, you’ll have 73,000 words in one year?

You can even write a 100,000-word dissertation this way. I’ve worked with clients who have.

Slow and steady always wins the race.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like The magic of five minutes.

An earlier version of this post first appeared on my blog on Sept. 12/23.

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My video podcast last week addressed dealing with burnout and boredom. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

*

Need some help developing a better writing routine? Learn more about my Get It Done program. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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Have you ever been able to achieve a five-minute workday? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. And congratulations to Cheryl Hilderbrand, the winner of this month’s book prize, for a comment on my Feb. 11/25  blog about digital vs paper. (Please send me your email address, Cheryl!) If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by March 31/25 , I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the “comments,” directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)

Reading time: about 4 minutes

To be a truly productive writer you need plenty of shut-eye. The absence of sleep will not only negatively affect your health, but it will also hurt your writing… Here’s how to get more sleep:

I think a lot about sleep. A trip I once took to Italy left me with three legacies: Many fond memories. A few extra pounds from all the excellent food I ate. And a thoroughly messed up sleep schedule that had me falling into bed at 9:30 p.m. and awakening at 12:30 a.m., ready to work or party.

But sleep isn’t just about being a functioning human being. It also has a lot to do with writing. That’s because sleep affects executive function: the area of the brain responsible for creative thinking, decision-making, memory and reaction time.

The first factor is crucial for writing, the latter three for editing. Writing coaches often recommend that people get up early to write before their regular day begins. I never recommend this until I know the person is already getting enough sleep.

So here is my 13-step primer on how to catch better ZZZZZs.

1. Be sure to understand how much sleep you really need.

Everyone is different, but the typical minimum recommendation is seven hours. And some people need as many as 10. Note that the current average in the U.S. is only six hours and 27 minutes. (It’s even worse in Belgium, the U.K., Canada, Italy, Norway and Japan. But it’s slightly better in Australia, Spain, New Zealand and China. See stats for more countries.) A 2015 study suggests that researchers may have overestimated the amount of time we need for sleeping, but here’s what I say: You know when you’re tired. If you’re dragging yourself through each day, you need more sleep.

2. Set a regular bedtime and (more important) a regular waking-up time.

This time should be consistent seven days of the week, which I know flies against the societal norm of “sleeping in” on weekends. It also makes it difficult to go to parties or special events. I don’t want to ruin your social life, so let me share a tip that a sleep doctor once gave me: If you have to change your bedtime, so be it. But don’t change your waking-up time. Force yourself to get out of bed at the same time every day, no matter how little sleep you’ve had. “This is the single most important tip for improving your sleep,” the doctor told me.

3. If you need to make up for lost sleep, have a daytime nap instead.

And know that daytime naps don’t always mean falling asleep. Relaxing and lying down is often just as helpful. Napping is easier if you’re in the dark and if you’re lying down. The best time to nap is midafternoon (between 2 and 4 p.m. when many of us are naturally sleepy) and timing is important, so set yourself an alarm. A short nap of 10 to 20 minutes can make you more alert and improve your concentration. A nap of 45 to 90 minutes may get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity.

4. Turn off all backlit screens at least one hour before bedtime.

This means TVs, computers, smart phones and e-readers (unless, like some Kindle models, they’re not backlit). The “blue light” emitted by screens disrupts our bodies’ ability to produce melatonin, a sleep hormone. Here’s my cheat: I’ve bought myself a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses. Now, if I ever have to work at my computer close to bedtime, I wear these glasses and have no difficulty sleeping. They’re cheap. Get yourself a pair! This is particularly important if you’re obliged to check your cellphone just before going to sleep.

5. Make sure you’re warm — wear socks if necessary — but that your bedroom is cool, dark and quiet.

The ideal temperature for sleeping is 65 degrees F (18 C), which you can often control — in fall and winter at least — by the degree to which you open your windows. Research suggests that our penchant for heavily controlled temperatures (with central heating and air conditioning) may actually disrupt our sleep. Turns out our bodies seem to be programmed to become sleepy when the temperature drops. Getting rid of unnecessary light is another issue. Even the light from a clock radio can disrupt your sleep. I pile books in front of mine, and I have tinfoil on top of the security box in our room. Even the light from a smoke alarm can be disruptive, so put some tinfoil over that as well. If you can’t make your room utterly dark, then buy an inexpensive mask to wear over your eyes.

6. Don’t allow your sleeping time to be taken over by worrying.

Somehow, when we lie down in a dark room, it’s easy to let our brains gyre and gimble on problems, disagreements and everything else that’s going wrong in our lives. But bedtime is not the right time for this! Instead, schedule other times when you can do that sort of reflecting. Go for a walk or run. Talk to a friend. Or keep a journal in which you can document your concerns and get them off  your mind.

7. Eliminate caffeine shortly after lunch.

Don’t drink coffee, tea or colas after 2 p.m. Caffeine can mess with your metabolism long after you’ve taken it. Also be aware of some of the unexpected sources of caffeine: chocolate and some over-the-counter cold medications.

8. Avoid alcohol at least three hours before bedtime.

I know some people think a nightcap helps them fall asleep more easily. It does. But it wrecks the quality of your sleep. If you’re at a party, keep your drinking modest and do it early in the evening to give yourself a chance to sober up before you go to bed.

9. Avoid sugar before bedtime.

Sugar also messes with your metabolism. Try to keep desserts modest at dinnertime and, if you need a snack before bed, make it something like low-sugar cereal with milk, cheese and crackers or a piece of toast.

10. Get exercise.

Some studies suggest that moderate-intensity exercise, such as walking, significantly reduces the time it takes to fall asleep and increases the length of sleep in people with chronic insomnia. Experts don’t fully understand the reasons for this, but they suppose that exercise releases serotonin and dopamine — neurotransmitters that are involved in the sleep production hormone melatonin. Just note that you shouldn’t do vigorous exercise close to bedtime — that’s more likely to rev you up than relax you.

11. Avoid drinking too many liquids in the evening.

The more you drink, the more you’ll have to pee. My husband likes to call me a “camel” because I can hold a lot of liquid, but if I’m more careful about how much water I drink at dinnertime (and thereafter), I’m less likely to wake up in the middle of the night.

12. Quit smoking.

Nicotine is a stimulant. If you’re a smoker, it’s going to be harder for you to sleep. Yet another reason to think about butting out!

13. Wake up to light.

If I didn’t share a bedroom with my husband, I’d invest in one of those fancy lights that awakens you by turning itself on at the time you’ve set it for. (That won’t work for us because my husband usually goes to bed later and sleeps later than I do.) But to wake up, expose your body to light. This resets your circadian rhythm. In winter, turn on lots of bright lights. (And if you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, as I do, invest in an inexpensive SAD light.) In summer, open your blinds and go for a morning walk if you can.

These tips should help you improve your sleep, perhaps dramatically. Know, however, that if you snore loudly, with frequent pauses in breathing, or have frequent morning headaches, you may suffer from sleep apnea. If that’s the case, go see a doctor. Sleep apnea can shorten your life.

But any sleep problems can interfere with your writing life.

An earlier version of this post first appeared on my blog on Oct. 23/15.

If you liked this post, you’ll also like 5 reasons to make sleep a top priority.

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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.

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My video podcast last week addressed whether teachers should assess research diaries. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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Do you know how to get more sleep? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Feb. 28/25 , I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the “comments,” directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)