As the ol’ saying goes – “Time is money.” And in a writer’s world, the expression is truer than the sky is blue. Whoever coined it must have been a writer.
On a monetary level, the more efficient a writer is with one’s time, the higher the income that writer can expect to pull in. On a more human level, the quicker a writer can produce quality writing, the more time that writer can spend with friends and family, doing the things he or she loves to do – besides writing, of course.
Instead of stressing yourself out, watching the tick-tock of the clock, as your mental block stands in the way of progress, read up on these methods with which you can speed up your writing, without sacrificing its quality.
Kick Activity into Your Inactive Brain
Believe it or not, your brain can create its best work unintentionally. Often when you’re sitting in front of your computer, attempting to tackle, head-on, the task at hand, progress can seem as though you’re trudging through a puddled field in boots bogged down by mud. Instead of tackling a project all at once, with a shackled sit-down in front of your computer, allow the brainwork to percolate naturally while completing menial tasks.
Our brain is never working at full capacity, and it can be said to be even more inactive when absorbed in menial tasks. When completing menial tasks, we do them mechanically, with little thought or brainpower involved. But don’t waste that precious menial time. When you’re showering, cooking, washing dishes, waiting for your kettle to boil – instead of allowing the mind to drift into the null and void – use the time to create. Work your brain. You’ll find it’s more than capable of pulling its weight.
You can force it to budge by having an inner monologue (or a dialogue, if you’ve got an alter ego) with yourself. Think about the project you’ve been working on or the one you’ve been putting off, and phrase the thesis in your head. Rephrase it again. Hone it until you practically have it memorized. Speak it out loud. Then be sure to jot it down, so that you can expand on it when the time comes to get yourself in front of that computer.
You might even consider planting the seed of an idea in your head before going to sleep. Though, if you’re like I am, this might actually hinder your bedtime as you roll over to click on the bedside lamp and note some keyword or phrase that’ll surely not be remembered in the morning. It also works in that brainstorming before sleeping allows the idea to take form in the sleep-brain, when the mind becomes most creatively active.
Meditation and Music
Take into account the environmental requirements specific to you and your performance. In order to work time efficiently, environment is key, and so creating an environment of productivity when you write will open the lock.
For some, working at full speed requires a quiet atmosphere. If you’re one of these people, then a crowded cafe is probably not the ideal place to work if your goal is to add speed to your writing. Complete and utter silence might be the stimulant you need to focus the brain and to peak your performance. You might even consider a bit of silent meditation before working to set the mood. When you meditate, don’t allow work to enter your mind, but simply focus on peace and serenity. This will reboot your mind so it’s ready to go.
Other writers might require a bit of noise to increase their productivity. Music can be just the right “noise” for writing. It’s wise to go lyric-free, as the words in songs sometimes distract, catching your ears and forcing your thoughts to digress. Choose songs that don’t distract your mind, but keep your blood flowing. Translate that energy to your writing, and you might just see a higher stream of consciousness flow from your thoughts to your fingers to the page.
Outline Your Epic Works
Shorter posts or writing jobs do not necessarily need an outline, but those epic ones probably do. To keep yourself from veering off-course and digressing too much from your general thesis, prepare an outline as you would back in your college heydays. Highlight your main points and your supporting points. Organize your thoughts. This will allow you to maintain the flow of your writing and keep it flowing in one direction instead of into several different random channels all at once. It will also prevent you from spending a ton of time writing content you will end up discarding in edit for being off-topic.
Try a Desktop App
Though the online world has much to offer a writer, you might want to test out a desktop app in order to force yourself into writing offline. If you’re like this writer, when you sit down to do some online “research,” this research often results in a series of spontaneous and perversely reluctant-and-yet-uncontrollable clicks until you end up watching a YouTube video about grumpy cats, and you don’t even like cats.
If you do not want to be led into temptation, a desktop app that allows you to work on your blog writing or other writing work while offline will truly be a godsend. You will be thanking your lucky stars that you are no longer forced at Clockwork-Orange-esque gunpoint to watch another stupid clip about chipmunks that do the darnedest things.
The Pomodoro Technique
If you’re competitive, this one’s for you. Remember when your mom used to tell you she’d “time” you while you were doing a task to see how fast you could get it done, when in reality she made up an arbitrary time, as her real motive was just to get you out of her hair for a minute? Well, that’s the Pomodoro Technique. This technique is psychological, but if you’re self-competitive, it can really work. Simply set a goal, set a timer, and race to the finish line. Try to complete your writing task by the time your buzzer buzzes. If you set a record, try and beat that record the next time around.
If you’re not competitive, timing your writing task can still be a great way to identify your weak points. Set the timer and, as you write, note the writing stages that take up the most time. This way, you’ll be able to take steps in making these stages more time-efficient.