15 ways to build and sustain daily writing momentum

Put your daily commitments to paper, set small, achievable goals, and don’t freak out about a messy first draft.

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15 writing steps

Anyone who writes for a living knows that it can sometimes be a slog.

But it doesn’t have to be such a chore. Try these 15 tips to make the words flow every day–even when you’re tired or not feeling particularly inspired:

1. Put your commitment to yourself in writing. When we write objectives on paper, we take them more seriously. Do yourself the favor of taking your own goal seriously enough to write it down. For how long do you want to write each day? Or how many words do you want to produce? Then, pin that commitment on a bulletin board above your desk or tape it to your computer monitor.

2. Set a goal so small you can’t fail. The people who fail at writing are usually the ones who have set the bar too high.

When someone applies to my Get It Done group and tells me they want to write for three hours each day, I know they have a problem. Instead, it’s far better to do the opposite – pick a goal that’s so small it’s almost embarrassing. Why? You’re far more likely to succeed, and success begets more success.

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