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Writing is a task that fits perfectly into chaos theory. The smallest modification of the multiple variables of your work environment indeed causes divergent results on the productivity in writing. Becoming more productive in writing therefore requires a global approach.
First, acting on your work environment allows you to create favorable conditions for writing. Coming up with an idea and writing a blog post, white paper or social media posts are original activities. Writing does not submit to the usual structuring of professional tasks.
Secondly, learning to use tools to improve your productivity is a necessity. They don’t write for you. But they help to facilitate the work of writing: before, during and after. Used methodically, they increase your writing skills. Misused, they devour your time and energy.
Finally, adopt the 7 writing techniques of the best writers. Find out how to become more productive in writing with our tips. Develop ideas, write, publish.
Create favorable conditions to write more effectively
Writing productivity obeys the laws of brain functioning and creativity. It is therefore a question of creating an environment which allows the best possible exploitation of your writing abilities.
Concentrate and sharpen your attention to write better
The brain is a top athlete. It’s not a computer. To win a competition, he needs preparation and a positive environment.
IMPOSE YOUR WRITING SESSIONS
In the office, there are multiple demands. Emergencies follow emergencies. Writing never seems as pressing as so-called productive activities. The effects of your writings are in fact diluted over time. Writing activities are thus classified as “important and not urgent” in the famous Eisenhower matrix.
Impose your writing sessions to become more productive. Your writing contributes to your inbound marketing strategy and your communication policy. Integrate writing activities into your week and into your day as well as your professional tasks. You now have an appointment with writing. Communicate and share your new habits.
HELP YOUR MIND FOCUS
To become more productive in writing, our brain must direct its attention to writing. Eliminate distractions and demands. For your writing projects, choose a quiet, minimalist and isolated place. Nothing and no one should bother you. With no phone or computer notifications, you’re ready to write. Use apps like Motion to block distractions from your computer.
Cultivate your writing ideas effectively
The search for an idea sometimes requires a lot of energy. Lack of inspiration creates a state of stress contrary to the emergence of ideas. In psychology, this is called a refractory state. The more you want to have an idea, the less capable you are of having one. It’s the same mechanism for sleep.
To become more productive in writing, your approach must be intentional. You have a white paper to write. No ideas?
- Let time take its course. Think about your subject before writing. Take notes every time an idea arises.
- Make it a habit to focus on your white paper. Create links with your daily life, with current events and with your readings. Your environment fuels your creativity.
- Walk or do craft activities. The brain rests while paying particular attention to your writing project.
- Working through is a slow and silent process that allows ideas to emerge in psychoanalysis. In writing, the mechanism is similar. You save time by taking your time!
Adopt the right mindset for greater writing productivity
Writing should no longer be a constraint. It must be a deliberate intention and practice. A positive state of mind promotes writing work. The brain registers this positive feeling when you write. Think about the action of dopamine and feel-good hormones. The days when you write then become moments of pleasure. This is essential to becoming more productive in writing.
Use the right tools to become more productive in writing
The use of writing assistance tools meets three objectives: collecting information, organizing it, writing it.
Change your note-taking habit: use tools to increase productivity
Using tools to collect information helps you create a second brain. You can get all your ideas for your writing projects there: notes, articles, emails or books. In this area, Evernote and Notion are the best known.
Install an extension of one of these apps. As soon as you spot content that can feed your writing projects, click on the extension. This content is instantly saved in the tool. You can label them to identify themes.
When you need to write, type a keyword in the search tab. The list of articles on the project is proposed to you. The productivity gain is therefore real. The articles are already read and qualified. You no longer have to carry out documentary research.
Organize your writing notes to organize your work plan
Becoming more productive in writing is about being able to quickly organize your notes and information to identify an outline. The mind map or mental map is valuable for this work of organizing ideas. X-Mind and MindMeister offer two online mind map tools. Their use is relatively simple.
- Place each idea on the mind map.
- Group ideas close to the same theme by moving them on the map.
- You get visual mapping of your ideas. Dominant themes emerge. These are the parts of your plan.
- You can drill down the tree up to three levels to get the subparts.
Choose a reading medium that facilitates productive work
Sharing your writing work is often productive. Choose two different reviewers. Identify a person who adheres more to your ideas and a person who is more calm. The crossed look will help you better position your writing and explain your idea differently.
To become more productive in writing, use a collaborative writing tool. Google Doc is probably the most used tool among collaborative tools. It allows you to simply share your writing. Learning to use it is quick. User management is also simple. You enter the email address of your reviewers to give them access to your writing.
They can then write their comments in the margins of your text. Google Doc can be installed on computer and phone. Each person can organize themselves according to their habits or times of availability. Becoming more productive in writing is also a collective adventure!
Adopt 7 writing techniques to become more productive in writing
To become more productive in writing, try our writing technique advice. Experienced writers use them to write quickly and well.
1- Break your writing work into small tasks
If writing a 2000 unique word article seems insurmountable to you, divide the writing work into several tasks. Isolate writing sessions over several days. The overall task thus seems achievable. Choose moments in tune with your energy. Studying your chronotype can help you identify your ideal sequences in a day: morning, afternoon or evening.
- The session of the first day can be dedicated to documentary research.
- Then, a second session aims to build a plan.
- A third is to write the introduction or chapter of your text.
- The sessions of the following days concern the drafting of the other parts.
- Keep a session for proofreading in the last day.
2- Take breaks and rest your writing effectively
Becoming more productive in writing involves a paradox: it involves knowing how to take breaks. To be creative, the brain needs real breaks. A work sequence of 90 minutes is optimal. Then take a 10 to 20 minute break. Take the opportunity to stretch your legs. Sitting numbs the body. Finally, return to your writing or schedule a new session.
This new habit creates a disruption in your work. It’s a beneficial distance. When you return to your writing, you have a fresh perspective. You increase your ability to concentrate. Cal Newport calls these privileged moments “deep work”: in-depth work linked to a state of absolute concentration.
3- Don’t seek perfection in writing, be productive in your work
“Done is better than perfect! » (“Done is better than perfect!”) is an expression that helps us overcome our anxiety about imperfection. You know, that little voice that influences us:
- ” You can do better ” ;
- ” Something is missing ” ;
- “I am not enthusiastic when reading my work”;
- “You have to write the best text on the subject.”
Writing is an athletic job. Writing is a muscle. Stephen King, in his book “Memoirs of a Job”, advises writing 2000 words a day. It’s about training your muscle. Experiment with this practice to become more productive in writing. Publish your text even if it is not perfect. And start again!
How much does a blog post cost?
4- Use a spell checker to become more productive in writing
Spelling questions shouldn’t slow down your writing. Use an online spelling correction solution to stop wasting time searching for and correcting mistakes. The tools offered today integrate with your word processing software. MerciApp offers an effective and easy-to-use extension to correct your mistakes as you write.
Spelling correction tools help you improve. As errors are corrected, your brain visually records the corrections made. No more making mistakes seems impossible. But reducing the time it takes to correct errors is possible!
5- The “So what?” method » to write effectively
To become more productive in writing, you must not distract yourself while writing. Keep your red thread under penalty of having to rewrite your text. How to eliminate doubt about the relevance of his writing while writing it?
Copywriters use the “So what?” method. to check if their content is of interest to their reader. They ask themselves this question at the end of each paragraph: the written text must provide added value to the reader and make them want to discover what happens next.
6- Recycle your writing work to write new articles
Your writing work includes two main types of content: long texts intended to describe a theme and short texts (less than 500 words) intended to communicate.
- Short publications are mainly aimed at social networks: LinkedIn and Facebook posts.
- Long publications are intended to evangelize an audience: blog article, newsletter or white paper.
To become more productive in writing, you can extract content ideas for articles or posts from your long publications. If you have written a white paper on conflict prevention in business, you can identify several themes to exploit in new publications: emotions, breathing, non-violent communication and mediation.
7- Choose the title of your articles last to become more productive in writing
Giving a title to a piece of writing seems to be a priority for every editor. However, finding the right title takes a lot of time. Failure to find the ideal formulation hinders your progress. We advise you first to write only the title theme. Then, when the writing of your text is finalized, draw up a list of possible titles.
- Natural referencing (SEO or Search Engine Optimization) if you publish on the Internet.
- The rules of writing on LinkedIn: only the first lines of the publication are visible, so the title must be catchy.
Conclusion
To write quickly and well, be patient! Train the writing muscle. Take care of your environment and equip yourself with writing tools.
Up to you ! Try each of the tips given in this article to try to become more productive in writing. Maybe then you will even find your own techniques that will allow you to improve your writing speed.
