5 Ways to Improve Your Productivity as an Author
This guest post was written by Dave Chesson, Kindlepreneur.
For authors, especially for self-publishers, writing well and writing fast are our bread and butter. If we cannot produce books, we don’t make any money. And if we don’t make any money, then writing is just a hobby.
For some people, that is just fine. Writing can be a hobby, and a very fulfilling one at that.
However, for the rest of us, if we want to make a living at writing books, we have to learn to write efficiently.
In this article, I will cover a few tips on how to do this.
1. Find Time to Write
This may sound overly simple, but you would be surprised at how many people think they don’t have time to write. In order to write a lot of books, you have to find time, and you have to be consistent.
I cannot stress this enough: the single biggest thing you can do to become an efficient writer is to write regularly. You have to create a habit of writing.
Now I’m not saying you need to write every day without question, but I do recommend you find at least a weekly time to write—and never miss that appointment. This can be daily, weekly, only on weekdays, etc. And it doesn’t have to be for long. I found that daily fifteen-minute sessions are enough to write a book a year as long as you are consistent.
If you don’t think you have time to write, ask yourself if you have fifteen minutes during your lunch break. You’d be surprised at how far those fifteen minutes can go.
2. Use a Timer to Keep Yourself on Track
Distractions are one of the worst plagues an author faces, and one of the best ways to avoid distractions is to set a timer. Doing so tricks our brains into thinking that we are short on time and have to get to work (which happens to be true).
I like to set a timer for twenty-five minutes using the Pomodoro method, and during that twenty-five minutes, I will not work on anything else but my writing, except for necessary bathroom breaks. This helps me stay on track and focused.
If you are someone who is easily distracted, this may be the solution for you. And it can also work if you have trouble staying motivated. I personally recommend the Pomodoro method because it is a very helpful schedule to get into, and the breaks let you unwind briefly, take a few deep breaths, drink some water, and move around so your brain is stimulated.
3. Write in the Morning While Your Mind is Still Fresh
Now this is certainly not applicable to everyone, but studies have shown that the human mind is most productive in the morning, which means you are more likely to be focused and get more done.
I have found this to be true for myself, so I tend to do my writing first thing when I wake up before anything else happens for the day. By doing so, there is little risk of being interrupted, and I am already in the groove of writing.
If you are not a morning person, then right when you start work may be a better time for you. If that doesn’t work, experiment with different times until you find one that works best for you.
It also helps if you make writing a priority and avoid making plans for the morning time slot. If you want to get more books written, then nothing should come before that goal.
4. Get Enough Sleep Every Night
Many aspiring authors struggle with this, but getting enough sleep is essential for author productivity. Your brain needs time to rest and recover to function properly throughout the day. And though it may seem counterintuitive, spending more time sleeping is a timesaver and will result in less time spent writing because you will be more focused.
I recommend at least seven hours of sleep every night because anything less than that can cause problems down the line. It may take some adjustments on your part, especially if you are used to sleeping less, but I guarantee that it will be worth it. And if you can get more sleep than that, great!
5. Measure Your Progress
This is another tip that I cannot stress enough: you have to track your progress if you want to get faster. This is a great way to see how much you have improved, and it also helps keep you accountable for your actions.
If author productivity matters to you, then I highly recommend keeping track of the number of words per hour that you write as well as how many total words you write in a given day. This will not only help you discover the level you are writing at, but it can also give you motivation to improve your speed and help you understand what slows you down.
Conclusion
There are a lot of different tips out there to learn how to write more efficiently. But ultimately, it comes down to your habits and your motivation. Why are you doing this? Why does it matter to you?
Answer these questions and you will have sufficient motivation to write, then use the tips in this article to get started on your productive journey.
I wish you the best of luck.
Dave Chesson is the creator of Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching advanced book marketing, which even Amazon KDP acknowledges as one of the best by telling users to “gain insight from Kindlepreneur on how you can optimize marketing for your books.” Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker, and more, his tactics help both fiction and nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.