Getting Your Writing Done

When you’re writing timeboxing can be an extremely helpful tool simply because of it’s unique constraints. When you timebox what you’re essentially doing is dedicating a specific amount of time to a your writing - you can do more if you like but you’re required to do at least that minimum of time. This is an incredibly useful technique when applied to writing that you’re struggling with (and thus tend to always get put off for later) or if you have certain pieces that tend to take up entire portions of the day because of their complexity, or your tendency to be a perfectionist with them.

When you timebox all you have to do is pick a specific piece to work on and then set a certain amount of time you’re going to work on it. It doesn’t have to be enough time to accomplish anything huge or to finish the task - just enough time to make a dent in whatever it is that you’re working on. For example you might dedicate thirty minutes to an article or you might set aside fifteen minutes to return emails. These are both tasks that could wind up taking over a large portion of your day if you let them and in this way timeboxing can restrain those tasks from causing you to lose productivity because you’re spending time on work that doesn’t accomplish larger goals or produce income.

Timeboxing is also extremely useful for helping you overcome the initial inertia that’s required to start a task. For example you may absolutely hate cleaning out your inbox or doing your taxes but if you can dedicate just thirty minutes to it you can get a substantial amount done that you might have otherwise put off - and when the thirty minutes is up you can quit the task without feeling guilty because you kept your commitment.

When you timebox you place very specific limits on your activities which can help keep them in perspective for your daily goals and activities and it can ensure that you get a chunk of work done that you may not have accomplished otherwise simply because of the time constraints it provides. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a large task it can be helpful to know that you only have to spend thirty minutes on it (or however much time you allotted) and then you’ll be done and the rest of it can wait for another day. Time boxing can also help you keep your productivity levels high because it forces you to concentrate on one specific task at a time instead of succumbing to distractions and changing tasks every few minutes or so which does little good.

Overall timeboxing is a very helpful tool that can do a lot in the way of keeping you focused and helping you make progress in certain areas of your life. It’s another piece to the puzzle of productivity that can have a big influence on your life.

Another great idea is to use rewards to motivate you with your writing. Using rewards is extremely helpful in keeping motivation up during your workday and helping you get through tasks bit by bit. We all know how it can feel when your workday begin to drag and you can’t seem to get yourself motivated to do much of anything. This is very common at home too. After a long day at work who wants to spend their time doing extra writing or work at home. These tasks aren’t very enticing any day of the week but if you can manage to develop and stick to a certain rewards system then you can end up boosting your productivity by quite a bit simply by giving yourself little bonuses or treats periodically.

The key here is to not just randomly give yourself rewards but to only do it when you’ve really earned it. Worked an extra two hours? Reward earned. Took on a project for a fellow writer? Reward earned. Drove to your editors house and got his suit dry cleaned without him asking you to? Two rewards! It’s important to only give yourself the rewards when you’ve earned them because otherwise they lose their value and they wont be motivating to you anymore. If you’ve genuinely gone above and beyond then give yourself some extra special but if you’ve just completed your daily work then it’s fine to just give yourself a small treat.

It’s also best to not use food as your rewards because this can quickly develop into some pretty bad eating habits especially if you’re “rewarding” yourself with a chocolate bar every hour or so. Probably not the healthiest of decisions. So barring food your rewards can be pretty much whatever you want but it’s also wise to keep your rewards relative to what you’ve done to earn them. If it’s a huge project you’ve just finished then maybe a trip to the spa is well deserved but if it’s just a rough day at work that you pushed through and came out on top of then perhaps a new book or a trip to the movies is deserved.

You can also use this system throughout the day in a non-monetary sort of way. If you’ve spent a great deal of time working on a difficult project then reward your progress with a few minutes away from your desk or perhaps a couple minutes outside getting some fresh. Just typed out a long proposal for your boss? Rest your fingers and your wrists by a couple minutes reading a book or taking a break to get a glass of water.  These little types of “rewards” don’t cost anything but can often end up making a world of difference in keeping you motivated as you go throughout your day.

As long as you space your little rewards out and make sure they’re deserved this can be a really great tool for keeping you fresh and excited to work on a project. Just be sure to keep your rewards in perspective and not spend a ton of money on them or this plan can backfire quickly - also be sure not to be too stingy with your rewards or you wont be motivated to work towards them.

These are just a few tips that can help you make some more progress on your writing - feel free to come up with your own and test them out as well! Good luck!