Tip 29: 4 ways to shake up your writing routine

Tips to refresh your writing & add some oomph to your routine. Join us for a mid-year motivator to refresh & reset your writing goals.

Hello there, Bec here,

This week I’m working on one of my favourite collaborations, updating the text for the Mslexia Diary and Planner, a stunning illustrated journal from the publishers of the long-running women’s writing magazine and salon.

Alongside guidance for goal setting, tracking and celebrating writing progress, I also provide a monthly ‘shakeup’ writing tip.

The purpose of these tips is to get writers out of ruts. While routines can be extremely productive and helpful, they can also lead to inaction when habit turns into habituation - something the American Psychological Association defines as ‘growing accustomed to a situation or stimulus.’

In short, the more we do something the less likely it is to stimulate a response. We get bored and our writing can grind to a halt. Rather than fall into a rut, we need to shake up our routine.

There are many ways to do this, you can start by changing where you write. It can be as simple as repositioning your desk to face a different direction. If you feel a sense of dread when you approach your desk – don’t go there - sit on the sofa, go outside or head to a café. Here’s a four more approaches:

1. Stop writing

Sometimes, doing the writing can feel like a weighty task laden with pressure and expectation. This challenges us and so we procrastinate to avoid it. If the idea of ‘writing’ fills you with dread – find another way to get the words out. Lighten the load, perhaps have a play instead.

Start with some journaling or freewriting, write a list, draw a mindmap. Scribble down what’s in your head and see what flows. Write it in a different format. Write an email to a friend (or yourself) explaining your ideas. Could you condense it into five bullet points perhaps? Write it as a Tweet (aka a post for X), write a caption for an Instagram pic or record a TikTok.

Step away from writing altogether – dictate your ideas or talk it through with someone. How would you explain it to a colleague, someone you met at a party, your grandmother or a toddler? Whatever you do, change the context and lower the stakes.

2. Do the opposite

If you normally write on a laptop, write longhand. If you always aim to write for a long time, limit yourself to 15 minutes. If you’re a morning person, try writing in the evening, rather than lean into your natural chronotype, go against it - there’s some great research to back this up.

We’re most productive at a certain time of the day, which is great for that ‘getting-it-done’ energy but Wieth and Zacks¹ found that working during your non-optimal time might just spark unexpected creativity and lead to breakthrough ideas. They suggest that engaging in creative problem-solving at times of day when you are not at your peak cognitive performance can lead to more innovative solutions, as less focused minds allowed for broader, more creative thinking.

3. Make a fresh start

Psychologists tell us that fresh starts can shift our psychology in two ways: they feel like new beginnings and ‘wiping the slate clean’ is motivating. They make you step back and consider the big picture for your life and your goals because they shake things up and change context.

It’s one of the reasons why we run our writing sprints on the first Monday of each month. Coined by the researcher Katy Milkman, the ‘fresh start effect’ means that people are better at tackling their goals when they start around what researchers call temporal landmarks – the start of a new year, the first of the month, the beginning of the week.

Researchers also find that birthdays, personal milestones and seasons also serve as motivational jumping off points. So, have a think about your fresh start. When could you schedule a fresh start to shake up your writing with new energy and commitment? If midsummer works for you - you’re in luck, see our mid-year motivator below.

4. Do something less interesting

Counter-intuitively, shaking things up can mean embracing something mundane. Research² finds that engaging in non-demanding, repetitive tasks can lead to increased creativity by allowing our minds to wander and make unexpected connections.

The idea is that doing a simple, repetitive activities encourages mind wandering which leads to creative incubation. While your hands are busy, your subconscious has time and space to work through problems or generate ideas, often leading to creative breakthroughs and the generation of novel ideas.

So if you’re waiting to be inspired, why not wash the dishes, go for a walk somewhere familiar or pick up your knitting? 

How do you shake thing up?

A few weeks ago I drew this newsletter when I got stuck writing it and it gave me a fresh new perspective. Our book Written is full of the ways that writers shook things up to help them get the work done - like Alison Jones who started a podcast to help her complete her book and Stephanie Scott who learnt script writing and poetry to boost her novel writing skills. I’d love to hear how you get out of ruts - drop a comment below.

Keep going, Bec

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Join us for a summer shake up of your writing goals 😎

We’re taking a break from running our 7 Day Writing Sprints this July (have no fear these will return), to host a mid-year motivator webinar on Wednesday 3rd of July at 6pm GMT to help you review your progress and set a new goal for the summer.

Available to paid members of Breakthroughs & Blocks - replay available.

• Did you set writing goals for yourself at the beginning of this year? What progress have you made and what's next?

• Ready for a check-in to review and reset your next steps for the next six months? Boost your writing with a mid-year motivator.

• Stuck, blocked, don’t know where to go next? Join us to get expert advice in our session!

Send in your questions beforehand - pop a comment below or hit reply to this email, or ask us live.

🗓️ Date: Wednesday 3rd of July, 2024

​⌚ Time: 18.00 GMT

1. Wieth, M. B., & Zacks, R. T. (2011). Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal. Thinking & Reasoning, 17(4), 387–401.

2. Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M. D., Kam, J. W. Y., Franklin, M. S., & Schooler, J. W. (2012). Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1117-1122.