How to rebuild a lost routine
Five practical ways to get back in the swing of writing after a break.
It happens so easily. Before summer, you’re chugging along with the writing. It’s not always easy but you’ve fallen into a pattern of sorts. You’re writing at a certain time, you know certain things work. There’s a rhythm to your days and weeks.
Then August arrives with all its (often pleasant) distractions. A fortnight somewhere by a pool, kids home from school or back from college, visitors dropping by. Your writing routine is thrown into the air. And of course, that’s all fine. It’s been great to get away, have some downtime and spend time with family and friends. The only problem is… you’re not getting any writing done. Your life has shifted a beat and you can’t get back in the swing.
Hello there, it’s Chris here and this week we’re sharing five practical ways to get back to the writing if, for whatever reason, you’ve lost your once-productive routine. And if you haven’t guessed, when I say ‘you’ve lost’ I mean ‘I’ve lost’ my writing routine. I’d love to hear what works for you - please share with by hitting the comment button below.
1. Accept the loss (and stop looking backwards)
Your old routine belonged to a different season. To an old version of you. It served you well, but it’s gone. That’s not a failure, just the way life works. It’s tempting to be nostalgic and look back fondly on how much, how easily or how often you wrote before. But that mindset usually leads to frustration, disappointment and ultimately, inactivity. Start from where you are, not where you were.
2. Reset your environment
Small tweaks to your surroundings can signal ‘back to work.’ Clear your desk, sharpen your pencils, open your laptop in the same spot each day. Sometimes it’s not about discipline, but about giving your brain the cue: this is writing time again. You can strengthen that cue further by adding a ritual. Light a candle, make a pot of tea, put on the same playlist or take three deep breaths before you begin. These repeated actions act as a bridge into writing - a way of telling yourself: and now we start.
‘Environment fosters routine, habits are forged in a context; change the setting and the behaviour is lost.’
Bec Evans and Chris Smith, Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit that Lasts
3. Be deliberately unambitious
Don’t try to do your ‘best work’ right away. Expect these drafts to be sketchy, poorly thought-through, embarrassing even. That’s okay, you’re warming up. Set the bar low – ten minutes, one paragraph, one page. At this point, success isn’t how much you write, how long you write for or even the quality of your writing, it’s about simply re-establishing your practice.
4. Anchor writing to something that already happens
Habits and routines form with repetition. You’ll find it far easier to trigger a new one if you hitch writing to an existing habit – after your morning coffee, after school drop-off, or before you check email. Anchors work better than relying on grit and determination.
5. End every session by spotting three good things
Routines stick through positive reinforcement. As Stanford behaviour scientist BJ Fogg puts it: ‘we change best by feeling good, not bad.’ At the end of your session, notice three small things that went well – an idea that emerged, a sentence that surprised you, or simply the fact that you showed up. Ending on a positive note makes it far easier to return tomorrow.
Rebuilding a routine doesn’t happen in a single day. But with small steps, anchored habits and the right cues, you’ll find yourself writing again – perhaps differently than before, but just as surely.
Thanks for reading, if you found this post useful, please like or share. Chris
Five handy links to keep you writing
Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit that Lasts, available internationally in all formats.
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Timely post, Chris! I used the sprint to finish my second novel, but now I’m faced with getting into novel prep routine with a mountain of other things demanding my attention. One thing I’ve done is set a deadline to finish the important tasks and use a meeting I have tomorrow to talk climate change for my third novel, to kickstart prep. 🤞 I hope you get back into writing, too, Chris!
So helpful! Love the idea of not looking back and accepting a new season to your routine. I am going to try this and your other suggestions to get back on track. I write daily for five years and then a move, the loss of my writing space, and just life have kept me from getting back to that.