One of the biggest hurdles of writing has nothing to do with writing at all.
It has nothing to do with time, either.
Instead, it is a lack of understanding of how energy works.
As I have set myself a challenge to write 27 articles in 20 days and came up with a genius plan, to write five articles a day, three days a week, I am finding I am running out of energy much before I am running out of time.
I would start strong. I would open five documents, and start working on them, and before I know it, several hours have passed, and I have achieved nothing.
I would be on the computer, mind you, for all this time — reading, researching, writing, rewriting, working on headlines, and creating sub-heading. After all this intense work, my eyes would get tired. Soon after, my brain would refuse to concentrate and I know I was functioning on the reserve battery and would soon crash.
There is a way around this hurdle.
Understanding my energy pattern.
Energy isn’t something we think about while writing. Instead, we worry about the content and the time we have to write it. However, energy is the main reason we get stuck.
Energy is not about being a superhero and continuing till the work is done. Despite some super willpower, you can still run out of energy on a consistent basis.
We run out of energy because:
- Lack of pre-work
- The scarcity of input
- Your energy levels
Lack of pre-work
Pre-work is all the things we do even before we start writing. Writing is a several-step process. You got to select a topic; outline it, and do whatever research needs to be done before you can start writing.
Sometimes we get stalled because we don’t have enough information. That leads us to the next point.
The scarcity of input
You got to give time between selecting a topic and letting the brain come up with ideas to write about the topic. When you choose a topic, give it a loose outline and leave it for a few days, subconsciously, your brain is looking for ways to present an argument.
Your brain is looking for connections between whatever you read and whatever is already stored in your mind. By giving it time, you come back with a unique angle on the topic. This is when you will feel energized to write about the topic.
Your energy levels
Your energy levels are not the same during the day. For some people, their energy is at its peak in the morning and as the day progress, their energy depletes. For these people, writing an article after dinner is a bad idea.
I am one of these people. Invariably I leave the article writing too late in the evening and then pay the price for it.
On better days, my strategy is to select a few topics, preferably five, create five documents, and outline five articles. Then next day, do whatever research is required for those topics. On day three, I start writing them one by one, preferably in the morning and definitely before dinner. After dinner, I do tasks that require low energy. Tasks such as selecting an image, adding a footer, and a CTA (call-to-action).
If I can’t finish an article, because it is too late at night and I am running on reserve, rather than pushing through it, I leave it till morning. Sometimes it takes me just ten or fifteen minutes to finish and publish the article.
Takeaway
Rather than managing your time, manage your energy.
Identify your peak, medium, and low energy times of the day.
Identify which tasks need low, medium, or high energy and do them at
Plan your topics in advance.
Spread the writing tasks over several days.
Get the outline done.
Make sure your research is stored away, ready to use.
Finally, write the article.
Edit it on another day.
See what can you outsource.