Sometimes writing flows effortlessly. Other times, it’s like pulling teeth: every sentence feels forced, your brain won’t settle, and distractions sneak in from everywhere. What has helped me in both moments? Writing routines.
Many writers worry that establishing routines will make their work feel mechanical or uninspired.
But here’s the paradox: routine actually frees up mental energy for creativity.
When you automate the small decisions (when to write, where to sit, what tools to use), you preserve your cognitive resources for the creative work itself.
This approach aligns with what Mason Currey observed in examining 161 creative geniuses – most used consistent daily routines to support their most innovative work.
Why routine is important
When things get tough, we like to skip, bail or postpone what we need to do. It does not get better or easier tomorrow, on the contrary we waste more time, energy and thoughts on tasks we don’t get done and make a problem bigger than it needs to be.
Routines aren’t about rigidity, they’re your creative safety net.
Routines help us follow through especially when we don’t feel like it. When we stop questioning IF we do the tasks, and just find a way to get them done through routines, we can tackle the creative resistance, work more efficiently and even get the things done we try to avoid.
Routines help us save time. I lose the most time not on work but on deciding what to work on, how to start and get into the right creative mind to get words on paper. My routines help me reduce this ‘lost in the middle’ time and bring me back on track.
Routines help us build habits and habits help us be consistent and accountable. If I start writing every morning with my first coffee, I am less likely to forget about writing all day long. I connect the writing to a habit I already have: the coffee.
When things feel tough, your writing routine can carry you. It helps reduce decision fatigue, keep you moving forward, and build momentum.
How writing routines work
I have worked with people who jumped right into content creation very enthusiastically and produced many words up front. But they failed to establish a writing routine and after a short time, their enthusiasm died down leading to their output decreasing to near nothingness.
An analysis of academic and professional writers found that those with consistent writing schedules produced significantly more output and reported fewer blocks, compared to writers who binge-wrote sporadically. Source: Psychology of Writing by Ronald T. Kellogg
Depending on the kind of routines we use, writing routines make us more accountable, they help us split up more complex and intimidating tasks into manageable bits, they help us to work more efficiently or get things done we would otherwise forget.
The routine you need to solve your roadblock depends on the struggle you are facing.
I have a different routine for getting things done that I easily forget than for the daunting task I like to pout off because it seems like too much.
Routines also help us practice and improve what we are struggling with – like that gym exercise that we could not do a year ago that we now to three times a week after practicing it for 6 months. The routine is a tool that makes it easier to establish desired habits, like writing regularly, concentrate better, post on social media every day and so on.
But habits are not formed and established with the switch of a button, you need to give them time to sink in.
A 2009 study from University College London found that it takes on average 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic, though individual times ranged from 18 to 254 days. Be patient. This isn’t instant magic
13 Writing routines you can start today
There are various routines you can try – which works for you depends on your problem, your personality, your habits – basically on YOU.
Here are 13 writing routines that address different challenges you might face. Pick what resonates with your current struggles and experiment from there.
1. Start first thing
I have realized, if I don’t start working right away but start my day by reading news, scrolling fun social media, or shopping websites – I won’t get much done.
If my day starts productive, I am already in the vibe for work and cross of a couple of things from my todo list.
The routine that helps me with this is: Open the computer and start working right away.
Creating a writing routine reduces the number of decisions you need to make (“Should I write now?” “How do I start?”), which helps conserve mental energy for actual creative work.
2. Split things up into smaller tasks
This is also known as the ‘micro’ task routine or the ‘one hour at a time’ routine.
Sometimes I have trouble to concentrate on a challenging time consuming task.
I find it easier to keep at it and focus when I don’t have an open end. sometimes I set my timer, and work on the task for a limited time, let’s say an hour. When my mind starts straying, I can keep in in control by looking at the timer and saying ‘just a couple more minutes.’
3. Create a clear step-by-step process
My blog posts tend to include research, a bunch of practical tips and many words.
The blank page and a more challenging topic used to be intimidating.
What helped me is a routine to follow for this type of blog post.
- Keyword research
- Outline
- Introduction
- Fill it section by section
- Add images
- Optimize
- Edit
4. Have a todo-list
Sometimes when I have worked very focused and finished something challenging, I fall into a deep hole. My mind goes blank and I have no idea what I planned on doing next.
A todo-list helps to get me back on track and not get lost in the in-between.
5. Batching work
Some tasks are better done in bulk.
For instance, when you repurpose some of your existing content into new content, you spend some time reviewing the existing content and then create something new.
If you only create one new piece, you still have to review the existing content.
And the next time you want to repurpose the same content, you have to review it again.
Instead, you can review once and create multiple new content pieces.
Batching will help you create a lot more content with less effort.
6. Have a set schedule
My solopreneur business is not the first business I have, but it is the first I run on my own terms. When I started I knew I wanted to change some things. One of them was the newsletter: more storytelling and more regular emails.
I took me a while but I found my routine with ending a newsletter every Friday afternoon – this helps. Now, I have a deadline and know when I need the next email.
Yes, the world will not drown, if I don’t send the email on Friday and yes, I have skipped one or two emails in the past years, and postponed one or two until the weekend. But holding myself accountable and knowing when the email is due, has helped me get it out (almost) every Friday.
7. Plan easy tasks at your unproductive times
We all have these times when our brain cannot focus and trying to get the hard stuff done will just result in frustration.
For me that is often after lunch or later in the afternoon, when my brain starts to get tired.
I use my ‘unproductive’ time for tasks that don’t need much focus like fine-tuning images, repurposing existing content into new content formats or commenting on social media.
This way I can use these low productivity times very efficiently.
8. Hand out rewards
I sometimes reward myself for efficient work. Like: ‘You want a coffee? Write for 20 minutes first.’ or ‘Finish this email and then you can have a walk through the garden.’
These little rewards help me concentrate for a couple of minutes and get something finished where otherwise my mind would have wandered and I would have wasted time.
9. Connect habits to tools
I have used a watch to make me concentrate for a while, starting with a couple of minutes to one hour, like in school or university where every period is followed by a small break.
I also sometimes use the word count in my writing doc to see my progress. For instance, my blog posts often have around 2000 words, when I start at 0, reaching 1000 words is progress and seeing this rise to 1500 is a milestone.
James Clear explains that habit tracking creates visual cues, boosts motivation, and provides satisfaction. All of these are essential for sticking to routines.
Plus, studies show people who track their behaviors are 2–2.5× more likely to maintain them, and simple binary tracking can increase habit persistence by about 27%.
10. Use structural elements
When I am facing blank page syndrome and have a topic idea but cannot find a beginning for my writing, I use the structural elements of my blog posts to fill them step by step. I create a broad outline and then start writing with the part that seems the easiest at the moment. This way I work my way through the complete writing process.
11. Use creative places
I sometimes have trouble writing at my usual work place. And then when I sit down in the garden, words flow like magic. A change of scenery can work wonders.
I have encountered people who had their most productive writing phase ina crowded cafe surrounded by noise and chatter.
I have seen people write on the lawn in a park or at a picnic table on the slopes of a mountain. I have worked in trains and on the beach.
Who said you have to write at a desk? Do it in bed, on the couch, on the floor, in your favorite lounger.
12. Avoid interruptions
I don’t mind noise around me. I can totally blank out what is going on around me.
What I cannot tolerate is interruptions where I have to react. I lose my thought, my flow and my drive with every question someone asks me, with every beep of my phone or notification popping up on my laptop. And every time, I need a couple of minutes to gather my thought, or even find the line I was just typing before the interruption – and that does not mean I get back the creative flow that I was pulled out of.
That’s why don’t use notifications on my laptop, I would mute the phone if it keeps beeping with messages, I would go somewhere where nobody wants to talk to you all the time.
Gloria Mark’s research at UC Irvine showed that after a disruption, it takes on average 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain focus and return to your previous task.
13. Connect content creation to habits you already have
I start my morning with a coffee – always. If I now start writing a little every morning with my coffee, it is easier to build this writing routine in connection with the habit of drinking coffee every morning.
How to create a writing routine that sticks
What works for me does not have to work for you. You need to consider what your struggles are and build your writing routines around them. You are trying to solve your problems and find more efficient ways to work. It is not a competition who executes some existing routine better than someone else.
Use what others to as ideas and inspiration but not as fixed rules.
Try different approaches to solve your dead ends. Keep what helps, ditch what does not make you more productive.
Start with small tweaks and schedules, build on them. Writing is a learning process, as is building writing routines. It is a trial and error process. Try different routines and solutions, keep what is working and refine your writing routine from there.
If it does not work for you, you don’t have to do it. Try something else.
Ready to build your own writing routines?
Writing is a process. So is building a habit. You don’t need to wait for inspiration — you need a plan.
Choose one routine from this list and try it this week. That’s it. Test, tweak, and trust the process.
The more you show up, the more inspiration tends to show up too.
