Reading time: About 3 minutes
Have you resolved to improve your writing habits for 2026? Don’t leave it up to your New Year’s resolutions…
I used to find it exceptionally difficult to exercise.
I’d delay, postpone and prevaricate. The thought about my need to exercise rested on my shoulder like a judgmental parrot that wouldn’t shut up.
But now, I do it every day for 30 minutes at 6:30 a.m. No drama. No negotiations. Just done. What changed?
About six years ago, I made up my mind. I was going to become an exerciser, dammit!
To make the habit stick, I knew I had to do it in the morning before life’s chaos derailed my day. So here is my morning schedule:
I wake up at 5:50 a.m. every day, and I immediately go to my desk and do roughly 25 minutes of important writing-related work.
At 6:30, my alarm rings, and I go downstairs to do my exercises. They take me a full 30 minutes and involve light equipment like balls, resistance bands and blocks.
At first, I resented the need to do this. Now, I actually enjoy it. Weird, right?
If you feel the same way about your writing — something you know you ought to do but have a hard time actually doing — understand that a New Year’s resolution probably isn’t going to help. By the end of January, close to half of all people have already abandoned those things! They’re gathering dust right next to that gym membership and that bread maker.
Here’s what you can do instead:
1-Start by examining your goal
Is writing something you really want to do? Or is it just someone else’s idea for you? And have you been clear and specific about it? (Instead of saying, “I want to write a book,” say, “I’m going to write 250 words of my book each day.”) And have you identified the top obstacles you’re going to face? For example, you might realize that reading email or checking the news in the morning gets in the way of your writing. You know, that “quick check” that somehow devours 45 minutes of your life. (See the next step for how to deal with this problem.)
2-Create an unbreakable system that supports your goal
The best thing you can do is create an if/then plan. These are pre-made decisions that bypass your brain’s tendency to negotiate with itself. Here are five examples:
- If I haven’t written by 9 a.m., then I will immediately spend 15 minutes writing.
- If I catch myself saying negative things about my writing (e.g., “I’m such a boring writer”), then I’m going to read a positive memo someone has written to me about my work. [Have this saved on your desktop for easy reference!]
- If I really, really, really don’t feel like writing, then I’m going to identify a nice reward I can give myself for writing today. [Bribery works, people.]
- If I’m procrastinating about writing, then I will make a list of all the things I need to do as part of the job (e.g., researching, interviewing, mindmapping, writing a rough draft, self-editing), and I’ll begin by doing the one that will take the least time.
- If I’ve written at least 500 words, then I can quit writing for the day.
3-Make your goal small enough
I ask all my clients to start with one to 15 minutes of writing time — nothing longer than that. There is no writing time that’s too small, I like to say. There are only times that are too large. Begin by doing the smallest possible version of your goal every day. Yes, even a minute counts. Even one sentence counts. Something is infinitely better than nothing. Once the writing becomes automatic, you can gradually increase your time if you wish (or keep it exactly the same).
4-Use an accountability system
I’ve been running my Get It Done program for more than 10 years now, and it’s helped hundreds of writers start blogs and finish books, dissertations and long reports. Why does it work? Because participants need to report to me how many words they wrote, five days a week, for three months. Many people tell me they would not have written that day were it not for their need to report to me. I now accept people to the program only four times a year, and the deadline for the next enrollment is this month: January 22. Here’s where you can learn more and apply.
5-Set yourself up for success
Make achieving your goal easier by writing in the same place and at the same time every day. Put your phone in a different room and shut down your internet. Treat these distractions like the writing vampires they are. Start writing in 3-point type so you can’t read what you’re writing as you’re doing it, which will break the self-destructive habit of editing while you write. Your inner editor is not invited to the first draft party.
Here’s the truth no motivational poster will tell you: You’ll never feel like writing every single day. Some mornings, your brain will offer you a hundred reasons to skip it. That’s normal. That’s human.
The difference between writers who finish and writers who don’t isn’t talent or inspiration — it’s systems. It’s showing up at the same time, in the same place, with the same process, whether you feel like it or not.
Your goal doesn’t need to be ambitious. It needs to be achievable. It doesn’t need to be impressive. It needs to be done.
So forget motivation. Build a system instead. Start small, start now, and let consistency do what inspiration never could: turn you into a writer who actually writes.
What will your first if/then plan be?
If you liked this post, you’ll also like How to break bad writing habits.
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My video podcast last week described how to avoid plagiarizing. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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How do you maintain your writing habits? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. And congratulations to JMT Sousa, the winner of this month’s book prize, for a comment on my Sept. 1/20 blog post about writing on a treadmill. (Please send me your email address, JMT.) If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Jan. 31/26, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)
