In the last post about writing days I played around with a few theories of why Tuesday's best. Studies of workplace productivity have found that workers are more productive at the beginning of the week, with Tuesday proving the peak day.
Writing at night is great because of the lack of distractions. No one is vying for your attention, there aren't any pressing calls to make or work to be done. Everything from the day has been taken care of, and you're able to just sit and write without pressure and without the weight of outstanding responsibilities.
So early morning is when your productivity level is at its highest. Taking advantage of the first few hours of the day to write can, therefore, improve your performance. You'll find yourself concentrating better, coming up with fresher ideas, and less likely to hit the writer's block.
By writing morning pages, you're establishing a routine that will help you find a way to make time for your creative self. Once you get into the habit of writing morning pages, finding the time for your creative endeavors will come easier.
Research suggests that our minds are most creative during and just after sleep. This is partly because the editing part of our brain tends to sleep in, allowing us to be fully creative without our inner critic analyzing our ideas.
If you write for an hour a day, you'll have a reason to get up in the morning and have something to look forward to. As a result, you'll be happier and more fulfilled. Once you've developed the habit of writing every day, it's something that you'll likely do for the rest of your life.
Many find themselves most productive in the early morning.
He would write between 5 a.m and 8 a.m every morning before going to work. Others aren't able to unleash creative juices until they have cleared up all distractions: answering emails, taking their kids to school, catching up on important news, etc.
It stresses the importance of building the writing exercise into your daily routine. Basically, with Morning Pages, you wake up in the morning, grab your journal, and write three pages of whatever is on your mind—sort of like a stream of consciousness.
The dark hours tend to be more relaxing: lighting is softer, we're spending less time on social media, and the overall setting is quieter. This makes it ten times easier to focus on our writing.
Erica Vetsch: The true answer is—it depends. If I'm on a deadline of some kind, I can write from 4-6 hours a day. Mostly, I write from 2-4 hours on weekday afternoons. I do lots of other writing tasks like editing, marketing, blogging, etc, but for writing on the manuscript, I average about 3 hours per weekday.
Most adults — including writers — need 7 to 9 hours per night. Getting more sleep may be the best favour you can do for your writing.
A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman. Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year.
Writing in a journal a few times a week, such as every other day or 3-4 times per week, is often an ideal amount for most people.
Monday is a chance to start over and make a fresh start after the weekend. It's a day that offers an opportunity to set new goals and make a fresh start to the week. It's a day to reflect on the past week's achievements and plan for the next one.
Here are a few reasons why Tuesday is an important day: Productivity: Research shows that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week. According to a study conducted by Accountemps, a staffing firm, workers are more productive on Tuesday than any other day.
Morning anxiety has a biological cause: Cortisol, often called the “stress hormone,” is higher during the first hour after waking for people experiencing stress. Sometimes people feel a measure of control when they worry, so they have trouble stopping the cycle.
While most people will complete their best writing in the mornings, it's important for morning larks to remember that their “morning” will start earlier than the average person, while the “morning” for night owls will start much later than the average person's morning.
The best time to write is early in the morning
There is still a lot we don't know about body rhythms and the writing process. But we can make some projections based on what we do know.
Writing first thing in the morning ensures you actually get it done. It helps build the writing “habit.” Just as it's smarter to exercise in the morning, so, too, it's smarter to write then.
Writing requires a working mind. Healthy minds require regular rest. So if you want to be a successful AND HEALTHY writer, schedule weekly rest. Ideally, do it the same time every week so that you can look forward to it on the bad days.
Why 500 words? It's short enough that you can usually find time to do it daily and long enough that if you stick to a schedule, you'll have something substantial in no time.
If you can set aside 30 minutes to an hour every day for writing practice (and set yourself a word or page limit to meet), you can become a better writer. You should also aim to schedule your writing practice for the same time every day so it becomes a habit.