In my book, Blogger’s Quick Guide to Writing Rituals and Routines I debated about whether or not to provide any sample writing routines, because in my view, a writing routine is a very personal, individualized thing, and I don’t want to suggest that there is one right way to do things.
Having said that, I know that at times it can help to have things laid out, so in the book, I provided a couple of sample writing routines to give you an idea of how to make all of the different elements of having a blogging routine can come together.
In this post, I provide a writing routine for someone who has a full time job or perhaps a very busy business and writes on the side, as a way to either generate additional income, or to help grow a business.
The second routine (which is available exclusively in the book) is for someone like me, who makes a living by creating a lot of content, and in order for the income level to be what it needs to be, a higher volume of writing needs to be done each week.
You may identify more with one or the other, or you may be somewhere in between. The point of the sample routines isn’t to provide you with a routine that will work perfectly for you, but instead, to help you to see how you can create your very own writing routine.
Routine #1: For the Blogger with Very Limited Time to Blog
Step #1: Start off by setting up a dedicated place to blog.
Since blogging is something that is very much a side venture for you, be realistic with where you set up your “blogging center.” If you’re comfortable working on a laptop, even designating a specific chair as your writing chair can be sufficient.
The main thing is to have a place to do your writing, so that when you go there, you immediately get into writing mode.
Step #2: Determine the time of day, or a specific day of the week that you will write, and your specific writing goal for that time.
The key is to spend time writing consistently, so be realistic here and consider your other commitments when making this commitment.
For example, you may only be able to devote 30 minutes per day to writing, or two hours every Saturday. Or you may decide to use a word count goal, and make it a modest goal of writing 500 words per week, which would be equivalent to a single blog post.
Step #3: Determine how you’ll refuel your writing soul.
A couple of options that I mentioned in some of the chapters in the book include weekly artist dates, and quarterly or annual writing retreats.
A weekly artist date may be a bit much if your time is super limited, but an artist date once a month would certainly be something to look forward to. Depending on your budget, and family and other responsibilities, determine whether or not you’ll go on a quarterly or an annual writing retreat.
Now here’s an example of what this would look like in specific terms for a blogger with limited time that we’ll call Jack.
Jack gets up at 6:00 a.m. and after showering and getting ready for work heads to a Starbucks that is on the way to his office. After buying a cup of coffee, he finds a quiet table in the corner and writes for 30 minutes every day before going to work.
He literally sets a timer and writes as much as he can before the timer goes off. Setting the timer helps him to get out of the coffee shop on time because it indicates a commitment to write for 30 minutes, and since he wants to stay on good terms with his boss, he can’t afford to be late for work.
Weekends are reserved for family, so except for an artist date that he goes on once a month, he focuses on time with family on the weekend.
Once every quarter, he heads to a friend’s cabin, and spends the day planning out his blog posts for the next quarter, and getting a head start on writing some of his posts.
Even though his writing time is limited, practicing these small writing rituals and routines on a regular basis helps Jack to blog consistently, and make progress in his goal of working toward being able to quit his job to focus on his business full time.
***If you enjoyed this excerpt, you’ll no doubt enjoy the rest of the book. You can pick up your copy here.
