The Boring Writing Advice You Should Probably Not Ignore Any Longer
Brace yourself, I’m going to give you some boring writing advice.
Ignore at your own peril.
You’ve heard this writing advice hundreds of times before, but maybe today it’ll worm its way into your head and heart, and actually stick.
🤞 Fingers crossed 🤞
Last week on a call someone asked:
“When there are so many things on the to-do list, how do I clear my head to actually write?
Age-old question!
I can only tell you how I get my newsletter written every week. Don’t ask me how to get your book written. For eighteen months I’ve been sitting on the first three epic chapters of what is sure to be an unputdownable book about internet marketing.
Let us not speak of it!
But newsletters?
Well, here you are, reading this newsletter, probably sometime around 10am eastern on Tuesday as readers have been doing for more than ten years because … drum roll, please … I have a system of habits and deadlines that keep me consistent.
SO BORING!
Don’t think I don’t know this.
I’ll tell you the habits and systems that hold up my newsletter in a sec, because I know you want something more concrete than “make a habit and stick to it.”
But trust me on this, it’s the habit (the thing you do on repeat) and the system (the step-by-step process to get from draft to publish) that actually matter.
Yours will be different from mine.
In case it helps, here’s mine.
The Habit:
I’ve been writing my newsletter on Wednesday for as long as I can remember. My body and brain know that Wednesday is the day. Do they rebel? Of course they do. I sit down and write anyway. Willpower is a muscle, and also it’s a finite resource. The newsletter sometimes takes all of my reserves, other days none.
It takes me about 2 hours to write a decent draft (ditto for promo emails), so I keep a light calendar on Wednesday, and wouldn't typically have many other tasks assigned.
The System:
To make this a bit less boring, here’s a video.
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That’s it!
Let us state the obvious: I’m neurotypical. My brain loves repeatable systems, box-ticking and predictability.
Your system might involve prayers and songs, or maybe three cups of coffee and a book of prompts. Who’s to say? The point is that it’s all about habits and systems.
Will it be good writing?
That’s a question for another day. For me, it’s repetition and practice that have made me a great writer. That, and reading roughly a book a week.
Age-old advice: work at it!
Blurgh!
Sorry I don’t have magic tricks.
If you have any, I sure do want to know them.
In the meantime, I’ll keep sticking with my habits.
XOT
Tarzan Kay Consent-Based Business Educator
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P.S. Jackpot! Wrote this whole email in an hour! Feels like I bent time.
