How to be prolific
A reporter recently reached out to interview me about my new novel. We've known each other for several years now, so when she suggested coffee outdoors—since we’re both fully vaccinated and live in the same area—I happily agreed. But when we were trying to pick a time to meet, I explained that I couldn’t get together in the morning because I write from nine to noon, Monday through Friday.
When we met up one afternoon earlier this week, she was curious about whether I always keep such a strict schedule. As I told her, I’m in the middle of revising my eighth novel and need those three hours more than ever right now—but I observe my morning writing time even when I’m not on deadline.
Why? As someone smarter than me said, we are what we do every day. Unless I’m sick or on vacation, I write—because that’s what writers do, and it’s the best way to get better. Sometimes I work on a story that doesn’t go anywhere, but over the past decade, having a set writing time is how I’ve been able to publish seven novels and a novella while juggling a second career (first journalism, and now coaching) without burning out. We often think of book writing as a flurry of inspired action. The reality is, it’s about putting your derrière in the chair and doing the work whether you feel like it or not.
But it doesn’t have to seem like a slog. If anything, doing an activity at the same time every day makes it that much easier. When you repeat something over and over at a set time, you create new neural pathways in your brain. And those pathways prompt you to actually do what you said you were going to do instead of, say, scrolling Instagram mindlessly or reading yet another craft book without applying it.
Even better? When you have a designated writing time, your creative projects don’t take over the rest of your life. Everyone else eventually gets the memo, too (even my mother knows not to call me until lunch), so you don't have to constantly set and attempt to enforce boundaries.
Success begins with your schedule. Are you blocking off time to make big things happen?