21 Productivity Hacks from 21 Prolific Writers

21 Productivity Hacks from 21 Prolific Writers

Reader Comments (25)

  1. Hi Kelton,

    A few years ago I decided to write thousands of words daily, like Seth advises writing daily. I did not look back.

    Since then I have written and self-published 126 bite-sized eBooks, I have written over 1000 guest posts, 300 plus posts on my blog, I blog comment extensively and also write a travel themed page on my blog daily, as of the past 3 weeks.

    Some days I write 10,000 words daily, other days less. Some call me the most prolific kinda known blogger on earth LOL, others the King of Guest Posting. I just write. Best hack there is. Get in front of a computer, write your butt off. Not from a place of force or fear or desperation but from a commit to your craft, something you love doing.

    I also suggest doing your writing offline whenever possible. Not that you should be distracted online – hey, if you are a pro blogger or pro author, goodness, a Messenger note should not pull you away from your craft – but it reduces any human tendency to chase a shiny object, potential client, customer or whatever.

    Write, write and write some more. Just churn out thousands of words daily and your productivity will go through the roof.

    Thanks for the smart share Kelton.

    Ryan

  2. Hey, thanks for writing this compilation of hacks. I personally prefer writing after midnight because words come easily to my mind that time as there is peace all around. It helps me in concentrating more on my language.

  3. Wow what an amazing piece of super valuable tips on productivity!

    Love it!

    What works for me, the best, is having deadlines. For some reason, I work at my best when I’m up against the wall, somehow.

    I think some of us can perform our best when actually HAVE TO! … right!

    I really like Austin Kleon’s tip; ‘practice productive procrastination’

    That is one of the best tips, I would say.

    Becoming a productive person is all about creating the new necessary habits. We all operate out of habit, whether we are aware or not. Control your habits and you can accomplish anything!

    I’m bookmarking this for future references. Thank you for sharing all the awesome productivity “hacks”!

    Cheers! 😀

    • Haha, I agree with you!
      I love “productive procrastination” – having more projects you are working on so you can easily switch to a different one if you get stuck on one. It’s one of perks of working in a marketing agency – there’s always something happening, some projects to work on.

      But, I also have to say that deadlines work in my case as well. Having a firm date for something really makes me push, concentrate and focus on the project more than anything else.

  4. Hello Kelton,

    Awesome list over here 🙂

    Indeed at least we need to write at least 1000 words daily about any topic to improve our skills, writing do take in lot of
    skills when it comes to being a blogger.
    I love to write in the early morning time phase, it helps to generate some new ideas and the energy is with me.

    My creativity is launched when I am near the deadline time, I can act as a super human at that phase of time and it really
    works out for me, yeah being in a super rush, sometimes mistakes do happen but I love this way of getting things done.

    Thanks for the share.

    Shantanu

  5. Writing daily is the key.
    Writing is my passion and it get’s me excited even more, knowing that I am a passionate 13 year old writer hoping to feature in the list someday

    Am a big follower of Seth Godin.

  6. Nonfiction before 10am. Fiction after 7:30pm.

    And no, I don’t own a TV. Write 7 days a week.

    I only set word counts during special times…like the upcoming month of November, aka NaNoWriMo. Just sitting down at the keyboard or picking up a pen and putting it to paper counts as writing.

    As in my meditation and yoga practice, habit is everything. Some days are hugely productive, others not so much. Life. Muse has her own notions of accountability. Chaos has his. I win when I show up regardless of their antics.

    Always a delight to “hear” your voice in print in addition to the podcast, Kelton.

  7. Great points from all writers, but I especially like Jeff Goins’ “three-bucket method” for writing, editing and publishing. Seems very efficient.

  8. great compilation of quotes on productivity as a writer. agreed about how the time late at night seems to foster creativity. with kids in the house, (or having to be somewhere in a couple hours) i find it really hard to concentrate, even if they are occupied. I’m trying to shift that “quiet time” to early morning, as it’s a great way to get ahead of the day… (also tea, not coffee if possible!)

  9. Kelton: This post is fuel for my soul, as I am an aspiring author writing on my first book on (black) tea.

    Have you tested Ulysses as a writing tool? I have set a goal of 60 words per day. My books will be in a children’s book format (for grownups) with “only” 24 pages or so. The text will work together with illustrations by fine artist and editorial cartoonist, John Cox. I have a crowdfunding campaign for my book project. The plan is to write, publish and market 8 books on tea, over the years to come…

    All the Best,

    Martin
    P.S. I have listened to Joanna Penn’s audiobook on the author’s mind and I working on her workbook now.

    • Awesome! Glad you found it inspiring. Haven’t tried Ulysses, but anything that helps you focus has to be useful. Joanna’s great. Best of luck with the project–

  10. I find going for a long walk – especially in nature – really helps to move my thinking into more creative territory. Good article Kelton – thanks for sharing 🙂

      • I write short stories 1200-1500 words long. I feel most people attention span is not much longer. My problem is thinking of plots for my stories. It is difficult because all the stories are centered around about 6 girls in an expensive, fictional Girls College. but the plots are not necessarily set in the College. There are 20 in the series so far. I have another blog in which I have written over 200 articles on European politics but I prefer to write fiction. But thinking of plots is a real problem. I have to sit in front of the PC and stare at the monitor hoping an idea would blossom sometimes I have to write a line which may have nothing to do with the eventual story just to trigger an idea, it is terribly frustrating.

This article's comments are closed.