So it’s been a while since I posted anything. But I have been a busy little writing bee, trying to do as much as possible with finite amounts of time. Which means that lately I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity. And the other day when I dragged into the gym, I had a little epiphany.

The thing about going to the gym…

Once you get there you usually do something. I mean, I’m not sure I’ve ever arrived at the gym and just sat there reading on my phone.  Oh, sure, I’ve slacked sometimes. I might have done an easy workout or cut a workout short, but I’ve never just done nothing.

And I think it works this way with writing too. Sometimes, once we just show up we’ll get things done. Problem is, many of us can’t afford a private office all our own (in or outside our house). This means that we don’t have those doors to walk through and no one’s going to notice if we just stand there staring at a wall.

But we can create this virtual writing “gym” for ourselves in a few ways.

1. We can write somewhere that encourages writing (the library works best for me; other people like coffee shops or parks or museums). I’ve been doing this a lot lately since I notice that, even though I work at home, I’m less efficient (that snack or a hot bath call to me).
2. We can set a time and “show up.” Last year, I gave myself office hours and kept them free of other stuff. It was immensely helpful to me. When my kids were young, their quiet time was my office hours. And I knew if I didn’t get to doing, that time would fly and be gone.
3. Accountability partners. Truth be told, this isn’t my writing jam. But some people LOVE having an accountability partner with their writing. One author told me that she would wake up early (as in 5 am), call her friend, and they’d both write. No one wanted to leave the other one lonely in the early morning so they did it together (see, just like the gym).
4. Virtual accountability partners. Don’t know anyone who wants a 5 am wake up call (not sure I do either). Twitter, Facebook, and probably other platforms on social media have accountability type hashtags #5amwritingclub #wordsprints (best combined with #writingcommunity) and probably a million others. You report you’re going to be wording away and then report when you’re done. Be careful with this one though. Social media is a rabbit hole you can fall into and soon, instead of two hours or writing, you may have just read ten billion tweets.
5. Be routine about it. I almost always work out in the morning. It’s not always exactly the same time, but it’s definitely in the ballpark. If we can manage this with our writing too (and I’m not trying to control you or tell you what to do–you do you–just offering some friendly suggestions here), it can be helpful. If we always write in the morning or afternoon or when the kids go to bed or whatever, then it starts to feel like an undone day if we skip it. That’s what we’re shooting for.

Hope to see you all at the writing gym. Just show up, even if some days you’ve only got a pansy workout to give. Other days, you’ll knock it out of the park.