Make a habit of writing and notice the benefits

You’ve realised it by now. Writing is a crucial skill, and these papers and chapters do not appear out of thin air. However, many of us are struggling to put words to paper. Well…

Why is writing so complicated?

I don’t have to explain that to you, you can easily figure this out for yourself. Some examples include: lack of time, lack of motivation, not knowing which approach to use, other things that are more pressing, lack of preparedness, not sure what to do with the feedback, not sure where to start?

Why do you have to write?

Writing is a skill you can learn. When you have the basics down, you will still need to practice; and as often as possible. Similarly to many skills like walking, biking, cooking, ice skating, driving, researching. “Practice makes perfect” and that also applies for writing.

How to make it easier?

Make it a habit to write. That will really make a difference. Tiny Habits will help you with this; you anchor a new habit (writing) to an old one. For example, you could start writing upon starting up your computer each day, before you consider doing anything else. Or, you can schedule some writing time straight after lunch, a fixed moment in your schedule each day

What else can you do to make it easier?

Turn it into a challenge!  Make a deal to come to work half an hour earlier than usual for a month to practice writing with your roommates or colleagues. You can come up with rules such as: The person who is not on time must provide the coffee for everybody else, and (or) the person that arrives constantly late has to pay for lunch.

Make sure you make a deal everybody agrees on. And of course, think of an incentive at the end of the challenge to look forward to. Before you know it you are addicted to writing.