When I first dreamed of becoming a writer at a really young age, I didn’t think about the challenges that come with it. As a child, I didn’t even know they existed. All I know is that I want to be a writer – that’s it. Years passed, mistakes were made, then even how to build a writing habit looks like baking a sponge cake that needs a special recipe and unique ingredients.
Maybe, you’re there now—staring at a blank page, doubting your abilities, and wondering if your dreams as a writer could ever materialize. After failing an English exam in college, committing the mistake of spelling tomorrow with a double “m”, hearing people laugh because your sentence ended with a question mark instead of a period, your self-confidence may have declined. Now, your courage to start writing again is being challenged.
Well, let me tell you. Writing nowadays has become more fun! It’s no longer reserved for grammar nazis. For as long as you’re happy doing it, the mistakes you commit along the way can easily become your stepping stones. And if you’re planning to monetize writing in the future, I’m confident that building a healthy writing habit can take you there. Because happy writers craft beautiful masterpieces.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing with you easy ways to integrate writing into your daily routine until it becomes part of you – yes, until it becomes your source of joy because only you are your source of joy. And only then can I assure you, monetizing it becomes sooo easy!
Easy Ways to Build a Writing Habit
1. Start Small
Identify what’s small and big for you. Is 5 minutes a day realistic for you? Maybe you can share more like 15 minutes to just write anything that comes to mind. Studies have proven that when you build a writing habit, it’s more effective to start with baby steps so that it becomes really easy for you to do.
Next, schedule when you’re going to share that 15 minutes. Is it going to be just after waking up and drinking a glass of water? Or will it be part of your lunch break? Or is it more attainable if you do it before bedtime?
2. Make Writing Portable
What’s the most accessible writing tool that you can carry with you anywhere or anytime? Most of the writers I have met share that ideas love to pop out when they’re inside the bathroom. However, writing inside the bathroom doesn’t work for me personally. Some of them joked about taking your phone with you and when an idea pops out, you turn on a Speech to Text app. Sounds smart or silly (depende sa’yo, hehe).
My point here is to have something you can jot down your thoughts on during long commutes, while waiting for an appointment, or when you’re set to write in the morning, during lunch break, or before bedtime.
Yes, it feels frustrating when you already have that idea to write about and then the situation doesn’t permit you to record or jot it down. However, please remember that the journey is more important than the result. You weren’t allowed to write that idea down for a reason. There’s still more to come.
3. Enjoy Micro-Writing Sessions
For a 5-minute period of time, what do you think can you write about? Isn’t that a really short session?
Well, it could be. Have you heard of the 2-minute rule? It’s a habit building formula that allows you to identify a 2-minute task and do just that during your schedule. Once you started, you’ll be surprised. 2 minutes can turn into 5 minutes and then 15 minutes and so on.
You see, sometimes, the root cause of why people procrastinate on starting something they have always wanted to do in the past is just the thought of “I don’t have that much time”. But the moment you show up for that 2-minute task, time becomes infinite.
Micro-writing sessions can be as simple as holding your pen and writing down the top 3 things you’re grateful for the day.
4. #JustWrite with Prompts
Writer’s block becomes really common when people are tired, unwell, or overwhelmed. I for one believe that the more I have things to write about, the more I don’t know what to write about first. Most seasoned writers would recommend taking a break, having a quick walk, or simply diverting your attention to other things.
However, for those of you who are here to write as part of your habit building, journaling works wonders. The beauty of journaling is that it helps declutter the mind from lots of thoughts not relevant to what I’m supposed to be writing about at a given time. However, if you are stuck because you feel like your mind is blank, your hand is frozen, and there’s no words coming out, having inspiration from writing prompts truly helps get the ball rolling.
5. Romanticize your Writing Routine
Imagine yourself writing as a form of reclaiming your peace after a really busy day at work. What would that look like? Maybe, lighting a mint scented candle while you write down a page of your life is what peace looks like to you.
How about waking up to a really calm morning before everyone else wakes up? What are you holding in your hand? A cup of tea or coffee? Does the aroma of freshly brewed coffee or tea help calm your nerves while you visualize and journal about a happy day?
During your lunch break, is putting on your headset and turning on a focus music allow you to be inspired and write a section in your blog post or chapter of the book you’re writing?
Find cues that make you feel good and signals your brain that it’s time to write. It has been truly helpful to me. It’s not going to be easy when you’re still starting to build a writing habit. Keep showing up until it becomes part of your routine.
As a work from home mom, putting on my headset as my signal to start writing is also a cue for my 2 year old to come asking to breastfeed. And it’s challenging. But you see, whatever happens during the process is still part of the journey. These distractions trained me to stay calm and get back with the flow without the frustration.
6. Set Intentions
Before you set a SMART goal (I’m confident you already know what this is), ask yourself: What experience do you want to enjoy when you build a writing habit? What do you want to discover more? What values do you want to practice and how are you willing to show up for this?
Setting and achieving goals will become easier if you’re clear with the deeper reasons why you’re building a writing habit. It also helps turn the failures into points of reflection instead of another reason for your self-confidence to decline.
Again, the process of achieving that goal is more important. For example, if you want to practice being courageous by writing and posting on social media every single day, look at the journey and what you are grateful about. Do not be too focused on the task of posting daily. Appreciate the emotions and limiting beliefs you were able to overcome the moment you started writing the first word until the time you hit the publish button.
7. Be Grateful for “Dead Times”
If you’re living in the Philippines, I know you’re already used to the long commute due to traffic. Be grateful for waiting times. Turn it into an “Alive Time” by listening to podcasts, reading a book, or observing people, events, or objects around you. Writing isn’t all about outputs. I can’t count how many times I have already heard the words “a great writer is a good reader” and it’s true. The more you receive “inputs”, the easier you can write “quality outputs”
8. Join a Writing Community
Find a writing buddy or community where you can receive inspiration and motivation. I don’t know about you but I both tried working alone and writing with others. I enjoyed having company. You can ask for help and support, and you can share your own knowledge and wisdom too.
I want to connect this with the Parable of Talents. We are all given the gift to write, and for the whole of the universe to receive the blessing, our talents are meant to be shared and not buried. Sharing what you know actually widens your understanding about a specific knowledge. Receiving help from others blesses the person giving it. Everyone wins, right?
Lastly, find a writing buddy that will tell you what you need to hear and not just what you WANT to hear.
9. Celebrate your Progress
Have you ever experienced receiving a “star” stamp on your paper during pre-school days? I did receive a remarkable amount of “Very Good” back in the day (yay!).
Writing can become really fun if we also track our progress. I’m not saying you have to measure what you’ve written unless it’s relevant to the intention that you set. For example, your intention is to practice being a fast writer and you measure this by the number of words in a specific number of time, then go for it. But if your intention is to be confident that you can share your life lessons by writing blogs or social media posts, you can track your progress by simply adding a checkmark on your calendar because you showed up to write for that day.
10. Make Mistakes. Forgive. Move on.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that if you set your goal to write 1400 words blog in a week, you must write 200 words every day. Again, get back to your intention. If your intention is to be consistent in building a daily writing habit, one day can mean just writing anything to declutter your mind, the other day could be writing a section of the blog regardless of the number of words, and another day could be for editing the draft. I keep reminding you that the goal you set is just your guide and it doesn’t define you at the end of whatever period you’ve set to build a daily writing habit.
And whenever you miss a day, it’s okay. The lesson still exists, forgive yourself, evaluate, and move on. Your plans may be good but God and the universe’s plans are always better.
Conclusion: Building a Healthy Writing Habit
Integrating something new to routines can be fun and exciting. What helped me prevent burn out (that feeling of hating something you used to enjoy doing, oh!) is being true to my intentions. Yes, there’s a universal intention such as to be able “to write a book so that I can help” this group or that group. But like they always say, we can not give what we don’t have. Start from an intention that fills your cup like “I want to build up my self-confidence” or a value-based one such as “I want to be more authentic”.
And yeah, I get those moments when nothing seems to flow when I’m already set to write. Recently, my favorite first aid is “looking back” and appreciating myself for the progress I made. Looking at things that have helped me achieve that progress no matter how small, and being truly grateful for those tools, events, or people, helped me start typing. I would journal my thoughts to declutter my mind, and then after that, I’ll get back to my writing task with better focus.
Well, the best way to build a writing habit is through journaling. Just writing anything that comes to your mind. No pressure, no judgment, write without any expectation whatsoever. Because forcing things to happen could be the worst strategy when starting something new.
I hope these tips will keep your creative fire burning. 
Happy writing!
I enjoyed reading this blog, it helps me to feel motivated to develop my writing habits. I am not naturally a fan of writing. I am a typical boy who just spends time scrolling on social media and wasting my time playing video games. When I realized that I should not spend my time like this, I came to the idea of why not just learn a new hobby instead of scrolling on social media. Upon searching for how to develop writing habits, I was led hear. I am thankful that I was led here, I got the courage that I need to start my new habit.
Hi Alvin, it’s a delight to know that you got inspiration from this blog. I’m looking forward to seeing your written pieces. 🙂 I hope you join us inside the Freelance Writing Side Gig Community and share with us snips of what you’re writing about now.