Habits are formed by the repetition of particular acts. They are strengthened by an
increase in the number of repeated acts. Habits are also weakened or broken, and
contrary habits are formed by the repetition of contrary acts.
Mortimer Adler
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
Mahatma Gandhi
Repeat the actions you want to reinforce and they will become your habits.
Once you have determined your best writing time and gone ahead to block it out, the next hurdle to jump is developing your writing habits. This is what Warren Buffet says, ‘Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.’ Once you work out your writing habit, it’ll almost come naturally to go to your writing space and make progress. For that to happen, you may need to:
Consult
One way to do this, especially if this is your first time writing a book, is to get ideas from other authors. After all, you don’t want to waste precious time reinventing the wheel. You will do well to equip yourself with sound advice at the onset.
Find out how you can manage your time. Ask them what they did to beat their deadlines and stay focused throughout the project. Then pick what works for you. If you don’t know an author personally, do a quick search online and you’ll find plenty of advice waiting for you.
Maintain a progress report
There is nothing as encouraging as observing your own progress. It could be as simple as tallying the days you write consistently on the calendar. You could also use an app. Just remember that habit is formed by doing something continuously.
For starters, consider setting the 21-day mark as your target. Specialists say that habits are formed after consistently doing something for 3 weeks straight. You may want to start on this immediately, so that by the time you start writing, you’re already headed towards forming a habit.
Report your progress to someone
Writing is not a journey you want to take alone. There will be times when you are sure you want to give up. If you don’t find an accountability partner to give a report on your progress, you’ll quickly find it difficult to stay on track.
Even though you count yourself as a self-driven individual, an accountability partner reminds you stick to the plan. You may not appreciate this when all your creative juices are at optimum level; but when things get tough and you need to put in the extra effort to keep going, you will see the benefit. Reporting your progress to someone could be just what saves your book-writing dream from a premature death.
It is critical that you choose the right person to whom you will give your progress report.
It needs to be someone who:
- Has your respect
- Has your back
- Is committed to seeing you succeed
- Will not allow you to give up
- Will tell you the hard truth every time
- Knows what works for you and gets you to do it
This person could be a friend, a mentor or perhaps a fellow author. If you get a person who is all the three, the better for you! If not, you can choose a person who is also planning to write a book. Peer motivation is a great incentive and can help you both to remain faithful.
It’s time to reflect!
- Who can you consult concerning your book-writing habits? Write their name(s) and why you think they would be helpful to you.
- How do you plan to keep track of your progress?
- Write a list of people you can give a report on your writing schedule. Why do you think this is important?
It’s time to act!
Share your reflections with a partner or a writer’s group.
Remember, your writing habit will get you to the finish line, start developing a healthy one today!
Writing Checklist
Did I…
- Read Day 7 Insights
- Write my reflection from today’s reading
- Write my action plan
- Share my action plan for accountability with a partner or a writer’s group