No dirty tricks. No sneaky hacks. And no words conjured from science labs or basements that grow certain funguses either. Just 7 simple healthy author habits that work wonders…
1. Flip off your workload habit
Remember being that rebellious teen who cut class, or secretly flipped the bird to the boss behind his back?
When it comes to writing, us authors need to give ourselves a break to daydream. Ah-huh.
No deep Zen workflow here. Nope.
It’s learning the habit of outsourcing some stuff so you can flip off your workload. Some of us dream of getting an assistant to do our tasks. Until then, you can try cutting down your menial tasks by using templates or streamlining your author systems with some tools.
But there’s also this…
Every writer struggles with a thing called time stress. It’s where we cram so much into every single minute of the day.
Taking five minutes to just breathe and look at the bigger picture, can help ease this stress.
Ask yourself, where do you want to be… tomorrow, next year, next month? Or not.
There’s no harm in sneaking off to meditate with your eyes open. It’s like disconnecting to reconnect. Giving you time to think, to daydream, to roll over ideas in your head. It’s a powerful tool we could all try to do as an author habit, at least once a week. Go on, pencil that into your calendar. I dare you.
While you’re there…
2. Turn your author goals into a habit
Goals help you keep a focus on what really matters.
They’re the map of your future and where you choose to be.
You’re the formula one driver in the hot seat. Be the next Aryton Senna and take control of that steering wheel. Work out your goals and stick them somewhere you can see them to help you reinforce them.
Oh, and don’t overwhelm yourself with a thousand goals, you just need one to become an author habit.
That’s it.
One per day.
Finding what to focus on, like writing your book that you can then break down into daily word count goals, helps you feel like you’ve accomplished something. It’s that taste of progress, genuine progress, that’ll boost your self-esteem making you want to do it again, and again. And it’s for you. Not for your boss. Or that best friend you no longer see from highschool. You. So that tastes even better. Right?
To learn more about goals here >>
3. Walk it off, Writer!
Writing is a sit-down deal. Many of us sit for hours at our desks, tapping away while staring at a screen.
Try to step away and walk it off.
Remember those cranky coaches who’d yell at you to Walk it off, when you were about to clobber that pimple-faced, polo-wearing player with your hockey stick? Who knew school sports could be so brutal!
Doing a simple trek around the block clears the mind. Take the dog, cat, or pinch a swearing parrot to keep you company, they’ll love it.
Park your car further from your workplace. Strut your stuff to the shops.
Walking is so simple, and we all know it comes with a gazillion documented health benefits, plus it can clear your mind if you have an issue in your story. Why do you think Stephen King does it.
Oh, and you can multitask by listening to some podcasts to help you with your writing career.
But sometimes it’s just best to do the nature bath, and listen to the crunch of your own footsteps when you step off that well-beaten career path to offload that stress.
Go on, writer, make this an author-healthy habit and walk it off.
4. Hey writer, put that phone away and make it a habit
Today’s biggest distraction comes in such a small package. The phone.
Instead of scrolling, work on your book.
You know it’ll make you happy, and the progress you make, even if it’s only fifty words, will be a boost towards reaching your author goals.
Make it a habit by turning off the notifications. Even better, put your phone in a drawer in another room whenever you sit down to write.
Your writing time is precious, so why dilute this time with distractions?
5. Be the author who loves the moment habit
Be it playing with a bunch of furry animals, watering your favourite cactus, or pouring a cup of aromatic herbal tea, do something small that makes you smile.
That saying of stopping to smell the pollen-loaded lily, or a freshly brewed aromatic tea into a brand-new teapot, does matter.
Before you reach for the antihistamines because of allergies, or plug more caffeine into your system that’ll interrupt your sleep pattern for the next thirty-one and half-nights, think of that one thing you like doing.
At least aim to do it daily.
And you can then aim for something special once a week, turning this author habit into a reward. It can be as simple as stopping at your favourite bakery to taste their latest cake creation to sit back and taste the flavours.
Being in the moment will make you happy while helping to recharge your mind, you’ll be glad you did it.
6. Make author education an entertaining habit
Flick off Netflix and switch to an online course, a podcast, or a seminar, or pick up a book.
Sometimes we need to binge-watch the latest on Netflix. But make that a weekly treat, not something you do daily.
It’s all about keeping your amazing brain active. Open yourself up to new ideas. Learn new skills and you’ll soon find fabulous new opportunities for yourself. As authors, we get to be creative in so many areas. It doesn’t have to be about writing.
Turn self-education, like reading our Author Platform series of books, into your new form of entertainment. It’s an author habit your career will truly benefit from.
7. Dump the trash-talk habit
So, you may have read a trashy reader’s review that ruined your latest release-day glow.
Or your manuscript came back from the editors filled with so much red, it looked like a map of your eyes l after a big drinking binge on the town.
Or something crappy happened in your day, that it’s decided to bounce around the walls of your brain so much you want to find a drill to cut out a hole in your cranium and suck it all away. Scary, right?
Well, forget the power tools, when you can power down by emptying the trash by trash-talking it out with good old-fashioned pen and paper. Get that verbal diarrhea down on the page, then trash it.
Emptying your mind by clearing away all that crap helps you to focus on what matters. Oh, and try doing this before going to bed. It’ll help you sleep better.
Free writing, with no consequences or need for editing, is a bonus. Especially for word-restricted authors.
So try it, write freely by dumping all that trash talk to clear your mind for the words that do matter.
It’s an author habit you’ll thank yourself for.
Do these 7 simple healthy habits work for authors?
Well, that depends on you.
I could give you detailed scientific data where you’ll spend more time de-coding line by line, or just take the shortcut to healthy habits that work wonders for you.
Like I said, no dirty tricks or sneaky science-speak. Just simple healthy habits that work wonders for authors.
What will you do to help you?
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