A Review of Productivity Methods for Writing

Let me tell you, I have wasted an awful lot of time that I could have spent writing researching how to be more productive when writing. I've researched methods of how to encourage myself to write more when I do sit down to write, I've researched methods of how to make myself start writing. Anything to avoid writing when the fact of the matter is the best productivity tip someone can give is to just start. However, I believe it's completely natural to want to make sure that your effort is being used in the most efficient way possible.

So I've taken all of my findings in my personal research and gathered them here for you to learn in one quick read. I've also stated my opinions on using them, but remember, you never know how these tips will help you unless you try them for yourself.

Pomodoro Timer.

One of the most famous methods of productivity—in general, not only for authors— is the pomodoro technique. This technique entails setting a 25 minute timer in which you spend the entire time focusing on the task you need to complete—in this case, writing–and when it goes off, you get a 5 minute break. After four sessions of focusing on productivity, you get a 15 minute break. Then you start the cycle over again with another 25 minutes of productivity until you have completed your tasks.

I will admit, this is not my favorite method of productivity for writing. I find the 5 minute breaks to be momentum killers, if I can even gather momentum instead of just watching the clock tick down to time for my break. I also have an incredibly hard time coming back from the 15 minute break.

I like to believe I’m fairly decent at making myself write even when I don’t feel like it, but the pomodoro technique proves me wrong. It doesn’t force me to start, so I never start writing.

The pomodoro technique does have it’s uses, of course. I find it is incredible for editing, whether you are reviewing and implementing suggestions from a beta reader or book coach, or self editing with a full retype of the project. Editing is much easier for me to start and pause in the middle of, so I most often use this technique for that specifically.

No Editing.

A productivity tip that is exclusive to writers is to not edit while writing. It doesn’t sound like a useful tip, but you likely edit a lot more than you realize when you are supposed to be writing. You notice how sentences can be tweaked to sound better, you pick up on spelling mistakes…

I used to think this was the worst tip anyone could give. However, I’ve since realized just how useful it can be when it’s done correctly, it’s just hard to properly do. 

I have two main techniques for doing this method properly: sticky notes, and typewriters.

Ideally, we would all use typewriters and watch as our productivity skyrocketed as we are forced to ignore mistakes and keep moving forward unless we want to reset the typewriter and restart the page. But typewriters are not nearly common enough in the modern day, so I recommend sticky notes. Specifically, I recommend writing on sticky notes with a pen.

You see, sticky notes are so small that they can’t actually fit many words on them at a time. And when you write in pen, you are less likely to feel the need to edit something bad enough to waste space and cross it out. When you finish writing on a sticky note, you’ll need to stack them to keep them in order. This will keep you from looking at what you already wrote, which will keep you from noticing things you’ll want to edit until you are finished writing and are ready to focus on editing.

However, for people who struggle to read their own handwriting when they write small, this is not the method I’d recommend for this technique. What I would recommend instead is a digital typewriter. 

Personally, I use Freewrite. Freewrite is a digital typewriter that only allows you to view up to three lines of text at a time. This keeps you from rereading your own writing and self editing when you need to be putting words on the page. I've personally found that Freewrite has increased my productivity by three hundred percent. It has also increased my need for editing, but that's fine, I was planning on editing anyway.

An alternative digital method that is less of an investment, but a bit more stressful and nerve wracking, is apps like “Write or Die” or “The Most Dangerous Writing App”. 

"Write or Die" is an app that is not easy to find anymore. However, it was used to encourage you to type as much as you can without stopping. If you stop for too long, you will get your punishment. These punishments included different images showing up on screen, such as spiders, or loud irritating noises, or even the deleting of one word at a time until you've continued typing again. "The Most Dangerous Writing App" was surely inspired by the original "Write or Die" app, as it is an app where you set your own timer and write for the entire time. If you stop writing for too long, then your writing will be completely deleted and permanently lost.

What is beneficial about these apps is that they don't allow you the time to stop and think about what comes next or what has already happened. They are fantastic for first drafts or warm ups.

I have personally used "The Most Dangerous Writing App" much more than "Write or Die". However, I understand that the punishment of losing all of your progress can be more than just a little irritating. It can totally kill your motivation. "Write or Die" allows a lot more control with your punishments, allowing you to adjust them to how they can help you be the most productive you can be. While "Write or Die" is not easily available for download anymore without a lot of searching, you can still find the download for "Write or Die 2" on archival websites, such as right here.

Habit Creation.

Another popular technique for productivity that is often suggested is to build a habit. I've found this technique to be about a thousand times easier said than done. While it sounds easy to create a new habit, it requires a lot of daily motivation and drive before the habit comes naturally to do. Some tips for habit creation that I have seen include Don't Break the Chain, the Paperclip Method, and reward systems.

Don't Break the Chain is simple: you'll try to write every single day, whether it's a lot or a little, and as long as you don't skip a day, the chain will continue to grow. This is best accomplished with a visual. Most commonly, a calendar is used that you can mark off a day once you've completed the habit you want to create. 

This method both motivates and demotivates me. I find myself motivated to keep the chain from breaking, yes, but as soon as it is broken, I have a very hard time starting a new chain without breaking it early. Losing my "high score", as I tend to think of it, usually makes me feel demotivated from getting back to that score, since it can only go up one per day. Even so, I definitely recommend trying this method and seeing how it works for you: the longer your chain gets, the more motivated you are to keep it from breaking.

A method that I have used over and over again is the Paperclip Method. This method is based on a very similar idea of Don't Break the Chain, however, it requires paperclips and jars rather than marking days off on a calendar. In the Paperclip Method, every time you complete your task or goal, you add a paperclip to a jar. Your brain will naturally see adding a paperclip as a small reward.

Of course, you don't actually have to use paperclips and jars, as long as their is a visible collection that you can see growing. I have used marbles in jars before, and I currently am using flower pushpins on my corkboard so I can watch my garden grow as I am productive.

I prefer this method over Don't Break the Chain, because the jar does not ever reset when you miss a goal. The collection of paperclips just fails to grow.

You don't have to use the Paperclip Method to reward yourself, of course. Rewarding yourself for accomplishing your goals is a fantastic way to encourage yourself to complete them until the habit has been formed and it comes naturally to you. I've found that the Paperclip Method is especially good, however, when I struggle with self-rewarding due to the fact that I can always just buy myself an ice cream before I finish my goal. With the paperclip method, the reward is small enough that I'm not encouraged to cheat and reward myself before completing the task, but still enough of a reward in watching my collection grow that it truly does motivate me.

Instrumental Music.

In my opinion, it’s much harder to write in silence than it is to write with some kind of background sound. However, it’s famously documented that many people struggle to focus, especially on writing, when they are hearing words that they are not trying to put on the page. To avoid this while still having background sound, I have found that instrumental music is the way to go. I have two rotations: instrumental versions of popular music, and video game soundtracks.

I would highly recommend leaning more towards video game soundtracks than instrumentals of popular music. With popular music, there is a chance that you will distract yourself trying to identify what song you are listening to when you notice it sounds familiar. It’s happened to me more than a few times.

But with video game soundtracks, they are often specifically designed to keep you focused as long as possible so that you will wrack up more hours on their game. Video game soundtracks are also much more likely to seamlessly loop. And if you can listen to an instrumental track that loops seamlessly, you are significantly more likely to get locked in and lose track of time, writing for even longer than you may have initially planned.

A personal favorite soundtrack of mine to listen to while writing is any of The Sims soundtracks. While they are not usually in the same style as what I'm writing, they are fantastic for keeping me focused. Think of how many people have said that they got lost in playing The Sims and ended up playing for hours. That's what happens to me when I write with it in the background. Well, maybe hours is an exaggeration, but I end up writing for a lot longer than I had expected myself to be able to write, that's for sure.

Another great option includes the Undertale or Deltarune soundtracks. Specifically, picking a song and putting it on loop is a very easy way to lose track of time due to how well Toby Fox's songs loop.

All in All.

There are plenty of options for trying to increase your productivity when it comes to writing, It’s important to not only try different options for increasing your productivity, but to try different combinations of options. Even if you think that you have found the perfect technique for you, you can absolutely still find more techniques to add at the same time to increase your writing even further.