Productivity as a writer boils down to taking a seat and putting pen to paper. Typing out your thoughts.  Giving voice to the story in your mind, sharing your opinions, and offering information to others.

While it honestly doesn’t matter where or when you write – after all, you can train yourself to tune out distractions and write literally anywhere – there is something to be said about writing where you feel inspired, relaxed, and confident. Those particular locations tend to lead to increased productivity, which can help make up for the days when you’ve barely been able to scratch out 500 words.

When and where are you most productive?

As for me, I’m most productive outdoors. Check out this brief video in which I explain more about it.

Are you aware of where you’re most productive? If not, begin to keep track of your word count during each writing session, along with where you wrote, the time of day and if you were pressed for time. After a couple of weeks, review your data to discover any trends.

Maybe you’ll discover that you consistently wrote significantly more copy when you wrote for thirty minutes first thing in the morning at your dining room table than when you wrote for the same amount of time in the school pick-up line in the afternoon.

Alternatively, maybe you’ll find that you write much more prolifically when pressed for time. Some people can churn out twice as much writing if they are limited to an hour as opposed to a three-hour span.

Consistency is the key to productivity.

It’s important to avoid making your writing location specific. There will be days – many days – that you need to be flexible with your writing session. Don’t skip writing just because it’s raining outside and your favorite place to write is in the park.

Push yourself to meet your writing goals by writing consistently, whether it’s every day or two times a week, regardless of location.

If you find yourself easily distracted in busy locations, invest in a good pair of headphones and listen to white noise, elevator music, soundtracks, nature sounds – anything that will drown out the voices and unwanted sounds around you yet keep you alert, focused and productive.

Accountability promotes productivity.

Making our personal goals public is powerful. The simple act of sharing our intentions with others makes them take on more importance. Why? Because we can expect family and friends to periodically check on our progress. If we simply think about doing something, then we’re much more likely to find excuses why we can’t accomplish it and then, eventually, abandon the goal altogether.

Hold yourself accountable for your writing by first scheduling your writing sessions on your calendar. Visibly seeing that reminder on your daily or weekly agenda makes it important in your mind. In addition, seek others who support your work and ask them to be your accountability partners. Their role isn’t to hound you to provocation, but to simply reach out periodically to ask how your writing is coming along. If you prefer a less-biased point of view and seek encouragement from fellow writers, seek out writers’ groups. They can be online or in-person; both are beneficial.

You are the key to your own productivity.

Again, it all comes down to you putting in the work. Aside from hiring a ghostwriter, no one else can write your story. You need to commit to the project, schedule the work, and put forth the effort to accomplish your goal.

You can do it! If you’d like some help scheduling your writing and completing your book, be sure to download the free 6-Month Book Planner.