Developing a Daily Writing Habit by Elisa Waingort

These are some of the highlights from my writing life this summer:

I committed to chunks of time to write. 
Why this worked: I thrive on routines. I created a daily schedule of activities and set a timer to help me stay on track. I alternated writing with reading a chapter or two from a book, tidying up the kitchen, unpacking a box or two from our recent move, and going to the gym.

I was flexible by writing throughout the day. 
Why this worked: Keeping to the same writing schedule every day is challenging for me. Life happens and the minute my schedule changes, even a little bit, the first thing to go is my writing.

I worked around my family’s summer schedule.
Why this worked: My family is important to me and because I didn’t become a writing hermit, I was able to respect our time together.

I didn’t second-guess, censor or give up on myself.
Why this worked: I am learning how to be self-compassionate. Because I wasn’t constantly sabotaging myself, I wrote more than ever before.

I used a timer for at least 10 minutes to pace myself. 
Why this worked: In order to be successful, I need to start with small steps. Ten minutes isn’t a lot of time. If I write for 10 minutes, about anything, then I will usually find a topic worth writing about before the timer goes off. More often than not, I ended up writing for more than 10 minutes.

How did I get started? I took advantage of a mostly travel-, professional commitments-free summer. I know those are few and far apart. However, I did have a mandate to write for my university program and a personal goal of developing a daily writing habit.

Although I have been afraid of failure, I have been more afraid of success. I have been my own worst enemy; it was time to change that.

I will keep these successes front and center as I continue to nurture my own writing habit and make plans for writing workshop with my students. I made a lot of progress. I also made a commitment to share my writing life with my students; if I’m serious about creating a community of writers in my classroom I must participate in that community.

Will you join me this year? I’d love to hear how you are planning to do that with your students. Share your ideas in the comments section below.