5 Simple Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Writing Productivity

Have you noticed a recent drop in your productivity as a writer and can’t figure out why?

Or maybe you need to create more content so you can earn more but you’re finding it difficult?

Then, this post is for you.

Whether you’re a professional writer who writes for a living or an entrepreneur who does all the writing for your business, the quality and quantity of your writing will have—to a large extent—an effect on the amount of money you make and the level of business success you enjoy.

So, it’s in your best interest to keep your writing productivity as high as possible while creating top-quality content, so you can achieve your business goals faster and keep smiling to the bank.

However, you may be unknowingly making some mistakes that lower your writing productivity a little at a time. Sometimes, these unconscious writing mistakes can also make it tough for you to boost your writing productivity even when you desire to do so.

Ready to find out more about these limiting mistakes?

Continue reading and you will discover five writing mistakes that can not only hurt your writing productivity but also your income and your business.

Not Writing on a Daily Basis

If you prefer to only write once in a while or when you are in the mood, that’s fine—as long as your writing is a hobby.

This attitude can become too expensive when you are a professional writer or you create all the content you need to promote your business. When you write for a living, can you imagine if you don’t feel like writing for weeks at a time, or even longer? Inevitably, your writing productivity, income, and business as a whole will suffer greatly.

You can avoid this terrible mistake when you make it a habit to write on a daily basis.

No matter the type of content you create, writing every day will allow you to frequently exercise your writing muscles, put in a lot of writing practice, improve your writing skill, and most likely increase your writing productivity. 

In addition, you will find it easier to generate more writing ideas, build your brand, grow your business, and ultimately make more money. 

Not Having a Writing Goal

Another mistake that can hurt your writing productivity is writing without having a specific writing goal.

Whether you’re writing a book or you need to create a variety of content regularly, setting a writing goal will help you track and measure your productivity so you can learn whether you are meeting up or falling behind. 

Your findings can push you to dedicate more time to your writing, boost your writing productivity, and complete your project on time—or even ahead of time.

But, without a goal, you may think you are meeting up when you are not, become complacent, and unconsciously reduce your writing productivity a little at a time before you know it. 

To avoid this writing mistake, simply set daily or weekly writing goals for yourself so you can: 

• Practice your writing regularly 
• Track and monitor your progress 
• Make adjustments when necessary 
• Build up to completing your project on time

Your goal can be the number of words you want to write every day or week, maybe as little as 250 to 500 words a day or 500 to 1000 words a week, depending on your specific situation. 

Your writing goal can also be the amount of time you spend writing, such as writing for 30 minutes or one hour daily, or dedicating five to ten hours or more to writing every week.

You can also do a combination of both methods. For example, your daily goal can require you to write 500 words within one or two hours every day.

Whichever you prefer, remember to start small and gradually increase your goals over time. This way, you can increase your writing productivity without becoming overwhelmed or discouraged, and complete your project on time.

Not Writing During Your Most Productive Hours

Do you know your most productive hours in a day?

Some people are called early birds because they wake up very early on a daily basis, ready to face the day with a lot of energy. They are usually more productive and active during the day, and they also go to bed early in the evening. 

Another group of people, known as night owls, are the complete opposite. They enjoy staying awake till late at night and prefer to sleep late in the morning. In short, they are more productive and active at night.

But guess what? It’s also possible not to belong to either group because you feel more active and productive between mid-day and early evening.  

You can find out your most productive hours when you track your energy and performance levels at different times of the day for a few days, while taking note of your answers to the following questions:

• Do you have more energy in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, or late at night?
• When do you usually feel more alert and focused during the day?
• When do you become easily distracted or find it tough to concentrate?
• Around what time do you start feeling sluggish or tired?

To maximize your writing productivity instead of hurting it, find out your most productive hours in a day and arrange, if possible, to do most of your writing within those hours.

Not Paying Full Attention While Writing

Are you fond of performing other tasks while writing? This is known as multitasking and it’s another mistake that can hurt your writing productivity badly.

In simple terms, multitasking involves working on one or more tasks at the same time. It can also mean switching back and forth between tasks or carrying out a number of tasks in quick succession. For example, you are multitasking when you write and carry out research at the same time or when you’re editing while writing.

When you multitask, it’s impossible to give your full attention to any of those tasks. As a result, your focus, concentration, and attention reduces, your performance slows down, and your writing productivity ultimately suffers.

Added to that, multitasking also increases your risk of making mistakes that lower the quality of your content.

Here are some tips to avoid multitasking while writing:

• Carry out all your research before you start writing
• Use a computer without an internet connection to write
• Turn off your tablets and smartphones
• Block distracting websites with relevant tools and apps
• Delay editing until you complete your first draft

For best results, avoid multitasking while writing so you can concentrate fully, produce high-quality content, and also boost your writing productivity. 

Not Taking Steps To Improve Your Health 

If you are not taking conscious steps to improve your health, don’t be surprised if the energy, mental alertness, and general well-being required to write regularly is not always available. 

Of course, when you can’t write, your writing productivity can drop to zero or close to it and negatively affect your income and business.

But you can prevent this mistake when you adopt a healthy lifestyle to improve your health. Among other benefits, such a lifestyle can improve your mood and mental health, increase your lifespan, and boost your energy levels and your productivity.

Here are some healthy lifestyle choices you can make to improve your health:

• Drink more water every day
• Stay away from unhealthy foods and drinks
• Exercise regularly
• Sleep for at least seven hours daily
• Don’t sit down for hours at a time
• Get a life outside work
• Avoid smoking

Bottom line, take steps to improve your health so you can remain a productive writer.

Avoid Mistakes That Hurt Your Writing Productivity

Whether you write for a living or just write all the content for your business, your productivity as a writer is a major success factor.

Therefore, you can’t afford to make mistakes that can hurt your writing productivity.

You can avoid these mistakes when you write every day, set writing goals, write during your most productive hours, take steps to improve your health, and also write with all your focus and attention.As long as you’re not making these mistakes, you’ll find it easier to write a lot more, create high quality content, increase your writing productivity, build your brand, and boost your income at a faster rate.