The Importance of Showing Up - Building A Healthy Writing Habit
As you sit there, envisioning your dreams and aspirations, it’s natural to find yourself gazing into the distant horizon, contemplating the journey toward those lofty goals. In those moments, it’s common to feel a surge of uncertainty—wondering, "How on earth do I bridge this gap between where I stand and where I want to be?" Sure, the digital landscape offers an abundance of resources, mere keystrokes or a tap away. Yet, amidst this sea of advice and guidance, there’s a timeless, unshakeable truth: the pivotal key to reaching that elusive end goal lies in a simple, often underestimated act— keep showing up.
The path to achieving our ambitions isn’t always an easily charted course. It’s not solely about the strategies we employ or the wisdom we gather along the way. It’s the consistent act of showing up, day after day, that forms the bedrock of progress. Whether it’s in the pursuit of a writing career, a fitness journey, or any other aspiration, the cornerstone remains the same—consistency breeds success.
And its backed by Neuroscience.
The Neuroscience Behind Habits
Habits are something we form over and over throughout our lives, these can be either good or bad. Like always eating candy at a specific time of day, everyday. While that may sound yummy and good in the short term, I mean who doesn’t like sweets after a long day, the long term is not as peachy. Maybe its increased weight or dizziness, but that bad habit may control your life. It’s not all bleak though, good habits like a daily workout or reading overnight before bed lead to positive long term effects like increased focus and better sleep.
No matter what kind of habit that is being developed they follow the same formula: trigger —> behavior —> results.
Triggers are something that will cause a proceeding behavior that will produce certain results. Ie, a rough day or more specifically a rude customer or coworker that causes you to binge a entire box of cookies in rage which then makes you feel like crap later in the day.
Trigger —> behavior —> results.
Let’s look at something positive again to balance the negative. It's crucial to acknowledge that not all habits fall into the category of 'good'—as stereotypes often suggest. Equally significant is the realization that they aren't all inherently 'bad' either.
Waking up at the same time everyday leads to a more fulfilling and satisfying workout which then sets up your day for success since you feel great and are more alert.
Trigger —> behavior —> results.
When you add a habit to your shelf it will become easier and easier to do as time goes on if you stick with it. You’re building up that neuroplasticity baby! Joke’s aside this is what will happen if you stick with writing every single day, no matter how much you manage to get out on the page.
Keep Showing Up To Your Writing
It may really suck to show up everyday to your notebook or online document. Sometimes it may really suck. This is exactly what stops many new writers and evens seasoned wordsmiths from keeping and honoring a daily writing routine. But if you stick to it, and stealing a saying from the amazing Jocko Willink, “get after it”, you will notice it becomes easier and easier. As previously mentioned, each time you return to that document or notebook, you're reinforcing a mental pathway. When you first start nurturing your writing habit, perhaps you barely fill a page over an hour, a process that might feel painstaking. Fast forward, and you could find yourself effortlessly crafting pages within that same timeframe. But saying that it gets easier is not the most helpful thing, so here are some ways to build your writing habit and keep showing up.
Find A Good Writing Space
Our surroundings wield a more significant influence on us than we might care to admit. Here is a personal example. My room, a tiny, almost claustrophobic space, is a dust magnet, and I'll openly confess my procrastination when it comes to cleaning. But I realized that the dust and the state of my room and most importantly my desk was seriously impacting my ability to work. Since I was feeling a lack of quality in my work and writing I went full clean mode and made everything, relatively, spotless. If you ignore the books, plushies, stickers, and other collectables scattered around of course. The point being, try to aim for a space where you can reach your ‘flow state’ and things become a lot easier. If you are in a position where you can’t write at home or in a room, no worries! Lots of skilled writers actually prefer to conduct their craft in places like libraries or cafes. Honestly this comes with a lot of unique benefits that only can be gained from public areas. For example, need a character? Listen to whoever is picking up their coffee.
Thanks David, enjoy your sugar cookie latte with extra almond milk, your about to die to advance the plot.
Pick A Type Of Writing Exercise
Maybe you don’t want to work on your book today but you want to keep showing up and working on your writing. Great! Good news for you there are tons, like a metric ton, of writing exercises you can pick from. Let’s start with another personal example. I hated poetry. I thought it was silly and it was nothing but a way to complain. Then I took a craft of poetry class with a fantastic professor at my local university which lead to my entire view being thrown on its head. Now I actively engage in poetry, even submitting work in hopes to be published. I found out poetry was not just complaining or sad stories but where enriching windows into the commentary of other writers, expanding my perception of the world. I also learned that poetry does not need to rhyme, another reason I hated the medium. But most importantly I saw the value poetry has in training and supplementing my prose writing, how I can use it in order to improve my skill. Word choice, pace, basic grammar refreshers, and so on. When I’m not in the creative mindset to work on a spiraling tale, I’ll write a poem, start my next blog, work on some freelancing, or even begin a short story. It is very refreshing to work on something else for a while before switching back to your main project. You may find you come back to your original work with more creative ideas then you had before you left.
The point here is try to find another type of writing that you enjoy and can use to improve your craft. Don’t like poetry? Try a short story. Don’t want to do that? Try journaling. Or try out some prompt writing!
Set A Time Each And Every Day
You may have guessed by now, but having a set time each day to get in tune with your writing is a important part of building a habit. This is a lot easier said then done as it may seem daunting to stay committed to the same time every single day. As we know, life happens and the world moves on around us at a rapid pace and cares little for what we are doing. Friends want to hang out or your job needs you, and all of these things are valid reasons to skip on your daily writing time. However, now is the time to practice setting up strong boundaries and letting those around you know about them when able to. In the beginning, establishing a routine might seem challenging. However, if you commit to a set time each day, you'll gradually sync with it, and it won't feel like an odd addition anymore. Soon enough, it becomes as ingrained in your day as going to school was—or is, for some. That’s the habit magic working!
Extra - Set A Minimum Word Count
As much as I wanted to ignore this point since I hate it with every fiber of my being, I know I’m not everyone, and where this drives me mad, it could be beneficial for you. Hence this added tip. Setting a minimum word count can motivate you to hit it, and paired with a consistent writing time, this can add extra fire on your routine.
“Everyday at 12:00pm I am going to write 500 words.”
Sounds like a great mantra. And again, this can work for a lot of people. Though I find setting a minimum is toxic for your mental state. Set it to high and you can feel remiss about not hitting it, set it to low however and you won’t give yourself credit where its due. I talked about this in my very first blog, “Writer’s Block And How To Deal With It” so if you want some more insight on it and how I feel, give that a read next. It’s a good one if you struggle with writer’s block. And I assure you, everyone does.
Conclusion
Consistency is key in rewiring your brain for efficiency. By consistently showing up, you pave the way for the development of new neural pathways, significantly smoothing the process. However, the magic lies in maintaining that consistency—if you waver, the habit won't stick. Adhering to the golden rule of habit-building, remember: it takes roughly two months for a behavior to become almost second nature. Yet, within a mere week or two, you'll notice the initial stages of your habit taking root. In essence, commit to it for a week to kickstart the process, but persist for a month to solidify it into a fully formed, ingrained routine.
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