Recent research claims it can take from 18 to 254 days to make something a habit. Wherever you fall on the habit-making scale, developing a ritual for the writing you want to do can make the transition easier.
The human brain loves ritual. It mostly loves those that develop naturally over time, such as a morning routine. You created those, whether you were conscious of it or not. The good news is that you can make new ones.
Some suggestions for creating a ritual:
- Make a certain time of day or week sacred for the purpose of writing. This may be chosen based on your preferred time or the only available time. Many writers choose early morning, especially those who have children. I’m an evening/night writer. That’s when my brain wants to write.
- Find a sacred object for writing. Light a candle. Set an object that reminds you of your work-in-progress on your desk. Wear a tiara. Make sure whatever you have chosen is not a part of your entire day, however. It needs to be special for your writing time.
- If you can write with music, choose something that will begin (or end) your writing. Creating a playlist for your work-in-progress has always been one of my favorite ways to increase my devotion to my work. If you need silence, then take steps to guard yourself against noise.
- Set some realistic goals for accomplishment. Most writers write a set minimum amount of words per session. Maybe it’s a scene or chapter. Mine changes every day, but my minimum requirement is to write something. Anything.
- Be merciful to yourself. Decide before you begin that some days will be better than others. If you miss a day, try again tomorrow. No need to be concerned unless you are only ever planning to write tomorrow, which never comes. At that point, maybe you should find a more appealing ritual.
- Attach your ritual to an existing ritual. This is probably easier for early-morning writers because morning already has so many habits. If there is a part of your day when your mind is uncluttered due to another ritual, such as exercise, meditation, or a religious activity, attaching writing to it is a logical next step.
- Reward yourself. Find any reason. If you showed up, that’s a reason to celebrate. If you only forgot one day, celebrate that. If you didn’t show up for a week, but rededicated yourself today, celebrate that. Human brains respond well to positive reinforcement.
The good news is somewhere between 18 to 254 days from now, your writing ritual will feel like a normal segment of your day. If you don’t write, you’ll feel that something has gone wrong.
Happy writing.
