Why You Should Mix Up Your Writing Routine

From Writerslife.org:

One of the most common pieces of advice for any writer is to try to get into a good writing routine.

A good writing routine will ensure that you write more productively, will help you pick up where you left off, and make writing become a habit, and something that is incorporated into your daily life so that you are always making progress and getting closer and closer to achieving your goals.

However, as with any routine, there is no harm in mixing it up once in a while. Without doing so, a writing routine can become tedious and uninspiring, which can lead to procrastination and eventually abandoning it altogether.

So what are the things you can do to keep your writing routine fresh and exciting? Let’s take a look.

Change your writing environment.

Often a change of environment can work wonders at giving us a fresh perspective and allowing us to settle into our work with renewed vigour. You could consider redecorating your office, moving the furniture around or just going mobile for a week where you head out to cafe’s, libraries, or even a park bench, and work from there instead.

Write at different times.

If you always write with a glass of wine after dinner perhaps try writing first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee instead. You might think you work best at a particular time but try changing up your writing schedule to see if this makes you more productive.

Change your process

You might have some fixed things that you do before you start to write such as writing exercises for example. Or you might always start your writing session by reading over the last chapter you have written. Try something different. Go for a short walk in the fresh air before you write. Do some stretches, change the writing exercises you do or just dive right in.

Start a new project

Sometimes it can help if we take a step back from our current project and work on something different for a while. So if slogging through your novel is becoming a little tiresome, set it to one side and work on a different writing idea. Then you can come back to it in a week or so and look at it with a fresh set of eyes.

Learn something new and experiment

Remember, when it comes to writing there is always more to learn. Make sure you set some time aside to learn new things and to experiment too. Doing so could add a whole new depth to your writing and help you discover new passions and techniques that you love.

Meet new people and travel as much as you can

If you feel as though your writing routine is getting you down, give yourself a break from it. Why not instead go on an adventure? Travel somewhere exotic, meet new people, get some stories to tell. You’ll feel much more inspired by getting out there and enjoying the world, so don’t forget that there is one just waiting to be explored!

So next time you feel as though your writing routine might be getting you into a writing slump, why not try the above? Writing habits are good, but there is no reason why they can’t be flexible, and by shaking up your writing routine you may well end up feeling more motivated and productive than ever before.

I still haven't made much progress on my writing except for one part of the memoir since the new year began. And every time I want to work on something, I get too tired. The winter does that, unfortunately. But I'm going to try to do something about all this soon. Perhaps trying to write during the day might be better at this time of the year.  My sitting at the computer has taken its toll on my back, causing the muscles near and below the neck to ache. I just saw a doctor about this and am on prescription ibuprofen for at least a week. I'm thinking a new room setup for my computer would be better, but am unsure how to go about doing it just yet.  And I am shaming myself right now about the ideas I have for the diary novel I have been working on, but haven't gotten down yet. Believe me, though, I am trying to get this stuff done!  And I have just signed up for Wattpad, but haven't read any stories yet or even tempted any of my own. I'm still not sure how to write fanfiction, but I remembered years ago when I was trying to rewrite stories I loved as  child, and people telling me those would never get published because I was plagiarizing other people's works (Though I'm not sure I was ever intending to get them published). I guess I was a little ahead of my time, since this was years before "fanfiction" was ever used as a term. So maybe I do know how to write fanfiction. 

What would you do?