Tips for How to Write More Often (and More Successfully)

There's a certain rhythm to the way our days unfold. Work and family commitments have varying levels of predictability, but even in the more fluid and uncertain configurations, there are no shortage of moments in a day where you have the opportunity to ask yourself, "What now?"

Problem is, many of us automatically answer this question for ourselves in advance, often without even realising it. It might look something like this:

"I'll get home, do the dishes, and then I can finally relax."

"After the kids go to bed, I'm done for the day."

"It was a big week, so I'll just get the shopping out of the way and then hang out at home."

There are so many demands in our lives that the moment their incessant nagging quiets, we resolve ourselves to do nothing. We tell ourselves it's necessary to do nothing, or else how will we face all the somethings we have to do tomorrow?

Here's the truth. Those moments of nothing? They are pregnant with possibility. By consigning them to the void, you will never do more than just get by—and you'll certainly never finish that manuscript.

Bring awareness to your nothing, for that nothing is not nothing at all: it's your most precious resource. It's time.

If your nothing is reading a book, then allocate yourselves a few chapters, then disengage. If it's your phone, set a timer and then put it down. If it's television, give yourself a few episodes, and then turn it off. In those moments, ask yourself, "What now?"

That's your moment. The transition between nothing and something, or something and nothing.

That's when you write.