Should you edit as you write? It’s a question every writer must ask, and there is no set answer. It truly is a personal preference — you should do what works best for you.
Juggle Multiple Freelance Writing Projects Without Going Crazy
Ever have multiple freelance writing projects at the same time, all with tight deadlines? Here’s how to get them all done on time and still do a great job. How to Handle Multiple Freelance Writing Projects As some of you know, I’m a moderator in Carol Tice’s Freelance Writers Den. (Highly recommended: read my review […]
How Online Overload Harms Your Writing Career
As a writer and a human being, productivity and happiness are top priorities for me, and I was already aware of the negative effects of the Internet on my own cognitive processes and ability to feel fully alive when I read The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains several years ago. But The Shallows crystallized […]
The Best Freelance Writing Locations
We freelance writers can write in a variety of locations. However, we must pay attention to which locations give us the greatest productivity. I find that I’m happiest, and I get the most done on my freelance writing projects, when I vary my location. My Freelance Writing Locations Home Office I often spend the mornings […]
24 Logical Fallacies That Hurt Your Writing Career and Your Life
Most of us fall prey to logical fallacies, usually many times a day. However, clear thinking and analysis is crucial for making sense of all that affects us in our writing careers, our personal relationships, our interactions with our political system, and our daily decisions, large and small. This infographic clearly and succinctly lays out […]
Create Time Blocks to Do the Small-But-Important Things
As a writer you need to write: that’s usually the most important activity for your career. But there are also many other important things that support your writing, and there are many important things that you need to for the rest of your life to flow smoothly. We’ve talked about scheduling time for doing your […]
How Deep Work Makes You A Better and More Productive Writer
Applying “deep work” principles allows freelance writers and nonfiction authors to get more high-quality work done in less time, and that’s what we’re all about here at Productive Writers. So What Is Deep Work? Cal Newport’s highly successful (and highly recommended) book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World came out in […]
7 Easy Ways to Stop Automatic Negative Thought Cycles
Most of us occasionally — or more than occasionally — fall prey to automatic negative thought cycles: periods (more than a few seconds) of generating unproductive negative thoughts that tend to loop and build on each other, leading to an agitated and unproductive mental state. These automatic negative thought cycles create havoc with both your […]
7 Myths of High Productivity
We all want to be more productive in our freelance writing businesses. Increased productivity — of the right type — leads to increased income and increased satisfaction from our work. That’s why I’m happy to share this excellent infographic from Quill.com. It does a great job laying out seven important myths of higher productivity and […]
13 Top Techniques For Achieving Your Goals
It’s not so hard to set good goals. What’s hard is actually following through on what you need to do to make those goals reality. But there are important techniques to keep you on track so you can achieve your goals… 1. Review Your Goals Daily It’s very important that you review your goals every […]
Get More Writing Done By Simplifying Your Life
Freelance writers’ lives are usually quite busy. But busy with what? Often we are busy doing things that don’t matter, or actually detract from our lives. And that’s why we should practice simplicity. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of […]
Time Management and Productivity Twitter Hashtags
Effective time management and high productivity are very important to me and most readers here at Productive Writers. That’s why I put together this list of the most important relevant hashtags for Twitter and Google+. Using Twitter Hashtags You can use these hashtags for your own tweets and Google+ shares, or you can use them […]
The Top 27 Ways to Increase Your Writing Willpower
How strong is your willpower? Do you do what you should, when you should, whether you feel like it or not — whether it’s for your writing or any other task large or small in your life? Do you have strong self-control? Perhaps the most important factor that determines whether or not you are a […]
Why I Don’t Have a Smartphone
I spend a lot of time on the computer completing my freelance writing projects, and I also spend significant time on the Internet dealing with my multiple blogs, promoting my services on LinkedIn, and networking with other writers and entrepreneurial types on Twitter, Google Plus, forums, and other blogs. But when I’m not on my computer, I […]
The Science and Psychology of Why You Procrastinate
Do you know the science and psychology of why you procrastinate? Hey, we all do it. The goal, though, is to do it less and less so we can become more and more successful as freelance writers or whatever it is we do for a living. I’ve laid out 50 ways you can overcome procrastination […]
Why You Need Much More Time Offline
Increasing numbers of scientific studies show that we need to spend far less time online and more time offline, preferably outside getting exercise and engaging directly with the world rather than immersed in the Internet and fooling around with our smartphones. It’s one of my key themes here at Productive Writers. Not only will offline time […]
Successful Freelance Writers Do These Small Things Early
Planning is essential in all aspects of your life, including your freelance writing. My focus here is on the little things that make a big difference when you do them early. This cuts two ways: some things done early result in a big payoff you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, while some things done late will […]
Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination With My Kindle Ebook
If you want to be a successful freelance writer, you must overcome writer’s block and procrastination. How much have these two maladies cost you in your freelance career? Fortunately, I have the perfect solution: my Kindle ebook 50 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination, and it’s just $2.99. Note: you don’t need to actually own a […]
Hey Starbucks, Here’s Why This Writer Ain’t Around Much Anymore
Important Update: I Take It All Back… Starbucks has delivered on its promise to provide much faster wifi through its partnership with Google. Basically, at the Starbucks I frequent in far northern California and the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon, the connections are now quite fast, certainly on par with other coffee shops I hang out at, […]
Why Writers Need Nature
Want to be happier? Want to be a more productive and creative writer? Then you must have free time alone, free time to reconnect with who you are and what you really want in life, free time to just release and relax and recharge. When you do return to your normal activities, you’ll be […]
Hey Writer, Do You Make the Best Use of Your Brain?
As a freelance writer, you need to use your right brain for creativity and your left brain for productivity and task completion. But since I’m a science guy, we have to address the fact that… The Right Brain/Left Brain Dichotomy Is Not Exact The popular conception of the right brain/left brain split depicted in the […]
Top 10 Ways to Be a More Productive Freelance Writer
Making you a more productive and better-paid freelance writer is the prime goal of ProductiveWriters.com. Today I’m sharing with you the 10 most important productivity posts from the blog. I suggest you read the 2-3 posts that are most important for you right now and then come back to the others later. And please leave […]
What Music Do You Listen to When You Write?
I’ve written about the freelance writer’s home office, how a writer should sit at a computer, and soon I’ll publish a post about how to decorate your home office. Now it’s time to discuss… The Freelance Writer’s Music Choices Of course this is based on individual preference, but it’s important to listen to music that […]
Are Your Sleep Habits Hurting Your Writing Career?
For you to be a truly productive writer, your body must feel good and your brain must be in top form. An important component for both is getting enough sleep at night. How do you know if you are not getting enough sleep? Simple: how do you feel during the course of the day? If […]
Don’t Let Writer’s Block and Procrastination Stop You!
If you want to be a successful freelance writer, you must overcome writer’s block and procrastination. How much have these two maladies cost you in your freelance career? Fortunately, I have a solution for you: 50 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination, which will be available as a Kindle ebook in early 2014. 50 Ways? […]
