Making Forward Progress with Writing Routines

I’m the type of person who needs a plan to help me stay on track.

I just retired after 32 years where I knew what I had to do based on my position.

This is not to say there weren’t fires to put out, but for regular tasks, my strategy was the same.

Since retirement, I have been spending more time building toward the freelance career I want.

Sounds easy, right?

Wrong!

So, I got to work.

My LinkedIn profile needed to be updated.

Done.

Since I needed to start a blog, I needed to set up a simple website.

Done.

I needed to sign up in different places to look for jobs.

Done.

Jobs will find me, right?

Wrong.

While I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I wasn’t moving forward either.

I knew I had to come up with a strategy to help me make progress.

Here are some routines I came up with for myself.

Daily Routines

• Look for and apply for 2 jobs M-F mornings before I do anything else
• Review email in the morning
• Edit chapter ‘x’ of my novel
• Develop weekly blog post
• Review email at the end of the day
• List my wins each day (big or small)

The list above shows my top priorities. Instead of scrolling for jobs, I actually apply for them.

Reviewing email twice a day keeps me updated but allows me to pay attention to other things during the day.

Weekly Routines

• Publish a blog post each week on the same day
• Attend Monday Morning Manifestor’s each week
• Attend weekly coaching call

For my blog posts, I set up an easy editorial calendar with my categories to keep me on track.

Attending my weekly writing group and coaching call, I stay connected to other writers and stay focused.

Monthly Routines

• Challenges (i.e., quantum leap, my future self, etc.)

Having monthly challenges allows me to step out of my comfort zone and improve myself at the same time.

Everyone has their own routines but write them down and set them next to your computer and see if it improves your forward progress.

One final note.

One of the things that helps me the most is to list my wins at the end of each day.

We don’t always realize how much we do, especially if we don’t write them down.

What is one thing you do each day/week/month that help you make forward progress toward your goals?