If you asked bloggers what’s stopping them from succeeding in blogging, you’d hear a resounding answer: time.
That’s not surprising considering the amount of time it takes to complete a blog post. Not only do you have to write, but you also have to do research, edit, find the right images, share it on social media, respond to comments, and more!
No wonder most bloggers never see the other side! Most get overwhelmed and quit before then!
But what if I told you there are steps you can take to produce the same content half the time.
Sounds interesting? You’re in luck!
In this post, we’ll go over 11 tips on how to write blogs faster. Let’s get started.
1. Believe You Can
At the risk of sounding cheesy, I will say the first step to writing faster is believing you can.
When I tell my blogger friends that I write at least 4000 words a day, they look at me like I’ve accomplished something unimaginable.
They tell me they wish they could do the same, but it’s just not possible for them.
They all have different reasons why.
For most, it’s the lack of time; for some, it’s the lack of ideas; and for others, it’s lack of focus.
But you know what they all have in common?
None of them have ever attempted to write 4000 words in one day.
Why?
Because they don’t believe they can.
But that’s the thing about belief.
It can either expand you or limit you.
To borrow Henry Ford’s famous maxim: Whether you think you can or think you can’t–you’re right.
When I first started blogging, I’d be happy if I could write 1000 words a day.
And if you would tell me then that someday I would be able to write 4000 words per day, I wouldn’t have believed you.
That said, I’ve always known that I’d be able to write more than 1000 words a day.
So a few weeks after launching my blog, I made it a mission to write 1500 words a day.
A month after that, I changed my target to 2000 words a day, and so on.
Today, I aspire to write 10,000 words per day.
And despite how crazy that sounds, I genuinely believe that would be possible for me someday.
And why not?
Everybody used to think that it’s not humanly possible to run a four-minute mile.
People believed that no one could move that fast.
That’s until Roger Bannister proved everyone wrong in 1954 when he ran a mile in under four minutes.
Everyone was stunned.
But guess what happened after?
Once he’s proved that it was possible, runners all over the world started beating the four-minute mile.
Did humans suddenly evolve to become faster? No.
We just changed our beliefs.
We were able to beat the 4-minute mile the minute we knew it was possible
2. Challenge Yourself
Parkinson’s law states: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
What this means is the amount of work required adjusts to the time you allot to complete it.
As a blogger, this hits me close to home.
I must admit, the amount of time it takes me to finish a blog post is typically correlated with how much time I have before I need to publish.
It happens and for no good reason.
For example, if I give myself a whole day to publish a blog post, I’ll find myself spending most of that time completing what could’ve been a two-hour task.
Parkinson compare this idea to an old lady writing to her niece.
While the task is simple, it takes her a whole day to complete it because she has nothing else to do with her time.
The lesson?
If you want to write faster, you need to set a publishing schedule that will force you to write faster.
That doesn’t mean be unrealistic and set unachievable goals for yourself.
No, that will only cause burn out and frustration.
What it means is to grow your writing muscles; you need to be willing to lift heavier weights.
For example, if you write 1500 words per week on average, challenge yourself to write 2000 words per week.
You don’t have to jump from writing 1500 words a week to writing 10,000 words a week.
Do it in increments.
But you must make it a point to increase your pace.
This process will be uncomfortable, exhausting, and painful.
But all that is temporary. The skill that you develop, however, is long-lasting and well worth the price.
3. Have an Outline
An outline is an ordered list of the main points, sub-points, and supporting details of your blog post.
Having one is key to writing fast.
How?
For one, an outline makes getting started writing more painless.
Two, it will keep you from losing momentum from not knowing what to say.
Three, it will keep you from draining your decision-making power, which happens when you continually try to decide what to write next.
If you want to write fast, you mustn’t try to think about what to write when you’re writing.
You don’t want your brain to be shifting gears between deciding and doing.
That’s an easy way to ruin your flow.
Having an outline allows you to stay focused on one task: writing.
Writing fast is all about planning.
The better you plan, the faster you can write.
4. Separate Research From Writing
There are two reasons why you should separate research from writing if you want to write faster.
First, doing the research beforehand will make it easier for ideas and words to flow as you write.
The more knowledgeable you are about a topic, the faster you can write about it.
Second, switching between writing and research is an easy way to get distracted.
In most cases, you’ll end up down a rabbit hole of “research” and get nothing done.
If you’re serious about writing fast, do your research before you sit down to write.
And if you somehow feel the need to look up information in the middle of writing, leave a blank spot and fill it out later.
Keep writing even if you’re missing some of the details.
Because, in most cases, the details are not worth getting distracted and losing momentum.
5. Start in the Middle
Writing fast is all about building momentum.
But when you’re looking at a blank document, it can be challenging to get started.
To help lubricate some of the resistance, begin by working on parts of your outline that you find most exciting.
For instance, for this particular post, I started by working on tip #2 first.
That’s because, out of all the tips, that’s the one I find the easiest to talk about.
I typically dread the intro, so I tend to work on it last.
By the time I finish the rest of my article, I have a better idea of what I want to write for my introduction.
That may sound backward, but it can genuinely make your writing more efficient.
Jump-start momentum by working on parts of your article that offer the easiest victories then work backward or forwards from there.
6. Separate Writing from Editing
Imagine playing baseball.
You’re up to bat.
You remain relaxed until just before the bat hits the ball.
As the ball approaches, your entire body uncoils like a spring.
You lean into your momentum to smash the ball out of the park.
Now imagine if, instead of remaining relaxed, you’re tense.
Instead of leaning into your momentum, you hesitate to analyze your movements as you swing the bat.
Your speed and precision will suffer, and you’ll strikeout.
The same thing happens when you edit your work as you write.
When you stop to fix things like your grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, you lose momentum.
And instead of allowing your creative juices to flow, you clog by overthinking.
To write effectively, learn to turn off your inner critic.
Focus your energy solely on writing what you want to say.
Keep the words flowing and allow yourself to make mistakes.
The editing can come later.
7. Forget Perfection
Done is better than perfect–this maxim should be written on the walls of every blogger.
Because, as content creators, we all want to be good at what we do.
We hold ourselves to high standards and want to deliver only our best work.
But for many things, especially in blogging, what matters most is consistency and delivery.
If you insist on perfection before hitting the publish button, you’ll never publish.
Want to be a fast and prolific writer?
Don’t research and edit endlessly.
Fight the urge to scrutinize every detail in your post and be ok with making some mistakes.
I don’t mean you should publish low-quality, inaccurate articles.
But, you shouldn’t spend all your time endlessly tweaking your post and trying to figure out which adjective describes your thoughts best.
Instead of perfecting your ideas, learn to trust them.
Know that no blog post will ever be perfect.
And that’s ok.
Pull your confidence from the value you give to others and not from the idea of perfection.
8. Use a Timer
I’m often amazed at how much I am more focused when I know a clock is watching me.
Using a timer is an incredible hack because it tells you exactly when to start and when to stop.
Once the timer starts, you know what you should be doing: writing.
Not checking your analytics, not researching, not snacking, or responding to e-mails.
You’re just writing until that timer goes off.
Using a timer is also incredibly motivating.
When you set a goal to write within a certain time and follow-through, you get a burst of satisfaction.
You’ve made it a mission to write for a period and finished.
Such tangible outcomes help keep us going like no other metric will.
This method of measuring your success is so much more motivating than the others I tried.
9. Have a Schedule
Having a schedule is key to productivity.
It pushes you to persevere even in days when you feel uninspired or too exhausted to write.
A writing schedule also helps you to adopt habits and routines necessary to write efficiently and effectively.
Here are key components that should be part of your writing schedule:
- When you write
- How long you write.
- How much you write.
- Where you write
1. When you write:
Find a time to write that works best for you. Then write at the same time each day.
If you find that you are most productive in the morning, then set a writing schedule during that time.
If you’re most awake at night, then set a schedule that allows you to write before bed.
This may force you to wake up earlier or sleep later than usual, but it’s a sacrifice you’ll have to make if you’re serious about becoming a better writer.
2. How long you write:
Determine how long each day you intend to write and stick with those hours.
For example, if you’re a morning person, you can set a schedule to write from 5 am-7 am every day.
Whatever time you choose, remember that it is sacred and reserved only for your writing.
You can’t show up late or leave early.
Treat it like you would a job.
You clock in and clock out on a set schedule.
No excuses.
3. How much you write:
Measure your progress by how much you produce during your writing session.
Sure, you can sit down to write at the same time every day, but if you’re not making an effort to get words on the page, you won’t get anywhere.
To be productive, set a minimum word count each time you sit down to write.
Then meet those word counts without exception.
Having a minimum word count requirement will motivate you to write and not just stare at your screen during your writing schedule.
4. Where you write:
You must find an ideal space to write if you are to be productive.
It should be a space where you won’t be interrupted by other people or distracted by other tasks.
Set it up in a way that allows you to write the minute you sit down
10. Say No to Distraction
Distraction is the biggest enemy of productivity.
The next time you sit down to write, pay attention to what pulls your attention away.
If it’s your thoughts, grab a pen and paper and write them down.
Pull out any worries and concerns from your mind so that it can relax before you start writing.
Don’t multi-task when you’re writing either. This means:
No snacks.
No e-mails.
No phone calls.
No research.
No surfing the web.
When you rapidly switch between tasks, you burn up the very fuel your brain uses to focus.
“That switching comes with a biological cost that ends up making us feel tired much more quickly than if we sustain attention on one thing,” says Daniel Levitin, professor of behavioral neuroscience at McGill University in an interview.
When writing, learn to treat your time as sacred.
Turn away from any distractions so you can keep your mind attuned to the task and be more productive.
11. Read More
In his book, On Writing, Stephen King said:
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
Reading and writing are inseparable.
To become a good writer you must read. A lot.
For many bloggers, reading may sound like a waste of time.
But saying you want to be a good writer but you don’t have time to read is like saying you want to be an athlete, but you don’t have time to train.
Reading is part of any writers job.
It’s not something you do when you have time or when you feel like it.
It is something you do because it’s your works lifeblood.
It is research.
It teaches you what works and what doesn’t.
It fills your creative reservoir; without it you’ll find yourself constantly out of words and ideas.
To be a great writer you must be an exceptional reader first.
If you’re serious about learning how to write fast, I recommend reading at least an hour a day.
12. Stay Consistent
Many want to be a prolific writer, but few are ready to endure the pain and training necessary to become one.
But you cant separate success from sweat and hard work.
Sure, you need ideas to write, but it’s the small efforts that you make a day in and day out that will bring you closest to success.
If you want to learn how to write efficiently and effectively, you must show up for yourself.
Make a simple decision:
Write every day. No matter what.
Write no matter where you are, who you’re with, or how you’re feeling.
It doesn’t matter what’s going on.
Write.
13. Have a Ritual
Pre-writing routine is another key to writing fast.
Writing rituals can help you feel mentally and emotionally prepared to write.
Just like Pavlov’s dog, rituals trigger your mind to go into “writing mode.”
Whether that’s drinking a cup of coffee, lighting up a candle, or just closing the door, find a routine that you can do as a precursor to writing.
With enough repetition, these triggers can trick your mind into wanting to write even in days when you feel uninspired.
Wrap up
Blogging can be highly rewarding both financially and creatively. Don’t let a lack of time stop you from achieving your blogging goals. Try out the 11 tips above and produce the same content half the time.