5 Quiet Habits That Created 356 Articles in 18 Months (With a 9–5)

How I cracked the code and became a consistent writer.

Photo by Windows on Unsplash

Hey, I’m Alberto! Today, I’m honored to share a guest post from an author I admire:

Derek Hughes

. He’s not just a very skilled writer. He’s been able to grow fast on Medium. Even when the Boost is pushing away dozens of established writers.

This article is not about Medium. It shows realistic and tested habits you can leverage to write more and get closer to your goals.

Enjoy, and remember to thank Derek subscribing to his newsletter!

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I’ve been writing on the internet for 18 months.

I’ve built a profitable business ($2500/month) alongside my day job. It’s been a wild ride. What’s happened has blown my mind. I feel blessed and grateful. I never planned this. 

I started writing to see what would happen.

There’s no reason why this can’t happen to you. If I were to narrow my success down to one single ingredient. It’d be this:

Write consistently over a long time

This sounds easy. But is ridiculously difficult. Consistency doesn’t guarantee success. But inconsistency guarantees failure.

What if you became a content machine? Where would you be if you wrote consistently for 12 months and became a content machine? I’ve written 356 articles in 18 months. It’s (almost) impossible not to find success when you do that.

Anyone can have a burst of energy. But to write day after day. Week after week. For years. This is tough to do. I struggled at first.

Let me show you the 5 tactics that turned me into a writing machine.

1. Defeat your enemy

You start by facing your biggest problem.

When I started writing I thought my biggest battle would be the blank screen. Or finding the secret to growth. Or crafting the perfect sentence. I was shocked to discover the internal enemies I needed to fight:

• procrastination

• perfectionism

• insecurity

This is a battle you have to win.

Study yourself. Notice your reaction. Try out a few solutions. Each person is different. But here’s a few ideas that have helped me. Use what’s helpful.

Realise no one cares

It’s so nerve-wracking to publish your thoughts.

We imagine people mocking our efforts. Friends, family or our boss laughing behind our backs. This stops us writing. But the brutal truth is no one cares.

Everyone is obsessed with their own life. The few sentences you post are irrelevant.

Write something terrible

Reset your expectations.

Your goal is to write. To publish. If it’s terrible that’s ok. 

In the early days I’d sit at my desk and repeatedly tell myself. My only goal today is to publish. This ruthless focus worked.

You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. 

Persistence is an essential trait.

2. Build a routine

Your feeling of enthusiasm is useless.

It’s an unreliable foundation to build on. Your motivation might feel strong today. But trust me it’ll desert you when you need it most. So develop a system. We are creatures of habit. 90% of our decisions are automatic.

Today, you won’t remember deciding…

• how to take your coffee

• what route to take to work

• when you brush your teeth.

We decide once. Then set it to automatic. Use this to become a consistent writer. We don’t rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our routine.

Here’s how I set up my routine.

Use your golden hour

Schedule when you’ll write.

You don’t need to write daily. But it needs to be regular. Writing is a demanding creative activity. So write when you’re at your best. For me, that’s early morning. Do what works for you.

Create triggers

Attach your writing to something.

Link it to a time, place or previous action. Think of the bell used by Pavlov to trigger his dog to salivate. 

Don’t rely on your decision to write. Triggers are powerful.

Habit stack

Stick a bunch of habits together. And it becomes an effortless conveyor belt. Step on the 1st one and you get carried along.

For me, that’s my morning routine:

• shower

• coffee

• pray

• write.

Once it’s set up it takes no effort. I get up and do this every day without thinking.

Rewards

Triggers and habit stacking happen before the writing. Adding a reward to boost the incentive. This is crucial in the early days.

This can be anything you enjoy. 15 minutes on YouTube. A walk. Talk to your partner. A nice coffee. I read my favourite book after my writing session.

Environment

You don’t need a log cabin in the woods.

But writing in the same place every time trains your mind. Decide what helps/hinders your writing. Music? Clear desk? Visible quotes? Closed door? Create a place you want to write in.

I write at a clear desk overlooking the park. With relaxing music playing.

A routine is a writer’s best friend.

3. Start smaller

Every writer I coach is too ambitious.

No matter how many times they’ve failed. Whenever they make a new plan. They develop amnesia. And forget how hopeless they are. They’ll promise me starting tomorrow I’ll get up at 5am and write for 3 hours. Even though their last writing streak lasted a measly 4 days.

How about getting up at 7am and writing for 30 minutes? I’ll counter.

They almost never accept this. It sounds too easy. And not enough. But the goal isn’t to do this tomorrow. It’s to do it for 12 months. Picking a sustainable pace is the secret no one seems to know about.

Start so small you can’t imagine failing. No one has ever failed because they started too small. Many fail because they start too big.

I started writing for 30 minutes a day. Aiming to publish 1 article a week. After 3 months I was comfortable doing this. I upped to 3 articles a week. Now I write 5/week.

Starting small doesn’t mean aiming small. Your output will grow.

4. Ideas fuel your writing

Ideas are the best way to boost performance.

When I’m excited about my content, the words flow. And the energy tingles through my fingers. But when I don’t know what to write about. Or I’m bored by the topic. It’s like giving birth. A slow agonising experience.

Find a way to generate fresh ideas. You want a bursting idea bank overflow to choose from. I consume quality content most days. And dump the best ideas into Evernote. This gives me a head start next time I’m writing.

I pay close attention to readers’ comments. Looking for ideas I can use. Notice what resonates most. Or problems they raise. How can you help? Listening to readers activates your creative juices.

Don’t wait for inspiration. Hunt for it like your creative life depended on it.

5. Strengthen your mindset

Writers love to beat themselves up.

No matter what progress you’ve made. You’ll look ahead and obsess over how far short you are. Some compare themselves to others. Focusing on how far short you fall kills your motivation.

“You fail only if you stop writing.” — Ray Bradbury

But there’s an underrated hack that offers an endless supply of energy. Look behind more than you look ahead. Rejoice over every ounce of progress. Set and celebrate input goals. Number of writing sessions. Posts published. Focus on what you can control. Revel in your wins to energise your writing.

I used to record my follower growth daily. Whenever I felt despondent. I’d pick a random date in the past and calculate how much I’d grown. It always encouraged me. Then for fun, I’d project my growth rate forward 3 months. This reminded me all I needed to do was keep going and success would find me.

See your progress to renew your motivation.

To get ahead. Set yourself to write for 12 months. Use these strategies to become consistent. Knowing if you do. Good things will happen.

I’ve built a $30k writing business whilst working full-time. If you want my 5-step writing system. Join 3487 other writers and sign up for my free course here.

Find me on Substack.

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