9 Simple Microhabits to Rewire Your Brain and Automatically Improve Your Writing Skills
Even without a minute to sit at your keyboard.
If I wake up in the middle of the night, I’m doomed.
My brain suddenly turns on and starts scanning for new article ideas, pondering a magnetic intro for the latest draft, or wondering if I included everything necessary in it.
It’s stressful. But success follows obsession.
With writing always front and center in my mind, improvement is inevitable. Even when I’m not at my desk, I’m still “working” on my articles and writing skills.
I developed several habits taking little to no time that you can weave into every moment.
If you dream of building your writing career but finding the time feels like drawing the winning lottery ticket, they will fuel your progress with little effort.
1. Noticing
Everything is material. Every experience can become an idea, an example, or simply an inspiration to write.
But first of all you need to notice.
Letting things slip by because of distraction or lack of sensitivity is easy and too common. It’s not just our addiction to smartphones.
My smartphone has been on “Do not disturb” from the day I bought it. Unfortunately, my internal chatter is an even more powerful distractor.
Awareness doesn’t come naturally. I have to stop looking inward and shed my preconceptions. I keep diffuse and open attention to everything. I assume something curious, emotional, or remarkable is happening at every moment.
You can train this intentionally by using the noticing workout. Go outside for a walk, focus on the tiny details, and photograph what speaks to you.
Then you can’t go wrong with meditation. You develop the ability to let go of your thoughts. This creates space for noticing.
2. Active content consumption
“Stop consuming, start creating!” is a favorite mantra among content creator gurus.
But they are right only if you consume content to kill time and procrastinate. If you slouch on the sofa scrolling through shallow videos and posts for hours (even just one hour is too much).
Don’t get me wrong: fun and entertainment have their place in a healthy life. But you don’t need them to eat up most of your day.
Consume content as if you were sitting on the edge of your seat. Consider only sources that can inspire you, spur new ideas, and teach you new techniques.
While you read, listen or watch, keep these questions in mind:
are there new ideas that I can integrate into my articles?
Can I repurpose this from my audience’s perspective?
Can I borrow some techniques from this author?
3. Pervasive reading
Inject reading in every moment. Digital devices make this a no-brainer.
No matter where you are, it takes 2 seconds to open a newsletter, an ebook, or an online article.
Set up a healthy reading environment. Always have your best sources at hand through apps and devices.
This extends to listening and watching, too. But I feel written content has a deeper learning effect for writers.
Here’s my situation:
several podcast episodes queued in PocketCasts on my Android (cloud-synced with my tablet and my PC),
hundreds of unread newsletters on my phone and tablet, 🙄
Instapaper installed on my phone and tablet with “read later articles”,
the audiobook app widget on my phone home screen, ready to resume,
dozens of books on my Kindle,
hundreds of articles sent to my Kindles through Instapaper,
several videos in my Youtube Watch Later list.
I just choose based on how long I have.
4. Perpetual note-taking
Successful writers don’t wait to have a new article to write to start research. They embed research in their life.
You need a quick method to note down ideas, sources, stories, and anything that can lead to good articles. Here’s mine.
I use the productivity app Todoist. The mobile widget is always with me and allows me to save an idea with a couple of taps. Each evening, I review the inbox and sort and archive my most recent notes.
You can use Zettelkasten to structure your notes and link them. But if you’re short on time you don’t need that level of sophistication.
Not taking is beneficial if you make it a habit. So, find the most sustainable tool and method.
5. Collecting words
The right words engrave ideas in the readers’ minds.
I am spying on the best authors, sometimes joining their courses to have direct access to them. I find out that almost all of them keep a list of their favorite words.
They are words that feel particularly meaningful, sound more powerful, elicit strong emotions, or can be used for rich analogies and metaphors. They are sometimes made up.
I recently started a Notion database where I’m saving my favorite terms.
But you don’t need such a fancy solution. A simple text document is enough. Just choose a tool that makes it quick to save a word as soon as you find it.
6. Journaling
All the habits in this article are truly microhabits. They are simple subroutines running in the background while you go on with your life. They consume just a minute here and there.
Journaling is more time-consuming. You have to sit down and write.
Its benefits are undeniable:
collecting thoughts, stories, and lessons learned during the day,
reviewing your decisions and actions,
even silencing your inner editor (in the case of Morning Pages).
Fortunately, you don’t need hours every week to reap the benefits of journaling as a writer. You can journal with a purpose.
Focus only on some aspects, something you want to improve. Answer 1–5 questions every night about those aspects.
For example, you can use an exercise from the book Storyworthy to collect stories for your articles. Ask yourself:
If I had to tell a story from today — a five-minute story onstage about something that took place over the course of this day — what would it be? — Matthew Dicks, Storyworthy
Or you can use something like interstitial journaling. You chronicle your day incrementally instead of waiting for the evening. For example, when you end a task and start another one, you stop and write down what you did, what you’re going to do, how you feel, and any other reflection about it.
7. Writing as you talk
“Write like you talk”, everyone says. But you can also exercise your writing skills during conversations.
I do it all the time :
I try to tell engaging stories with hooks, tension, and resolution,
I try to add meaningful details to my descriptions of people, places, and situations,
I look for the perfect words to convey concepts and emotions effectively and economically,
I work especially hard to make my listeners understand everything I say. “Explain like I’m 5” is my inseparable mantra.
I must admit: this approach makes conversations harder. But over more than 10 years as a creator, I always received compliments for the clarity of my writing.
8. Thinking
You don’t need a Medium author to tell you thinking must be a habit…
Your brain is always spinning. But you surely know how wasteful our unintentional thinking can be.
We focus on the wrong things. We are led into vicious loops by our fears and insecurities. We jump from one thought to another unfruitfully.
We need intentional thinking. The good news is that we can get results even without Bill Gates’ Think Week (which is exactly what the name says).
I sometimes seed my brain with an idea or problem to solve. Then I go for a walk and focus just on that. Often, I end up exhausting the topic before the end of my walk.
9. Emptying
Slow is becoming the new black.
In all fields, I keep stumbling on praises of slowness. It’s salvation in a word that keeps speeding up.
The perfect slowing down is emptiness. Doing nothing.
I’m really bad at this. As a teenager, I felt guilty if my mom was around while I was watching TV. And I have always been a straight-A student.
This awesome feeling expanded and worsened in my adult life.
But I’m aware that our brains need space. Creativity needs space. We all know about that genius hits under the shower.
But we can’t rely on our hygiene habits to get good ideas.
I’m trying to add more empty space to my life. Sometimes I lay down to rest my back without podcasts or audiobooks in the background. Or I go for a walk without earbuds. You won’t believe but it’s unusual for me.
How to begin
Every habit seems like marriage. You are committing to a lifelong effort.
And when there are so many attractive habits, it’s like polygamy. Difficulty skyrockets. The solution is always to start small.
Find the habit that you like the most, and that you feel within your reach.
Practice it for at least a week and then increase it gradually. Stack multiple habits as they become more natural.