How to create a blog writing habit in 5 steps

Are you a psychologist or health practitioner in private practice?

Do you want to start a blog but don’t know where to start?

Or do you already have a blog but you keep forgetting about it?

I get it, I’ve been there. As a psychologist, a writer, a mother and business owner it can be really hard to juggle All Of The Things. But writing blog posts doesn’t have to feel like a chore. If you’re writing what you know and love, then the writing comes easily.

The hard part is getting started.

Making time to write and sticking to a schedule is the major hurdle to jump over.

Once you have a structure in place, you can create a routine that works for you.  A blog writing routine can help you stay focussed and on track to deliver consistent blog content for your private practice or small business.

How to make blog writing a habit

1.    Find a quiet space free from distraction

If you’re struggling to sit at a laptop and focus because the office is disorganised, or your home is too noisy, find a quiet space that is free from distraction. The less distractions the less likely you will lose focus.

2.    Write regularly

When selecting a time to write your blog posts, work to your strengths. If you’re more motivated first thing in the morning, write then. If you feel more inspired in the evenings, write in the evenings. Then, identify realistic writing blocks each week. This may look like 20 minutes, three times per week. You can easily get a drafted blog post in that time. Or you could do a one hour block on a Saturday morning to get it done. Once you decide on the time and day that fits best with your work and life commitments, schedule it into your diary and stick to it! If the time is blocked out, it becomes something you commit to and you’re more likely to prioritise it over unexpected tasks that arise.

3.    Write first, edit later.

One of the challenges of writing is our desire to write it right. We want it to read exactly the way it sounded in our head but sometimes that doesn’t happen in the first draft (or first couple of drafts). Rather than censoring what you write, and trying to perfect it, just get your thoughts down first.

The infamous saying goes, “You can’t edit a blank page.” Write your ideas down first, edit them later.

4.    Keep track of your ideas

Whether it’s a notebook, an excel spreadsheet or an app on your phone, keep all of your content ideas in the one place. Jot down ideas as they arise, even if not fully formed. Then when you sit down to write, you won’t have to start from scratch, you’ll already have ideas to launch from. You may also find that once you get started with a topic, lots of other ideas sprout from it. To avoid distraction, write them down and then come back to the topic at hand.

5.    Be accountable

Sometimes the only way to stay on track is to be accountable- either to ourselves or others. Set yourself a goal to write one blog post every week and put it in your calendar. Tell your partner, friend or colleagues about your blog and it will give you that extra motivation to stick it out (even when you don’t feel like it!).

Writing quality content on a consistent basis takes discipline, a positive mindset and the right structure in place to support you to meet your goals. A blog writing habit using the five steps above is a sure fire way to kickstart your blog.

Need more help?

• Have lots of blog content ideas but don’t know where to focus your attention? A content strategy is a really useful way to be clear on what you want to achieve for your blog posts. If you need help with your content strategy, get in touch for 1:1 coaching support.

• Do you have a good writing habit but tend to procrastinate on starting your blog post? Structure your posts using my blog template tool and then simply fill in the blanks!