Dread Writing Your Blogs Each Week? Try This
One idea that’s really been swirling in my brain the past few weeks is that creating content of any kind, but especially blog content, is really more of a habit than it is a skill.
The more that you do it, the more that you’ll get better at it, but you can’t get better at it until you start doing it.
A lot of times people tell me that they haven’t started blogging in their business consistently because they “don’t know what to write about” or they “aren’t a good writer.”
But I’m here to say that’s really not it at all. It’s more of a mental game than anything.
Every action we take on a daily basis stems from some sort of habit we’ve created – whether we realize it or not.
The way you fix your coffee in the morning. The order that you do your skincare. The way that you do your makeup. The daily walk that you go on without hardly even having to think about it.
All of these things are HABITS that you just simply do.
If writing consistent blog content hasn’t yet become a habit in your business, of course it’s going to feel a little challenging at first.
But when you commit to a consistency that works for you and follow through on that commitment, the more that writing blog content will simply be something that you do over time.
You don’t have to talk yourself into it. You don’t have to think too much about it. You don’t have to fight to find the time to do it. You don’t even have to question how to do it.
Instead, you simply have a designated time each week that you sit down to write, you navigate to your content folder, open a fresh Google Doc, and start writing.
You simply do it. It’s a regular part of your business and the best part is that you actually LOOK FORWARD to it.
What a concept, right?! Actually enjoying creating content for your business… game changer.
This whole idea of blog content being more of a habit than it is a skill is essentially why I hosted Blogmas back in December.
Blogmas was a three week challenge style experience where members could work to build the consistency of blogging in their business before the new year even began, so that they could ultimately STAY consistent in the new year.
Through community, co-writing calls, and the ability to submit their writing for feedback each week, members were able to grow their confidence for content creation, find a new love for writing, and maybe most importantly, recommit to consistent content creation for THEIR business.
Once the Blogmas challenge was over, I knew there had to be a way for members to continue this work, because so often as business owners we can tend to give all that we have to our clients and begin to neglect our own brand.
I’ve definitely been there, but I also know the importance of being consistent in your own business and creating content that truly serves your audience, which is why I wanted to give people a space to do just that.
INSERT: The Writer’s Room – the ultimate done-with-you blog and email writing membership. ✍🏼
Because here’s the thing about implementing new habits, whether it be for life or business: they don’t just happen naturally.
If you’ve ever set new year goals, you probably already know that to be true. You can have the greatest intentions ever, but starting a new habit (or breaking an old one) can just be plain hard.
While The Writer’s Room membership is the place where you can be surrounded with others doing the same thing as you and have ongoing support along the way, there’s a few things you can do on your own to make writing more of a habit in your business.
And it all starts with the 4 Laws of Behavior Change that James Clear presents in his book, Atomic Habits:
Make it obvious
Make it attractive
Make it easy
Make it satisfying
While James Clear is mostly referring to life habits, I believe this same concept can 100% be applied to your blog content too!
Because remember: content creation is more a habit than it is a skill.
If creating consistent blog content is proving to be challenging for you, you can lean into each of these laws, so that the content creation as a whole becomes easier over time.
While I honestly have a lot to say about each of these laws, for this blog post specifically, I want to zoom into law #2: make it attractive.
How To Use The 4 Laws of Behavior Change to Make Your Content Writing More Fun
When something feels challenging for you, it’s really easy to avoid it.
You know you need to do it, but it just starts looming in the back of your mind and you might choose to ignore it for as long as you can.
And while you might be able to ignore content creation in your business for a little while, there will undoubtedly come a time where you can’t any longer.
Whether it’s because you need to grow your audience or your current audience needs certain information from you, there will be a time where content creation cannot be ignored.
So instead of continuing to put it off and put it off until you absolutely can’t any longer, what if you simply made it more FUN to do?
What if you made it attractive? Or as the girlies on TikTok say, what if you ✨ romanticize ✨ it?
For blog writing or content creation specifically, this is what I like to call defining your writing environment.
Sure, you might not always feel like creating content for your business, but when you make it a little more fun and inviting to do, it becomes something that you can manage.
Because let’s face it: no one wants to do something that they feel forced to do.
If you’re staring at your to-do list each week and see “write blog post” and you automatically dread it, but force yourself to sit at your desk and do it anyway, it’s not going to bring much enjoyment for you, huh?
But if you create a defined writing environment that brings you joy, you’ll suddenly LOOK FORWARD to writing that blog post each week and it becomes a much less dreaded task.
I’m not claiming that writing will always feel fun. There will be times where it’s just something you have to do.
But there is a way for writing to be one of the most fun parts of your business when you set it up correctly.
And the best part? There’s not just one right way to do it.
This is specific to YOU because your brain probably works differently than mine.
The idea is to craft an environment that is attractive enough to make you want to do the thing you once dreaded. THAT is one of the ways to make it a habit so that you really don’t even have to think about it.
4 Things To Consider When Crafting Your Ideal Writing Environment
1. The Where 📍
First and foremost when defining your ideal writing environment, you have to choose the where – meaning the physical space – for you to do the task in.
Is it your home office? Co-working space? Library? Coffee shop? Your car? The couch?
Honestly, the options are endless and I can’t define this for you. As humans, we all do our best work differently and it’s important to pay attention to where this is for you.
For me, this is hands down a coffee shop. There is just something about sitting among other people who are also on their laptops, sipping coffee, and putting in my headphones.
That’s where I find myself most in flow, so if I have a lot of writing to do (which as a blog writer is quite literally all the time 😅) and if I’m having a hard time focusing, I know exactly where to go.
2. The Tech 💻
In addition to the physical space, it’s important to consider the tech that you need handy to create your best content.
Some people can’t live without their dual monitors. While I do love my big screen desktop in my home office, I’m willing to sacrifice it for the coffee shop because it’s not something I’ve deemed absolutely necessary to crank out my best writing.
What I can’t sacrifice when writing? The 528hz focus beats that legitimately alter my brain chemistry.
The moment that I sit down in a coffee shop and put my headphones in with these binaural beats blaring, it’s over!!!
I should also add that I prefer to write while wearing blue block glasses – these might be a placebo effect, but I can’t risk it with my already questionable eyesight, so I pull out all the stops to make me feel laser focused.
Some people love to use a Pomodoro timer and I’ve seen others absolutely rave about their noise canceling headphones.
Define the tech that you specifically need and you can quite literally become unstoppable.
3. The Vibes 💃🏻
In addition to the tech involved with your writing, the vibes are equally as important.
This includes the vibes that are physically and digitally present.
A part of this will be determined by The Where – the physical space that you choose. If you’re like me and choose a coffee shop, the vibes, or should I say the ambiance, will naturally be different than if you chose to write in your home office.
A coffee shop is often more cozy and inviting while also being filled with other people, whereas your home office is going to bring a more relaxed atmosphere where you get to control every aspect, including the lighting, the temperature, etc.
For you, your ideal writing vibe might involve being cozied up on your couch with your favorite blanket and your TV show of choice on for background noise. For others, it might be sitting in the library fully dressed for the day because that screams WERK to them.
There’s no right or wrong way to do it!
In addition to the physical vibe that you prefer, the digital vibe is just as important!
I learned a longggg time ago that limiting (or really eliminating) any and all distractions was KEY to my ideal writing environment.
And there’s a good chance the same is true for you. For me, this looks like tossing my phone somewhere it can’t be seen, turning off my Slack notifications, working in ONE web browser, and working in full screen mode.
Each of these things paired with the physical vibe that I choose creates an ideal writing environment that allows me to laser focus and crank out my writing in record time!
4. The Celebration 🎉
Lastly, and maybe my favorite, the celebration! One of my core values – in life and in business – is celebration, which means it's truly infused into everything that I do.
We don’t save celebrations just for the big moments around here. Nope! Instead, there’s a celebration for all the small things too… including writing a blog post or other piece of content.
For me, many times the celebration includes some sort of special treat. I am who I am and I love a little treat, okay? Whether it’s an afternoon coffee, a crispy Coke from Chick-fil-A, or my current sweet fixation (right now it’s Nerds gummy clusters). Those are all my go-to’s to celebrate a piece of writing.
Other times, it’s something simple like allowing myself to scroll TikTok once I complete my writing or going on my much anticipated daily walk.
In fact, as I’m writing this very blog post, I said to myself: “when you’re done with this, you can go on your walk.”
Essentially what you're doing here is making it a game for yourself! As humans, we love to be rewarded and this traces back to elementary school when we could earn gold stars.
START GIVING YOURSELF GOLD STARS. ⭐️
Need More Support For Your Consistent Content Creation?
Overall, content creation in your business doesn’t have to – and honestly should not be – something that you dread each week.
There is a way to make it fun and something that you truly look forward to and enjoy doing!
If that concept feels crazy to you, start by defining your writing environment and if that’s not enough for you, dig into the other 3 Laws of Behavior Change: make it obvious, easy, and satisfying.
If you’re the type that needs a little extra support for something like this, that’s exactly why The Writer’s Room exists!
With your membership, you receive:
Bi-monthly trainings from me (centered around marketing, blogging, email marketing, and more) 💻
Quarterly Guest expert calls (featuring industry adjacent guests that I personally know, work with, and trust) 👩🏻💻
Bi-weekly Co-writing Wednesdays (to hold you accountable for consistent writing in your business) ✍🏼
Quarterly Blog Content Planning Parties (so you can have a strategic blog plan ready to implement) 🎉
Writing Resource Vault (all of my best writing resources in one place) 🔐
Weekly Feedback Accessibility (so you can feel confident in your content creation before you press publish) 📝
Slack Community (for access to other members to brainstorm, support, provide feedback, etc.) 👥
CLICK HERE to learn more about The Writer’s Room and join the waitlist to be among the first to know about the next enrollment period!