How to write faster

What an interesting and necessary lesson this is - writing! Of course, not everyone today is a writer, but many people for one reason or another sometimes have to deal with the writing of some materials. Anyone who first faces the need to write a specific text: article, report, advertising post, story, etc., will confidently say that it takes a lot of time. However, people who write regularly also often experience certain difficulties, and the process is delayed even by experienced authors. In any case, the question of how to write faster is very relevant, so today we want to talk about this topic.

What prevents writing fast
Experience shows that any work is done faster, if a person is constantly practicing, writing is no exception in this regard. But effective practice is possible only in conditions when the writing person (for convenience we will call him a writer) is not distracted from work.
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When writing is just beginning, even a small and very simple text can take several hours. If the writer does not have the opportunity to postpone work until later, he will have to write in the evening or even at night. These are rather harsh conditions, but as a result they allow a good increase in the speed of creating texts.

However, most people almost always have a certain amount of time that they allow for procrastination and chronophages. Plus, there are a number of other factors that make it difficult to write at a "waltz pace" or even just get down to business.

Next, we will consider the most common writing problems, as well as give useful recommendations on how to deal with them. We are confident that this knowledge will be useful to you in your studies, work, creativity, and in general in any activity where you need to write.

Difficulty starting
Most often, writers, especially beginners, can’t get to work at all, because they don’t know where to start. As a result, a person writes something, then erases, then writes again, and then erases again, etc. Such work is not only fruitful: it also takes a huge amount of time and mental energy.
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If there is no sensible beginning, one can continue to make new attempts to create it. But there is another option: leave the “crumpled” beginning (or not write it at all) and continue with the most simple, interesting, informative or important part of the text. Once the work is done, coming up with a good start will be a lot easier.

By the way, well-known blogger and one of the founders of the Australian startup Hello Code Belle Beth Cooper shared with readers in her article “How I reduced the writing time from two days to four hours” some secrets to us about this topic.

When it is difficult for her to start, and nothing sensible comes to mind, she just starts to write at least something. For example: “I have no idea where to start, because ...” The idea here is that the writing process itself helps organize thoughts and find the right words to start a new creation.

And sometimes she does it this way: she writes on paper (namely, on paper, and not on a computer) the name, several key points, a couple of “test” introductory sentences. Then, when the brain begins to work in the right direction, it crosses out what is written without regret and replaces it with more successful options.
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And another way is simpler: get out of the workplace, wander around the office or room, take a walk along the corridor or even go outside to relax in thought about how and what is better to write. Very often, good thoughts arise precisely when one distracts from the obligatory tasks and the main work.

And in this video there are some more interesting ideas on how to get started. Moreover, they relate not only to writing, but to any business in general. Watch this video, and then continue.

Sticking on information
Naturally, before you start writing text on a topic, you need to collect information on it. And often it takes the lion's share of the time to collect this very information. Even professionals can spend up to 70% (or even up to 90%!) Of all time on selecting sources.

You need to find materials (for example, for a competent article, a diploma, and sometimes a book, you may need to select 5-7 sources), comprehensively research the topic, compose the data. No wonder that this stage is complicated and time-consuming. But you can’t do without it, because only when the author knows what and what he wants to say, he will write confidently, quickly and easily.
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Due to the long collection of a large amount of information, the time to work may be stretched, although this may not affect the final result. In other words, the speed of writing significantly slows down the “sticking” to information - when a writer jumps from source to source, he is distracted by materials, albeit interesting, but not related to the topic.

Ultimately, the author collects information, the volume of which is simply not optimal. Plus all this needs to be subtracted, studied, brought into the system and structured. It takes a lot of time despite the fact that many of the information will not be used at all. What to do about it?

Useful skills will come to the aid of the writer, such as self-discipline, self-organization, the ability to quickly recognize the most important thing for the material being prepared and cut off the unnecessary, secondary and unimportant. It is necessary to learn a cursory viewing of sources and try not to delve into reading.
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You need to read something only when you know exactly what information is useful to you. Just remember that you can actually reduce the time it takes to gather information. Constantly practicing fluent reading and the ability to "scan" sources, you will stop spending hours studying the "source".

No deadlines
When a minimum of time is given for a project, it can be stressful, but it can also mobilize strength. Knowing that the material is needed right now, you will try your best to prepare it. And it works, even if you set the deadlines for yourself. But if there is no specific deadline at all, it will be very difficult to get to work, and various distractions will grab your attention faster.

When a writer does not have a customer that defines deadlines, you must install them yourself. After choosing a topic, for example, for an article or a post for a blog, conduct an initial assessment of its complexity, the approximate time it takes to write. Thus, you already ask yourself a deadline.
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It’s also worth remembering one interesting trick: if you evaluate the project and think that it will take you 5 hours to write the text, but in the end the project will be easier, you will most likely spend about 5 hours on it anyway. How much time you give yourself, so much you spend. Therefore, try to set the most realistic deadlines.

If it takes 5 hours for some “regular” text, set a deadline of 4 hours. Having met this time, shorten the term again and try to keep within it. If you are unable to set your own deadlines or keep your “deadlines”, ask someone else to set a time frame for you. Perhaps responsibility to someone will motivate you to work faster.

It is curious that many authors and writers can easily ignore their own deadlines, while external ones set by other people (bosses, customers, editors, etc.) almost always make them work faster. The boss said that you need tomorrow at 12 o’clock - that means you need tomorrow at 12 o’clock and not a second later.
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Take into account Parkinson’s law, which says that work takes all the time that a person devotes to it. If the author sets a deadline for himself, he subconsciously does it with a margin in order to be able to pull, be distracted, etc. If another person does this, responsibility is triggered, reluctance to fail, fear of punishment.

Those who don’t have a boss at all or who can take on their functions can only develop self-discipline, learn responsibility to themselves and be faithful to their promises.

Distractions
It doesn’t matter, you have to write for yourself (by the way, we recommend reading our article “How to write a draft of a novel in 30 days”), or you are forced to do it at work, there will always be distractions everywhere. And the ability to deal with the same procrastination can be called a real art for a writer.

Talking on the phone, messages in messengers, interesting “vidosiks” in social networks, emails - these and many other things are literally waiting for us to relax and give them only 5 minutes. As a result, half a day can be spent on obscure activities.
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Here is a simple task for you - to write a short article or chapter for your book. In fact, it can take 3-4 hours. But in fact, a whole day is spent on it, and even the result leaves much to be desired. This is due to the fact that you are distracted, interrupted, take unnecessary pauses and so on. But have you ever thought that even a few minutes devoted to outside business immediately reduce concentration, switch thoughts and require even greater strength to get back to work?


Of course, writing a story at your leisure is much more interesting than describing the technical characteristics of dozens of microwaves for work, because concentration and dedication largely depend on the characteristics of the writer. Another important factor is his awareness: does he understand the topic, or will he have to start from scratch.

Even if the topic is not particularly interesting to you, and you have complete “zero” in it, you can always apply this approach to work: “But I will find something practically useful for myself in this topic!” So you will be able to interest yourself and engage in the process without the desire to break away and work out what is more pleasant and interesting.

At the same time, do not forget that productivity and concentration will be higher if for the duration of the work you will minimize all distractions:
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close unnecessary sites and social networks;
put your smartphone in Do Not Disturb mode;
ask your family or colleagues not to distract you;
forget about friends, plans for the evening and dreams of vacation, etc.
The less there will be something that theoretically can distract around you, the less you will have and reasons to be distracted. You will also find a lot of valuable advice on this issue in our articles “Productivity Guide” and “Concentration Development Guide”.

Now we have found out why it is not possible to write quickly, and made several recommendations on how to eliminate them. But, of course, this is not all that we wanted to tell you about, and from the next block of the article you will learn how to create conditions to write productively and quickly.
How to write faster
Despite the fact that each writer has his own ways to increase personal effectiveness, we offer you some universal tips that are suitable for everyone. They relate to time, place, and partly to working conditions.

When to write
All people differ in their individual characteristics, character traits, type of temperament, and preferences when going to bed and getting up in the morning. Your first task is to understand your individual biorhythms. For example, your most productive time to work may be an early morning or a few hours before bedtime.

For most people, the most productive working hours are from 8 AM to 12 PM, and then from 2 PM to 5 PM. But for writing, it is still recommended to allocate it in the morning, because at this time, consciousness still retains its “purity”, and everyday thoughts do not have time to fill their heads.

Even if you did not have time to work productively in the morning, do this before lunch. Moreover, the most time-consuming writing tasks are best done the very first, and something secondary can be left for later, including in the afternoon. Keep in mind that the sooner you get up, the more you have time to write, and also do not forget to eat and take breaks during the day.
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Carefully observe yourself: mark in the diary the time when you work easily, when interesting thoughts and ideas visit your head. In a couple of weeks you will have an approximate understanding of when it is better to write to you.

Where to write
It doesn’t make sense to say a lot, so we’ll only point out that if you are not attached to the workplace in the office, you need to find “your” place at home where it will be comfortable and convenient to write.

Try to work in different places: in different rooms, in the kitchen, on the balcony. If the situation in the apartment is boring for you, and you want changes, get out into the nature, in a park or a cozy cafe, to change the conditions and bring a little variety to life.

To people who are allowed opportunities, we can recommend to equip a separate room for writing, for example, an office. Over time, it will become saturated with the "writing spirit." Do not do anything in your office except one - creative work. Then, at the entrance to this place, your consciousness will automatically be tuned to work.

In what conditions to write
As to whether to work in silence or not, there are different opinions. Some experts argue that the general noise has a beneficial effect on creativity. For example, due to sounds from the street, work becomes a little more complicated, which makes the brain become even more active and think more creatively.
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Of course, there are people who like to work in complete silence. If you belong to this category, there are no questions - create conditions so that nothing distracts you, and write calmly. However, many are more pleased to work with some kind of musical accompaniment, but it needs to be selected correctly.

Most likely, you will not be able to write faster with hard rock, rapcore, hardcore or metal (although you can try for the sake of experiment). We advise you to choose something unobtrusive, for example, instrumental music, classical, New Age, folk. By the way, try listening to the hang - this unique tool is perfect for the desktop.

One more tip: if you work with music, choose compositions without words or with their minimal amount. Perceiving someone else's speech, the brain will be very distracted to process words, and writing quickly will not work. When checking what is written, it is generally better to turn off the music in order to concentrate as much as possible.

Try different options: write in silence, to music, to different noises (the sound of rain, waves, wind, etc.) By trial and error, you will find the perfect option. In addition, this will happen very quickly, because you can understand how you work for a specific soundtrack in a matter of minutes.
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Having answered these three questions for yourself (when, where and in what conditions to write?) And taking into account the information from the first block of the article, you can create ideal conditions for productive writing. And to create even faster, take note of a few general tips on writing:

If you have to type on a computer, be sure to master the “touch typing” method to masterfully master the keyboard.
Before writing any work, it is recommended that you make a plan. This greatly reduces the time to think about where to start and how to continue.
Do not correct errors in the process of writing text. Perform all corrector functions when the text is ready.
Write and type for speed. Note the time during which you write a certain number of characters, and try to reduce it.
Create a ritual for yourself, after which you immediately get to work. Form a conditioned reflex, for example, start writing as soon as you finish your morning coffee.
If you work as a copywriter or web author, try to choose topics that are close to you, in which you are at least a little versed.
And a few words about the writing technique itself. Despite the fact that computers today literally flooded the entire planet, there remain people who like or have to write in the traditional way - using paper and a pen. Here's what helps you write faster from a purely technical perspective:
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Choose furniture that is comfortable for writing. You should have a comfortable and fairly spacious table, as well as a chair with a back or a special chair. It is very difficult to write quickly, lounging on a sofa, lying in bed or "drowning" in a soft chair. Both the table and the chair should fit your height — not to be too low or tall.
Watch your body. When sitting at a desk, make sure that your knees are bent at a right angle, your back is straight (do not slouch and do not protrude your chest), and the distance between the table and chest is approximately two palms wide.
Choose the writing tool wisely. Today you can find a great many variations of pens. Your pen will help you write faster. Get a few pens: thin, thick, with and without a finger holder, pen, gel, ball, from different materials. Try writing one or the other to find your “pen”. Do not forget that the handle must also be held correctly; it is held by three fingers: on the average, it lies, and the thumb and forefinger control it.
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Place paper correctly. During writing, a piece of paper should lie slightly to the right of your body (if you are left-handed, then slightly to the left).
Train your hand. If you have to write a lot and you notice that the hand is getting tired every now and then, buy a manual expander in the store. In your free time, squeeze and unclench it. Very soon, the hand will become stronger and less tired.
Having taken the correct position of the body, correctly positioning the paper, using suitable furniture and working with “your” pen, you will write much faster. Proven in practice. And a note: today it is known for certain that anyone can learn to write quickly, regardless of whether he is right-handed or left-handed. And the hardest thing is to master the ability to quickly write to ambidextra - people who are equally good at both hands.

In conclusion, we suggest that you, at your leisure, familiarize yourself with our article “4 ways to write texts 2 times faster,” and right now - watch a video that will be useful to those who like to write messages on their smartphone (today, perhaps most of these people). We wish you good luck and creative success!