How I Learned To Stop Overthinking And Write A New Article Every Day

I used to think that the only way I could write something interesting was if I agonized over it for several days, poured tea all over myself, and finally shouted the perfect idea at 4 am. Then I realized that wasn’t true.

After years of trying different things, I figured out an easy formula for writing quickly and consistently. Here’s how I learned to stop overthinking and write a new article every day.

6 Therapy Skills to Stop Overthinking Everything – YouTube

Takeaways
Overthinking can hinder daily writing progress.
Setting a consistent writing routine is essential.
Embracing imperfection leads to more productive writing.
Using prompts or outlines can jumpstart the writing process.
Breaking tasks into smaller steps reduces overwhelm.
Creating a supportive writing environment is crucial.
Practice and persistence are key to improving writing skills.
Setting achievable goals boosts motivation.
Self-care and managing stress contribute to writing success.
Reflecting on accomplishments fuels writing confidence.

Table of Contents

Define Your Goals

Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to take a step back and clearly define what you want to accomplish with this article. This can be trickier than it sounds because there are so many different ways to define success:

Do you want to grow your social media following? Earn more money from ads? Get subscribers to your newsletter? Create a product that people love? Or achieve all of these things at once and more?

At first glance, this might seem like an overwhelming list of priorities how do I know which one matters most right now? Well, don’t worry about other people’s priorities; focus on yours!

Achieving multiple goals will require different approaches depending on where they fall on the spectrum between ambition/optimism and realism/humble-bragging (which is something else entirely).

For example, if my goal was getting more followers on social media but I knew that wasn’t realistic for my current audience or resources.

Then maybe my first step would be focusing on some less ambitious yet still achievable goals like creating new content or finding guest writers who could help spread the word about myself and my work.

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Figure Out Who You Are Writing For

The first step in committing to a daily writing goal is figuring out who your audience is. Who are you writing for? Once you know that, you can define them more specifically and begin to understand what they want from you as a content creator.

Once I had my target audience figured out, I could go about creating content for them. The most important thing was understanding what value I could provide them with and what would make them pay attention to me over all other writers in their field?

This was the first step toward making sure my voice stood out from everyone else’s in the industry.

It also helped me get into the right mindset when it came time to write an article each day: instead of worrying about technicalities like word count or SEO optimization or anything else related to platform-specific issues (which would only distract me).

I focused on delivering value through my stories and experiences as someone who has experienced both sides of these technology debates firsthand.

As far as competitors go, there are plenty of people who write similar types of articles but don’t do it nearly as well as I do; this gave me confidence that if I kept putting out good work then people would keep coming back for more (and hopefully recommend As Happy As Possible!).

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Don’t Overthink It, Just Write

This is key. I know everyone is excited to get started writing an article, but it’s also easy to get bogged down in doubt and self-criticism as you write.

You might start asking yourself questions like: “Is this a good idea?” or “How will people respond to this?” or even (ugh) “Is this sentence correct? What does ‘correct’ mean anyway?”

Don’t do this! Get your ideas down first and worry about those other things later. The reason for this is that most of us are perfectionists by nature; we want everything to be perfect before sharing our work with the world.

But when we take too long before sharing our work with others, we run into two problems: 1) We lose momentum from waiting on ourselves, and 2) Our original idea becomes outdated as time goes by because we’re not practicing what we’re trying to accomplish!

Write For Yourself First, And Then For Others

This is one of my favorite quotes from the writing world, and it’s always helped me stay focused on what matters.

It’s easy to get caught up in what you think other people will want to read or see but if you’re not writing something that reflects your interests and values, chances are good there will be no audience at all. So even if your blog has a specific focus, write about things that interest YOU!

And don’t worry about whether or not anyone will like it; just put it out there and see how people respond. If they don’t care enough to comment or share, then maybe they weren’t as interested in your content as you thought they’d be. And if they do comment or share? Then maybe there was an audience waiting for this type of article after all!

Write The Worst Draft Ever

If you want to write, then write. Write everything down. Even if it’s bad. I’m not going to ask you to do this right now I’m just telling you that if you want to get better at anything, then practice is the only way.

Fill up a notebook or journal with everything that comes into your head without worrying about spelling or grammar (or how long it is), whether people would think it was smart or stupid, or what anyone else thinks about anything at all.

This is like warm-up exercises for our brains: we have to get comfortable with letting ourselves play around before we can make something good happen.

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Every Article Is A Piece Of The Puzzle

When you’re looking at your writing schedule for the week, don’t think about what you need to write next. Don’t worry about how long it will take or whether it will be good enough. Don’t spend energy worrying about how much time it’s going to take from other things.

What you should focus on is building on what you have already done and making sure that there are no gaps in your knowledge that would prevent you from writing new articles every day in the future (see point 1).

You should also build up a high level of discipline so that when the moment comes for inspiration to hit, everything else is ready for action (see point 2).

Look At The Long Term Picture

Too often, we get so caught up in the big picture that we forget about the small steps that need to happen before we can get there. We focus on our progress instead of our work today. We worry about what we can’t control rather than focusing on the things we can.

And when this happens, it’s easy to get frustrated with ourselves and give up entirely (or at least put off starting another article until later).

But here’s a secret:

You needn’t worry about your long-term goal at all! You just have to focus on doing one thing right now and then another after that. And then another after that…

Focus On Value And Not Quality And Quantity

When I first started writing, I would focus on the number of articles rather than the quality. I’d write a few thousand words per day and publish them as fast as possible without much thought to how they were being received by my audience.

But then I realized that if I was just focusing on how many articles I could crank out, then the only thing people would be reading were those hastily-written, low-quality pieces that no one wanted to read anyway.

So instead of focusing on quantity, I shifted my focus over to value: what value can this article provide for your audience?

I began asking myself questions like “what does this article add to our readers’ lives?” or “how will this help them achieve their goals?”

If an article couldn’t answer those questions in some way if it didn’t have any real benefit for people who read it then it probably wasn’t worth publishing in its current form.

You Don’t Have To Do It All At Once – Take Small Steps Every Day

One of the biggest hurdles for new writers, especially those who have never written a blog post before, is getting started.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of writing an entire article and then trying to make it better by editing and revising it multiple times over. That’s why I suggest taking small steps every day.

If you don’t have a lot of time available each day (and who does?), don’t wait until you do! Instead, break down your goal into smaller tasks that can be done in less than 30 minutes each:

Write one sentence
Write three sentences
Edit your work

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Avoid Burnout By Splitting Your Writing Session Into Two Parts During The Day

First, you need to set aside time every day (or every day that you can) to get your writing done. You want to write as much as possible without burning out. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself so much that the idea of writing becomes stressful instead of inspiring.

I recommend setting aside two hours in the morning and two hours at night, or one hour before work and one after work whatever best suits your schedule and how much time you can spare.

That way, you’ll always have a chance at writing something good before bedtime or on weekends!

It’s important not just because it helps avoid burnout but also because it allows for better focus during those times when there are no distractions around us;

We’re able to think about what we’re going to write next without being interrupted by someone else coming into our office who needs help with their computer problems (which often takes up more time than expected).

Don’t Edit While Writing – Wait Until You Finish Your Draft

Like most people, I am a big fan of editing. I spend a good chunk of my time working on an article rewriting sentences and looking for ways to make them clearer, more concise, and easier to understand.

However, this is not the best strategy for writing articles. When you are writing an article, your editing brain needs to be put on hold because it can’t do any good until you are done with writing your draft.

The problem with editing while writing is that I can’t know what my sentence means if I haven’t written it yet (and also if I don’t know what comes after that sentence). The easiest way around this is just not to edit at all until the entire piece has been written!

Find Inspiration In Your Daily Life And Activities

Find Inspiration In Your Daily Life

Some of the best ideas come from the most unexpected places, so look for inspiration in the things you do every day. Whether it’s taking a walk, working out, cooking dinner, or driving to work you’ll likely find something to write about.

Find Inspiration In Your Daily Activities

Another way to find ideas is by thinking about new opportunities and experiences that you haven’t tried yet but would like to try sometime soon (or have already tried).

For example: If you’ve never been skydiving before but always wanted to give it a shot, write an article about what it’s like! Or if it’s been a while since your last trip abroad and you’re feeling adventurous again write an article about how fun traveling abroad can be!

Set An Achievable Goal And Build On It Every Day

To help you set an achievable goal, I’ve listed some questions to ask yourself when determining your goals. These questions will help you determine if the goal is specific enough to be measurable and time-based.

If it’s not specific enough, then it’s not measurable, which means there’s no way of knowing if the goal has been achieved.

There are many other factors involved in setting an achievable goal, for example, it needs to be challenging yet realistic but this list is a good starting point for any writer looking for inspiration on where to begin.

Be Patient With Yourself When You Can’t Find Motivation

There will be times when you can’t find a reason to write. You’ve run out of ideas and inspiration, and the words just aren’t coming. In these moments, it’s important not to get frustrated with yourself or think that this means you’re a failure as a writer. Instead, try some of these tips:

Don’t be hard on yourself. This is part of the process! It’s OK if you don’t feel like writing every day you’ll learn more from taking time off than forcing yourself into an impossible situation (and who wants that?).

Don’t worry about results right now. The first step toward improvement is just doing something consistently over time; there’s no need to stress about whether it will work immediately or not!

Ask for help if necessary. But remember that you are writing for yourself here! You can only improve if you know what your strengths and weaknesses are;

So don’t be afraid to ask others what they think when they read your posts (or even better, ask them beforehand!). Just make sure they give clear feedback without being too critical so as not

Sometimes, it’s essential to let go of certain writing habits to improve your craft. Explore the list of things you usually do in your writing that should be left alone to refine your approach and become a better writer.

Conclusion

I hope that this article has given you some ideas about how to become a more effective writer, and I’m sure you’ll notice your writing improving over time. If there is one thing I hope you take away from this post, it is the importance of being patient with yourself.

It’s easy to get discouraged by your inability to write perfect first drafts or keep churning out posts at an even pace.

However, if you remember that every day brings new challenges and opportunities, then it will be easier for you to stay motivated while also enjoying the journey toward better writing!

FAQs

How does overthinking affect writing productivity?

Overthinking can significantly hinder writing productivity by causing self-doubt, indecision, and creative blockages. It can lead to a lack of progress and quality in your writing projects.

What are some practical exercises to stop overthinking?

Engaging in mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing and meditation, can help redirect your focus away from overthinking. Additionally, setting time limits for decision-making and reframing negative thoughts are effective techniques.

Can overthinking impact mental well-being?

Yes, overthinking can negatively impact mental well-being by increasing stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue. It can lead to a cycle of worry and rumination that affects overall emotional health.

How can I break the cycle of overthinking in my writing process?

Implementing structured planning techniques, setting clear goals, and focusing on the present moment can help break the cycle of overthinking in your writing process. Creating a supportive environment and seeking feedback from others can also be beneficial.

Are there any writing-specific strategies to combat overthinking?

Yes, writing-specific strategies include setting aside dedicated writing time, outlining your content before diving in, and allowing yourself to write freely without judgment. These strategies can help reduce overthinking and promote a smoother writing experience.

Costantine Edward

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.