Over my many years of coaching writers, I have discovered that most writers fall into two different categories when it comes to their writing: they either do too much or too little. Either way, we can’t be productive.

Writers who do too much will register for every online workshop they find to get better at their craft. They will write in different genres and not even be aware of their brand. They just don’t give themselves enough time to think about where they want to be in their writing careers.

Writers who do too little either don’t spend enough time writing or they don’t have a good grasp of their writing goals. They don’t sit down to plan and set goals because they feel like they won’t be able to complete them anyway.

Many writers who do too little are unmotivated. They may also feel unworthy to go after what they really should in order to be successful. They live the good-enough mentality. They typically don’t try to get better at their craft, and they write so little every week that it hardly counts in the long run.

Writers who do too little will also leap at any distraction rather than sit down and write. And even when they do have the chance to write, they will spin their wheels doing busy work, such as cruising the internet, texting, or responding to emails instead of writing.

Ideally, writers should aim to be more balanced. There is nothing productive about doing little or nothing when you come to write. It’s not that it’s never okay to do little or nothing. Sometimes it’s nice to give your mind some breathing space to think and plan. Other times, thinking through a plot twist can be a good place to start. Just try not to turn every writing session into a lack of productivity.

So today try to decide if you are a writer who does too much or too little. Then create more balance in your writing life. In the process, you will be more productive and confident.

Try it!

Irene Roth