The Article Writing Productivity Checklist

The easiest way to deal with distractions is to avoid them and be organised. This way, you can remain single-minded on your task. Before starting to write articles, use this checklist to make sure you’re well prepared and have no excuses to leave your desk.

Set your goal and deadline for your project e.g. “I’ll finish writing a series of 10 articles on (topic) by Friday, 3pm”.

Set your goal for the day and next writing session e.g. “I’ll finish one article by midday”.

Turn off your email software.

Switch off your phone.

Stock up with tissues, coffee and water, if required.

Have your toilet break now.

Clear your desk and only keep the following handy:

Memo pad to scribble down any distracting idea e.g. ‘I must email John’. By delegating your thoughts to your pad, you’ll free your mind and be able to continue on with your writing. At a break, you can attend to these distractions.

Swipe file to keep as reference. A swipe file or collection of resources can include news clips of striking headlines and quotes that inspire you. They make a good starting point to stimulate your creativity and prevent writer’s block.

Ideas log to refer to if you run out of ideas. Your ideas log is the little notebook that you carry around where you’ve recorded ideas that have popped to your mind.

Existing Material to repurpose. You may want to include snippets from your existing brochures or workbooks into your articles.

Research notes to document your articles. Your research should be finished by now so don’t return to research as you write. This would only steer you away from your writing goal.

Templates to organise your thoughts and give them a structure. Starting with a layout is more inspiring than a blank page.

Digital recorder and Speech Recognition Software: If you prefer speaking than writing, use these tools. They will increase your productivity as we speak faster than we write.

Thesaurus and Dictionary for the editing stage only.

Organising your environment is the first step towards preparing yourself mentally to enter the ‘zone’, writer’s heaven.