5 Tips to Help you write in the Morning.
5 Tips to Help you write in the Morning.
Writing early in the morning can yield some of the most creative and productive results for your writing. You may immediately cringe at the idea of waking up early in the morning but there is evidence and plenty of examples of well-known writers that back up this opinion. The strongest reason why you should wake up early to do your writing is when your willpower is at its highest. Think about it, early in the morning you don’t have the stress of the day, text messages, phone calls, countless emails, and last-minute auditions coming at you and tearing down your willpower. You can focus more intensely because your brain knows that the amount of distractions will be extremely low since everyone else is fast asleep. Studies have also shown that creativity in your brain is highest during and after you sleep. The greatest evidence for this is when we dream. It is why Thomas Edison was known as the power napper and felt that his greatest ideas came after he napped. As support to my opinion, here are a few well-known writers and when they woke up to write. (Research from brainpickings.org)
Benjamin Franklin - 5am
Earnest Hemingway - 6am
Roger Ebert - 7am
Charles Dickens - 7am
Stephen King - 8am
It is also easier to develop a consistent habit and ritual when you write early in the morning. Are there exceptions, of course, there are. Is this a law, of course not. And different types of writing like blogging, can be better at night. However, based on my experience, studies and examples of well-known writers, writing early in the morning is a very effective and productive way to accomplish your creative writing.
5 Tips for Writing Early in the Morning
1. Wake up at least one hour before you normally do to get your day ready. I try to do 1.5 to 2 hours. When I feel very inspired the night before, I wake up at 4:45 am and work for two hours. When I am not inspired, I wake up at 6 am or 7 am and work for at least half an hour.
2. Have a few notes written down the night before you go to bed, from either research or inspiration. This will help your subconscious work for you while you are asleep and help you get into a flow state in the morning.
3. Leave your Mac or PC open so it’s ready to go when you wake up and you can just start your writing. You don’t want to be waiting for anything to turn on early in the morning, not the best way to stay motivated.
4. Don’t check your email. Resist the urge first thing in the morning to check your email. After the first hour of work, you can reward yourself by checking your email. Checking your email first thing will drastically break your focus and willpower.
5. Coffee or tea to help the habit be more enjoyable. Brewing coffee or making tea first thing in the morning can have a nice positive hypnosis effect on you.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think to enjoy, to love”
- Marcus Aurelius