Why You Don't Have to Write Every Day (and What to Do Instead‪)‬ Academic Writing Amplified

This might shock you, but I’m a writing coach that doesn’t believe you should try to write every day. In fact, writing every day could be counterproductive to your writing goals. 
 
Everyone wants to write and publish more. Academia demands it; it’s how we get jobs, keep jobs, and get promoted. More importantly, it’s how we influence our field, get our message out to the world, and spread knowledge that can help change lives. But how do we do it? 
 
Many sources push a system of writing every day, no matter what. In this episode, I’m going to share why trying to write every day can be a bad idea, and what you can do instead. 
 
Writing Every Day isn’t for Everyone When you research how to be more productive in your writing, you might find answers like: “Do it every day. Don’t miss a day. Hit a word count. Get accountability systems so that you continue to write every day.” 
 
If the “write every day” method appeals to you, then please, do it!
 
But as an academic mom of three, this has never worked for me. And this method can have negative consequences for your writing. 
 
“It can actually be counterproductive to write daily.”
 
Why Trying to Write Every Day Could Be Counterproductive If you are trying to force yourself to write every day, you could be setting yourself up for failure. 
 
Here’s why a goal of writing every day can backfire:
 
1. You slip and feel guilty. If your goal is to write every day, what happens when you don’t? What happens when your kid gets a fever, your department chair need a fire put out, or you yourself wake up sick? You miss a day, and then you feel guilty. 
 
“Guilt is the biggest obstacle to writing and publishing more.”
 
Guilt stamps down writing spark and creativity. It pretty much guarantees that you will feel worse when you sit down to try again. You need a system that sets you up for success, so you feel good about sitting down to write, every time. 
 
2. Not All Writing Sessions are Created Equal. Have you ever sat down to write and the words just flowed out of you? 
 
At other times, have you sat down to write just one paragraph and ended up writing five words and deleting three over and over, so that by the end of your session you only had a sentence or two?
 
That’s because not all writing sessions are created equal. 
 
“You need to be setting yourself up to write during your ‘flow’ times, and to deliberately avoid writing at other times.”
 
If your writing system is simply to write every day, you might be hitting your flow time and you might not. 
 
When you don’t hit those “flow” times, but sit down and try to bang out a certain number of words anyway, you could be creating a negative feedback loop between you and your writing. You write, you feel bad, you write, you feel bad. Then you might stop. Or you might end up dreading to write. That’s not what we want! 
 
So what is a system that takes advantage of times you are in flow, and cuts out the guilt? I call it Tiger Time, a name I borrowed from entrepreneur Amy Porterfield.
Tiger Time: What Is It and How Can It Help You? Using tiger time creates positive feedback loops around your writing. The tiger time system works well for those who struggle with guilt, because it gives you permission to not be writing all the time. It breaks writing up into smaller time slots and makes it a regular habit. And it can help you find your writing “spark” because you are writing during your most naturally energized and productive times.
 
“Write during your best, most focused, most high energy times, and do not write at other times.”
 
So how do you implement the tiger time system?   
1. Identify your “tiger time”. To find your tiger time, keep a journal for 5 days. About every hour, pull out your journal and reflect on how you’re feeling, then mark that hour with a color based on this key:
 
Green: t