How to Write Faster (21 Best Tips to Increase Productivity)

Writing content is an extremely important part of your business.

In fact, it could be one of the most important factors for growth and success. Finding the time to write is hard enough as it is, finding ways to be productive can be even harder.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ THE DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO. Which means if you click on certain links, Bramework may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.

Not only do you have to do heavy research for content marketing, but you also have to dedicate time to the actual writing. You also have to muster up the energy to make it stand out. Lastly, you have to do this over and over again.

Just to help, we’ve compiled a few statistics that will motivate you to get writing:

• 42% of B2B marketers state they’re effective at content marketing
• 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading content from them
• 90% of CMOs think content has a positive effect on audience attitudes, strengthening the bond with consumers
• 90% of consumers find custom content useful
• 78% believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them
• 8 out of 10 people prefer receiving information about a company through content
• 70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads
• 68% are likely to spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in

Time to grab some coffee and get writing? See, we are already increasing your productivity.

We are going to review how to write faster with 21 best tips to increase productivity.

Tip #1 – Set Up a Content Calendar

Before you even begin writing, it’s important to see the path clearly. If you have multiple projects you’re working on, you need to set up the content calendar so you can see the end in sight.

Setting up a content calendar includes creating a spreadsheet of your projects, a calendar of deadlines and maybe a cute color-coded goal to guide you. Color coding is optional, but fun. There are so many different content calendar guidelines out there, however, HubSpot really nails it.

In order to truly be productive, you do have to see the path clearly. Have fun with it!

Tip #2 – Block Your Calendar

Once your calendar is beautiful, you have a clear insight into what you need to do. Don’t be overwhelmed!

Break your calendar out into blocked times when you know you can be available. If your calendar is looking tight, you will need to adjust your content schedule. It’s completely alright to break out writing times in smaller chunks rather than large windows of time.

If you know you need thirty-minute increments, block them out accordingly. If you know you write better for four straight hours, block it out. The fun thing is you can also color-code your calendar. Add all the colors to all the calendars!

Tip #3 – Take Small Steps

When you sit down to a blank page and you have multiple projects it can be very daunting. When you are learning how to write faster, you need the motivation to be productive.

Since you can only write one word at a time, it’s important to remember to take smaller steps. When you are learning how to write faster, that doesn’t mean you need to write bigger. Breaking out your content into smaller chunks will help your brain to compute each piece separately.

When you look at a smaller puzzle, it’s easier to solve. Take it one step at a time. When you are done you can look back and be proud you tackled that big piece! After all, the journey begins with one step.

Tip #4 – Write How You Talk

Formality and professionalism are critical when you are crafting a piece of content. If you want to be productive while writing, you will need to find a balance between being too formal and being too real.

The simple lesson is to write how you talk. When you are writing naturally, you will write faster. If you are trying to write in a foreign way, your brain will not understand the process.

If you write how you talk (without the slang), you will find it flows out of you, increasing your productivity and making your content better. It’s a win-win.

Writing how you talk will also resonate better with your audience, trust us.

Tip #5 – Take Notes

This may sound counterintuitive to increasing productivity as it may take longer to take some notes. However, hear us out. Notetaking is a science that helps you to break down the information in your brain before putting it all together.

Taking notes does not have to be very in-depth. It doesn’t have to be pretty, although there are some very pretty notepads out there. Scrawling out a few notes on the article before you write it can help to piece together the content easily.

Take some notes and see where it takes you. Your notes could even spark creativity for a new piece.

Tip #6 – Know Your Audience

Learning how to write faster does not mean you can skimp on your research. Being a good writer means you are in tune with your audience. If you aren’t, that may stop you from writing good content and writing it fast.

There are several different tools that can help you know your audience. If you are in the content marketing world you may know a few. The biggest one is to know your Google Analytics, of course.

Be sure to also check out BuzzSumo, Moz, Ahrefs or SEMRush for some techniques on learning who is reading your content. Writing faster still means you need to do your homework.

Tip #7 – Create an Outline

Everyone writes differently. We aren’t trying to tell you how to write, we are trying to teach you how to write faster. Creating an outline sometimes helps that!

The best way to create an outline is to build out your headings first. Content marketing basics state that you will most likely have an outline prior to building content anyways.

Here’s how to do that:

• Break out all the headings based on the topics you have chosen.

• Break out subheadings if needed.

• Then break out the coffee, because it’s time to write.

Tip #8 – Prepare Your Meals

This may seem very silly, but a writer’s got to eat! Eating prior to writing can fuel the brain to write faster, better and with more vigor.

The brain needs fuel to survive, but that doesn’t mean that you have time to sit down to a full course meal. Preparing your meals prior to your deadlines is a good idea to increase productivity.

Knowing you have to cook or do dishes is another thing on your todo list that takes up your time. Take a Sunday, prepare out your meals for the week and voila! You have officially freed up time to write faster. After all, preparation is everything.

Tip #9 – Sit, Stand and Move

A recent quote from Bill Gates is rather scary. He stated, “Sitting is the new cancer.” Writing doesn’t always have to involve sitting.

There are several ways you can write now that we have innovative technology and ergonomics to help us. Write enough content where you can buy yourself a standing desk. Grab an exercise ball to move your hips on while you write. Or be sure your ergonomics on your desk are appropriate so you don’t cripple your body while trying to learn how to write faster.

Also, friendly reminder, get up and move once in a while.

Tip #10 – Edit at the End

We don’t advise plowing through your content blindly by any means. However, sometimes it helps productivity to write fast without editing to see what flows.

Write all of your content first, get the bulk of it on the paper and then go back at the end to make all the tedious revisions. Breaking up the writing and editing can slow down the process as it takes away from the mindset of creating content.

Write, write and keep writing! You will fix it up later.

Tip #11 – Allow a Stream of Consciousness

This goes right along with editing your content at the end. The science behind writing is that your mind does need to be fully in it to be successful.

The art of journaling is a wonderful way to create content that comes from the heart. Remember those diaries you kept as a kid? You wrote about anything you wanted and it all came from you naturally.

Keep a journalistic mindset and write until you feel you can’t write anymore. You will be surprised at what you can come up with and how fast you can write it with this tip. Just don’t start your writing with, dear diary…… Click To Tweet

Tip #12 – Don’t Look at Deadlines

There is something about deadlines that raise our blood pressure, get our heart beating faster and add stress to our lives. We do need them to survive, especially in the content marketing world, however, we don’t need to obsess over them.

When you create your content calendar and block out your schedule you have done enough to know when your writing is due. If you need a reminder, you can check it once but that’s it. Leave the deadline alone until you know you are near completion. Stay on track.

Tip #13 – Turn Off Notifications

Distraction is everywhere. You have multiple pieces of technology notifying you daily. It’s time to tune some of that out while you write.

When you are trying to increase productivity and learn how to write faster, you need to unplug. Don’t unplug the computer you are writing on, of course! Turn your phone on airplane mode, turn your reminders off and dig in.

Don’t text and write.

Tip #14 – Put on Music

To be a little more specific here, put on music that is helpful to your writing. Blaring hard rock or rap music may be counterintuitive to learning how to write faster.

There is a science behind white noise or music without words. It is said that putting on classical music fuels the brain cells to be smarter, work harder and faster. There are few streaming sites on YouTube that are uninterrupted, without words and help promote productivity.

Check out Chillhop music, Lofi Hip-hop or BGMC channels for instrumental music. Kick back, enjoy the tunes and write your heart out.

Tip #15 – Breathe

While you are writing, you still need to breathe. The art of meditation is a proven stress reliever and will help during the various stages of writing.

Don’t stop during your writing sessions to take a meditation class, however, learn the art of methodic, deep breaths in order to regulate your workflow.

Writing comes from your energy, which is the center of your chi. Centering your chi with breaths will help you to write faster, better, and longer. Just breathe.

Tip #16 – Set Goals

Going beyond your content calendar and your schedule, you will need to set goals for yourself. These goals can be personal, professional or physical.

A great tool for goals is the Pomodoro daily journal. The philosophy is you set five goals a day that are relatively small and if you have achieved those, you have completed your goals. This helps you to focus your attention when you are zoned into fewer things.

You don’t need to complete hundreds of things in a day, just five. Simplify your goals and achieve more.

Tip #17 – Take Five

We all know that breaks are healthy for the brain. The question is when to take them and how long should you take them for?

When you are learning how to write faster, you will need to know your body’s ability to absorb that. When you are staring at your screen for hours, your body will need a break.

Take five minutes to look away from the screen and focus on something natural. Look out the window, or better yet, go outside! Just take five minutes away from the writing and go back with a fresh new perspective.

Tip #18 – Keep Your Workspace Clear

We all know the saying, a messy desk makes a master scholar. Not so much! Those that have a desk full of mess also have more to distract them from learning how to write faster.

Keeping your workspace clear is also a metaphor for keeping your mind clear. When your space is open, so is your mind. When you can spread out your wings to write, you can write better and faster.

Clear your space up a bit, but keep the computer. Just a tip.

Tip #19 – Set a Timer

For those of you that simply cannot keep track of time, this one will help a lot. Get yourself a little timer or use your phone to break out the times you will need to concentrate fully.

Having a timer keeps you hyper-focused on what you doing. It’s along the same lines of those that work on deadlines. If you feel that having a countdown will help you pump out content faster, by all means, do it!

Time yourself, how fast can you write?

Tip #20 – Have Multiple Screens

We know we mentioned to clear your workspace, but that does not include computers. Having multiple monitors will allow for greater space to write.

If you can set up your workspace so that you have a few computers running or a monitor where there can be multiple tabs open you will increase your productivity. Working on a small laptop can be cumbersome to your body and mind.

Spread out your writing, making everything bigger and easier to digest. Your writing will thank you for it.

Tip #21 – Listen to Your Inner Voice

Ending this on a personal note, we encourage you to listen to your inner voice when you are writing. If you are going to tackle how to write faster you need to trust your intuition.

Listening to your inner voice includes reading your energy levels, following your instincts, and understanding your thresholds. Don’t push yourself too far where you break. Know your limits and adhere to them.

Write what you can, take breaks and listen to your trusty self. No one knows you better than yourself. Health first!

Write Faster Wrap Up

Writing faster can save you time, energy and money. Don’t rush through your writing just to get it done, instead learn how to use these tips to increase productivity.

At Bramework, we help your content get more click-throughs, more subscribers, and more engagement in a fraction of the time it takes you to create a blog post. Our platform uses an AI content creator to increase your search ranking and get you seen by the right audience.

We hope these tips have helped you to learn how to write faster and better. If you have any writing tips that you would like to share with us, please do! We would love to hear from you.

Happy writing!

UP NEXT: 21 Best Tools for Blogging

(Original Article Date: November 27, 2020/Updated May 4, 2021)