We’re doing a short series on writing habits, and yesterday we talked about the pathway to your writing dreams, which is writing habits.

You can have all the marketing skills in the world, all the business skills, all the opportunities… but without the writing habit to actually produce the work, none of those things will help.

With that in mind, today I’ll share three simple observations about writing habits.

Observation #1: A habit helps ensure you get the work done.

A habit is just a mechanism that increases the likelihood you will do the work. There is nothing magical about it. It just helps ensure that the magic will happen.

But here’s the thing: you have to commit to the habit before the magic will happen. It’s just like digging a well. You have to put the work in before the water will flow.

The water is not going to magically flow to you… you have to give the water a pathway to flow to you, and a writing habit is that pathway.

Observation #2: A habit that works for someone else doesn’t always work for you.

There is a big danger in the writing world: we see what works for other people and we want to use it as a shortcut to our own success.

But it doesn’t really work that way. You have your own life, obligations, energy, and sense of flow. Seeing what works for others can be a guide for us, but it doesn’t always work to copy it outright.

That’s why you need to develop a writing habit that is specific to the time, location, and tools you use.

Observation #3: A routine takes time to establish.

Experts differ on how long it should take to establish a new habit. Some say 21 days, others say 30 days, and some say 40 or 60 days. No matter how you slice it, it’s going to take some time—a minimum of three or four weeks.

It’s important to understand going into it that you will be uncomfortable for a little while until the habit feels normal. But nobody ever became successful by being comfortable.

There you go: three observations about habits. Tomorrow we’ll start diving into some specific ways to develop a writing habit that can change your life.

Today’s Challenge: Ask yourself if the idea of building a new habit sounds exciting or intimidating. Why do you feel that way?