By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD

To be happy involves feeling satisfied with the progress you are making toward your life goals. If you are a writer, completing writing projects is likely part of those goals. Therefore, you feel good when you sit down to write. However, I bet there are days when you don’t feel like writing, even if you know it will ultimately bring you joy. So, how can you motivate yourself on those days?

Here, I share three strategies that can motivate you to write, especially when you’re not feeling up to it.

Break down a big task into small tasks

Some writing projects can feel overwhelming due to the cognitive load they involve, making it difficult to stay motivated. One strategy to tackle such projects is to break them down into smaller, manageable tasks and focus on one task at a time. For example, if you are writing a book, instead of trying to address an entire chapter (a big task), you can focus on a specific argument you want to make within a section of that chapter (a small task). The smaller the task, the better. By dividing a large project into smaller tasks and focusing on one at a time, you can boost your motivation through a positive feedback loop. Completing small tasks is easier, and finishing each one gives you a sense of accomplishment, releasing dopamine. As a result, you feel good and motivated to tackle the next small task. As you consistently work through these small tasks, you will find that you make steady progress, ultimately leading to the completion of your writing projects.

Write for five minutes

As Timothy Pychyl, the author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle, states, “motivation should follow action, not the other way around.” This means that you shouldn’t wait to feel motivated to write; instead, you should start writing in order to generate motivation. You can implement Pychyl’s advice by setting a timer for five minutes. Don’t be surprised if you end up writing for longer than that. This is a sign that starting to write has given you the motivation to continue. The most difficult part is often getting started, but once you begin working on a task, it becomes much easier to keep going and make progress. As Pychyl explains, “If we make even a little bit of progress on a goal, it fuels our well-being, and that’s when we intersect with motivation.”

Be true to your word

In her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, author and hospice specialist Bronnie Ware interviewed hundreds of people on their deathbeds. She asked them what their biggest regret was and one of the most common responses was “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” You can apply Ware’s findings to motivate yourself to write by being true to your word. The more consistently you keep your promises to yourself, the more you will build trust in yourself and feel satisfied with your progress toward your life goals. As a result, you will accomplish things that make you proud and feel that you are living a life true to yourself. As Ryder Carroll, the author of The Bullet Journal Method, points out, “One of the simplest and most powerful things you can do to transform your life is to be true to your word.”

In short, you can use the following strategies to motivate yourself to write: (a) break down a big task into small tasks, (b) write for five minutes, (c) be true to your word. These strategies will not only help you make progress on your writing projects but also boost your happiness.

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Angelica Ribeiro is a writer, researcher, and professor. She is the author of How to Create Happiness at Work, Running into Happiness, and My Happiness Habit Journal. She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a focus on English as a second language from Texas A&M University. She has taught English learners and preservice teachers in the United States and Brazil for over 25 years. Angelica has several publications on second language acquisition. She works as a professor in higher education and helps others benefit from her happiness research. When she was a Ph.D. student, Angelica struggled with balancing her academic commitments and personal life, which motivated her to embark on a journey to increase happiness. Her journey was so successful that now she encourages others to create happiness in their busy lives by sharing science-based strategies. Visit https://www.creatinghappiness.today