“New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do.
And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome.
For this reason, your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”
— James Clear
Something to think about today, especially if you’re scrambling to hit a deadline (no judgment, I see you). Writers love goals.
- 10,000 words a week.
- Six books a year.
- Hit the next income tier.
- Launch to a bigger list.
Goals are shiny. Goals feel productive. Goals look impressive in a planner. But goals don’t write books. Habits do.
The producing writer—by which I mean the writer who actually produces words consistently—lives a boring life. There, I said it.
Writing takes time. Time requires routine. Routine means today looks suspiciously like yesterday. You get up. You sit down. You write. You do it again tomorrow. There is very little cinematic montage involved.
You can’t be a producing author if you’re so busy you can only figure out what city you’re in by looking at your calendar. Constant novelty might be exciting, but it’s hostile to word count.
I talk to my mum every day. Quite often, one or both of us says, “I have nothing to report today.” She calls that boring and laughs about how dull our lives are.
Exactly.
That “nothing to report” life? That’s the life that services creativity.
It’s the life where:
- Your brain isn’t constantly reorienting itself.
- Your energy isn’t burned up by chaos.
- Your writing session has a predictable place to live.
The indie writer who produces consistently isn’t chasing outcomes. They’re protecting processes. They’re not obsessing over results. They’re building a lifestyle that makes results inevitable.
And a lifestyle is just habits stacked quietly on top of each other until one day you look up and realize you’ve written another book.
If you want more words, don’t ask, “How do I hit a bigger goal?” Ask: What would my daily life have to look like for writing to be normal?
Build that.
Let the rest be boring.
And then let the books pile up.
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