This is a guest article by Adam Robertson. If you want to submit a guest article of your own, be sure to read the guest article guidelines.
Every writer, regardless of the niche they are working in, often faces problems with being creative and productive. This may be due to a number of different factors, some of which may not occur to you straight away but are worth thinking about and implementing. These will be outlined in terms of the practical ways you can avoid or minimise them.
Negative environmental factors
A primary factor affecting your creativity, and hence your productivity, is your work environment. Poor lighting, ventilation and temperature are three things that can have adverse effects on your work, but another aspect could be a problem with your office furniture.
If you are using a standard office chair, it could have negative implications for your posture, and your work performance can be affected as a result. An ergonomic office chair is a better alternative for your comfort and increasing your productivity.
The features of an ergonomic office chair which make it so appropriate for writing work are: adjustable seat height, adequate width and depth (usually wider and deeper than standard chairs), back support, adjustable armrests and a facility to swivel for ease of movement within the home office space.
All these features are prerequisites for writing comfort in the context of enabling the user to sit for long periods of time.
With an ergonomic office chair, your writing work will no longer be compromised by limited creativity and production that is directly related to the comfort of your chair in your environment. The potential for back problems and discomfort caused by using a traditional office chair are eliminated when you use an ergonomic one.
Lack of organisation and planning of work
In every type of writing, a certain amount of planning is necessary to maintain an optimum level of creativity and productivity. For some writers, this involves using a pen and paper to take note to plan and organise their input on the keyboard. Other writers prefer to use software tools such as Evernote or Trello to keep themselves organised.
Whatever your preference, don’t let your productivity and creativity be compromised by failing to plan and organise what you do.
Inadequate research and knowledge
It is clear that your production level will be reduced if you don’t know what you are talking about. To produce quality work, it’s essential to research and assimilate what you have learned before you use your skill as a writer to outline what you have learned.
It is very satisfying creatively to learn something new and be able to portray what you have learned to a high standard with the written word which is the hallmark of good writers everywhere.
Lack of creative hobbies
Spending time on stimulating leisure activities will boost your productivity and creativity as a writer. As well as this, these activities will be good downtime from your writing activity to avoid burnout and reaching the point of “diminishing return”.
The latter means the more you put in the less you get out. Companies who encourage their employees to avail of leisure facilities and even shorter working weeks get more productivity from their staff. The same applies to writers.
Not getting enough rest
This is an important one, and has obvious implications for creativity and productivity. As well as having hobbies as outlined above, adequate sleep and rest is paramount for writing efficiently.
There is nothing wrong with working longer hours now and again to meet deadlines, but if you do it on a regular basis, your writing will be adversely affected.
Not working smart
Doing the priority things that will have the most impact on your writing creativity and productivity will pay dividends in the long run. Being busy doesn’t always equate with being productive if you aren’t choosing the tasks that are a priority and being disciplined about implementing them.
Not brainstorming
Using brainstorming as a technique is useful for increasing productivity and creativity in your writing. Indeed, it is a useful prerequisite to planning and organising as outlined above.
Brainstorming is best done in a “flight of ideas” way without any structure to stimulate your creativity about the subject matter you have chosen to write about. When you have completed it, it’s possible to put a structure on your ideas before you write.
Developing a technique of brainstorming is one of the best things you can do to increase creativity and productivity.
Conclusion
Try and picture a scene where you are sitting in your ergonomic office chair, well rested and comfortable and in the process of brainstorming your way to your next assignment or chosen enterprise in your writing.
It is easy to imagine why this is more conducive to more productive, creative output than if you were cold, tired and sitting in a chair that has a negative impact on your posture and comfort.
As a writer, you want to make the best use of your time to learn and grow as well as seeing the fruits of your labour. The advice and information outlined here should help you to do that better.
About the author: This article was written by Adam Robertson. Adam is a professional in the office furnishings industry. He works for Allard Office Furniture, an office furniture company based in Canning Town London, which has 18 years of shared experience in office desks, chairs, supplies and accessories.