Productivity is key in modern-day writing. Clients and platforms expect content faster than ever, making focus and consistency essential for modern writers. A writer in any field needs to be focused, consistent and capable of quality content at short notice.
In this quick guide, we’ll touch on 3 helpful habits to boost productivity and how things have changed in the last year alone.
Key Takeaways
- The biggest change in 2025 is the influx of AI tools and the mass adoption of them among writers.
- Routine is often as important as craft.
- Quality writing is less about a single productivity hack and more about building a suite of good practices.
Keep Apps to the Essentials
Sometimes everything that surrounds writing can take up more of your thinking than writing itself. Try to ask, “Is this app essential? Is it boosting my productivity, or swallowing more time than it’s saving?”
You might stick to a writing app that blocks distractions, a single notes app, and a VPN running quietly in the background during research so regional blocks don’t interrupt your flow (there are several well-reviewed VPNs and extensions, such as the ExpressVPN Chrome extension, which will feel a natural part of your research flow within the browser itself).
These low maintenance tools boost productivity rather than merely make us feel like we’re doing something useful – which, during the age of TikTok and “productivity hacks”, is an easy trap to fall into.
Use AI Tools Carefully
A 2025 Siege Media + Wynter study found that nine out of ten content marketers plan to use AI to support their work this year – up from 83.2% last year and just 64.7% the year before. In other words, AI has gone from a novelty to a near-universal tool in under three years.
But AI tools are just that – tools. They shouldn’t replace human creativity if you want your work to be original and interesting. We’re in a precarious place in writing education; a recent guest article in the New York Times by a professor of creative writing at Yale University outlined the concerns.
Meghan O’Rourke said that today’s students are encouraged to use AI, but often accused of cheating when they do. O’Rourke said that a recent Yale graduate predicted that students were unlikely to be taught how to write in the future; AI would do it for them. One of O’Rourke’s proposals is for colleges to start weekly in-person writing sessions where students write without access to AI.
But even those who are cautious of AI often accept its benefits. O’Rourke experimented with telling AI tools who to be (a literary writer prioritising sentence rhythm; a busy working mother with a fussy-eating child, etc) and was impressed with the results. The professor stated that it’s so much better than just a year ago and they couldn’t imagine what it would look like in five years.
One use case of AI that’s more widely accepted than some is drafting. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and the like can all produce rough drafts to speed up the process. One writer at Tom’s Guide, Amanda Caswell, recently detailed how a combination of Claude and Wispr Flow (AI voice dictation) had improved her drafting process. When they’re stuck for a story idea, they walk around the house and talk. Claude responds, and a useful conversation begins.
Build a Practical Daily Routine
When things are done without much thought, they’re easier. Unfortunately, it’s easier to build bad habits than good ones, because the bad habits give immediate reinforcement. Writing for Psychology Today, Thomas Rutledge Ph.D. discussed how we can include reinforcement when building positive habits. When establishing an exercise routine, we can use a workout log to visualize progress; we can build in “competition, cooperation, novelty, or adventure”.
Building a writing routine can work similarly. If your progress feels visible and rewarding, rather than abstract (“I might finish that book next year”), you’re more likely to continue being productive. A simple daily word log or progress tracker can provide reinforcement. When we’re most productive, writing is something tangible rather than a vague ambition.
You might set a timer for your first sprint of the day, aiming to beat yesterday’s word count (competition with yourself). Or have daily check-in calls with a writing partner (cooperation). Writing in a new coffee shop or library, or experimenting with a new prompt, introduces some novelty.
You can also experiment with time-blocking. You might set aside the first couple of hours for drafting and editing, then a half an hour for admin, for example. To build more of a routine and make work more automatic, and essentially less effortful, you could pair these work blocks with small rewards like a walk in nature, a dance to your favourite songs, or a little hot drink ritual.
Last Word
Over time, these small reinforcements make sitting down to write rewarding rather than forced. Productivity in writing isn’t about chasing every new tool or hack. The best writers use technology with a balanced approach to encourage creativity through routine and stay consistent enough for ideas to take shape.