How To Keep Writing When Life Gets In The Way

You don’t need perfect conditions to keep writing—you need a plan. Here’s how to show up, even when life is doing its best to stop you.

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“Just keep writing,” they say. As if those three words are a magic spell that will banish burnout, fix your finances, heal your heartbreak, and refill your creative tank all at once.

Spoiler: they’re not.

Whether you’re a blogger trying to meet your self-imposed deadlines, a screenwriting hopeful facing yet another rejection, or a first-time non-fiction author wondering what possessed you to start this project in the first place—you are not alone. Life happens. Illness, family emergencies, surprise bills, breakups, breakdowns… and all while that blinking cursor continues to taunt you from a half-finished draft.

And yet—somehow—we want to keep going. We need to keep going. Because the writing matters. Because you matter. And because sometimes, even writing one messy sentence can feel like a small act of rebellion against chaos.

This guide isn’t about hustle. It’s not about productivity hacks. It’s about how to keep writing when the rest of your life is falling apart (or just mildly on fire).

Let’s talk about what that really looks like.

1. Redefine success for your current season

When you’re in a difficult season—whether it’s a health scare, a financial blow, or just the slow erosion of energy that comes with surviving—it’s not that you can’t write. It’s that the metrics you used to measure progress no longer apply.

Writers who are used to delivering high-quality work, hitting deadlines, and chasing ambitious word counts often struggle most (or stop writing completely) when life gets hard. Not because they’re lazy. But because they’ve built their identity around being the kind of person who gets it done. So when they can’t, they don’t just feel unproductive—they feel unmoored.

But a season of crisis demands a different definition of success.

• Sometimes success is writing one sentence that doesn’t make you want to quit.
• Sometimes it’s opening the document even if you don’t add to it.
• Sometimes it’s walking away before burnout turns into something worse.

Your first draft might be scattered. Your ideas might feel thin. Your writing process might shrink to scraps of time on your Notes app. But that’s not failure—it’s adaptation. And it’s part of your long-term survival as a writer.

You already know how to meet deadlines. What you’re building now is something harder: the ability to stay a writer when writing doesn’t come easily.

That’s a quieter kind of success. But it’s no less powerful.

2. Use micro-habits to help you keep writing

When your time, energy, and mental bandwidth are all running on fumes, the only way forward is smaller. Not weaker—smaller. Writing in miniature. Progress in fragments.

These little tricks can keep the writing muscle active—without requiring a full sit-down session. They work across formats, whether you’re drafting Kindle edition chapters, outlining a screenplay, cranking out academic writing, or trying to squeeze in blog posts between school pickups.

Here’s what helps:

• Try the 15-minute trick: Set a timer for 15 minutes and write whatever comes out. It’s short enough to silence perfectionism but long enough to build momentum. You don’t even have to finish a thought. Just get in.

• Use the “What if I just write one paragraph?” technique: If a full session feels impossible, try lowering the bar. What if I just write one sentence? One paragraph? One line of dialogue? One caption? If you want to stop after that, great. If not, hey—you’re writing.

• Record voice notes or podcast-style rambles while folding laundry: Thinking out loud counts. Sometimes, the idea is there, it just doesn’t want to go through your fingers. Let it come out of your mouth instead. Dictation is valid.

• Text a friend or email yourself mid-thought: Your phone number is now a writing tool. Got a phrase you like? A random metaphor? A half-baked argument? Text it to yourself before it disappears. Think of it as building your own weird little writing archive.

• Store everything in one low-pressure place: Whether it’s the Notes app, a Google Doc, or a messy draft in your inbox, have one catch-all where your scraps live. When you do have time to write again, you won’t be starting from zero—you’ll be stitching together gold.

3. Build a low-lift writing routine

You don’t need a four-hour morning block or a Pinterest-worthy writing desk to keep writing consistently. What you need is something you can actually repeat.

A low-lift routine means building something sustainable—something that fits your life, not someone else’s ideal. That might be 20 minutes before the kids wake up. Or 15 minutes in your car before a meeting. Or voice-noting story ideas while you walk the dog.

The key is repeatability. You’re not looking for maximum productivity. You’re looking for a rhythm you can return to—even when life is chaotic.

A few ways to create that rhythm:

• Rituals: Brew a cup of tea. Put on your “writing” playlist. Sit in the same spot every time. These cues tell your brain: we’re doing this now.

• Boundaries: Choose a time slot that doesn’t get sacrificed every time life throws a curveball. Guard it. Honor it.

• Expectations: If you only have ten minutes, write for ten minutes. Don’t waste those minutes wishing you had more.

📌 Pro Tip: Whether you’re juggling part-time gigs, a full-time job, or your first book draft, this kind of routine isn’t about squeezing more in. It’s about creating a space—however small—where your writing can keep living.

4. Create accountability without pressure

When everything feels like it’s falling apart, the last thing you need is a perfectionist drill sergeant in your head. But a little gentle accountability? That can work wonders.

Accountability isn’t about guilt or shame—it’s about staying connected to the version of you that still wants this writing career, even when things are hard.

A few ways to stay in it without adding pressure:

• Check in with your writing group. Share your word counts, your wins, your chaos. Even a “wrote 17 words today, send snacks” message helps.

• Post updates on social media. Not to impress anyone—just to remind yourself that you’re showing up. Other writers will get it.

• Join a challenge. A daily writing challenge or a podcast you follow can give you that nudge without feeling like homework.

• Treat your writing like a job. Not in the “you must suffer for your art” way—but in the “I have check-ins, progress markers, and a calendar” way. You don’t have to self-publish a Kindle edition next week. You do get to treat your writing skills like they matter.

📌 Pro Tip: This isn’t about pushing through writer’s block at all costs. It’s about creating a support system that nudges you forward—without adding another weight to carry.

5. Learn to write through (or with) the chaos

Perfectionism is the first place creativity goes to die.

If you’re waiting for a quiet house, a clean desk, and three uninterrupted hours to write, you may never get past the intro. Especially if you’re juggling a full-time job, parenting, caregiving, or just life.

Instead:

• Embrace messy drafts and split-focus sessions: The first draft is supposed to be ugly. That’s its entire job. Writing between distractions doesn’t make you less of a writer—it makes you a working one.

• Say yes to weird workflows: Screenwriting in the car line? Kindle chapters tapped out in your Notes app? Recording voice memos while folding laundry? It counts. All of it counts.

• Forget perfect conditions: You’re not waiting for inspiration. You’re creating it—mid-chaos, mid-commute, mid-crisis.

📌 Pro Tip: The writers who finish books, publish newsletters, or who’re self-publishing books on Amazon aren’t always the ones with the most time. They’re the ones who keep writing anyway.

6. When to rest, not quit

Sometimes the most professional thing a writer can do is close the laptop.

Yes, consistency matters. Yes, showing up is important. But white-knuckling your way through burnout doesn’t build a career—it builds resentment. And that always shows up on the page.

The key is knowing the difference between needing rest and wanting to quit.

• If you dread the page but love the work, you probably need a break.
• If you’re constantly exhausted or irritable, your brain might be begging for recovery.
• If you’re questioning every idea before you even start, your inner editor might just need to be sent on vacation.

Instead of walking away entirely, try what I call “unstructured writing” days—no targets, no goals, no deadlines. Just the joy of stringing words together without consequence. Maybe that looks like journaling. Maybe it’s a messy Google Doc no one will ever see. Maybe it’s just letting yourself think like a writer without immediately producing something.

Rest doesn’t mean you’re falling behind.

It means you’re choosing to come back stronger.

Keep writing—even if it’s just one word at a time

You don’t need a perfect routine, a perfect mindset, or a perfectly clean desk to keep writing.

You just need the next word.

Whether you’re gunning for a Kindle bestseller, chipping away at academic writing, or finally facing down your first book draft—consistency beats intensity, every time. Show up. Scribble. Mumble into your notes app. None of it is wasted.

You’re not behind. You’re becoming.

Need help building a sustainable writing routine that works in real life (not just on productivity TikTok)?

Join Wordling Plus for tools that meet you where you are: productivity systems, training sessions, creative accountability, and a community of writers who get it.

Because your big idea isn’t going to write itself—but we’ll help make sure you do.