I Never Thought I Would Become A Consistent Writer

Till I Put Across A System That Is Now Helping Me To Become One

For the longest time, I thought writing consistently would always remain a "someday" dream for me.

You know, the classic thoughts of:

• "When work is lighter..."

• "When weekends are freer..."

• "When life is less chaotic..."

But for some reason, for me, that "someday" wasn’t really happening.

-Life wasn’t slowing down.

-Work in no ways was getting lighter.

-Weekends weren’t getting freed up, in fact they were getting all the more busy (friends, family, house chores etc.)

I always used to look at folks over different platforms churning out content after content, and always used to be puzzled at how they manage such discipline.

And no, not all of these folks are full time creators. Some of them have full time jobs, but were still putting out content as if they have all the time in the world.

I was perplexed at what they were doing right and I was not. I’ll be honest it did bother me a little.

But I guess that was the agitation I needed to to start changing things for myself.

So instead of waiting for perfect conditions, I decided to start building a system.

And it has changed everything.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Here's What My System Looks Like Today:

Monday to Friday: I work a full-time job that runs from 2 PM to 11 PM (plus/minus 1 hour depending on the meetings) as I need to interact with a lot of US based folks across different time zones.

Which means my prime creative hours are mostly early mornings.

Every Morning (before work): I spend about an hour reading what's trending on LinkedIn, X and Substack.

This is all intentional scrolling as compared to just scrolling mindlessly to gather inspiration for my content (I still haven’t figured out my niche, so I have multiple avenues to gather ideas from currently.)

It helps me identify:

• What are people talking about?

• What gaps can I fill?

• What fresh angles can I bring?

I just jot down these ideas in my mobile’s Notes app, not even thinking about how or what I am going to write about for them.

Weekends: This is my dedicated "creation time."

I draft long-form articles on Substack/Medium based on the ideas gathered through the week.

By the time you read this, it would be afternoon on a Monday (Indian Standard Time), whereas this article was drafted and published on Sunday, along with 2 other articles.

Because I already have topics lined up, there's (mostly) no "creative blocks" over weekends.

I also pair it along with having my favourite snack or a cup of coffee + my favourite songs which allows me to do deep work and write better. (Dopamine Hack ftw! Will talk about this in a separate article)

Scheduling: Once written, I schedule these articles to be published throughout the week, split across 2 maybe 3 days.

This removes the burden of having to think “What should I post today?”

Recycling Content: I have also started to break down longer articles into smaller posts for LinkedIn, X, and Substack Notes.

Same ideas, multiple formats - a simple trick to amplify my efforts.

How I Designed This System

In February of this year, I enrolled myself in a writing course called Authentic Influence led by one of the biggest and most respected names in the creator community.

My key takeaway till now from the course isn’t about how to write better; It more on how to think like a consistent creator. A creator with systems and discipline to follow the systems which will only help me amplify my writing capabilities.

My key learnings from the course:

• The value of creating a system rather than relying on bursts of motivation

• The art of batching ideas

• The importance of building a writing pipeline instead of writing on demand

Honestly, investing in that course has been one of the best decisions I made for my creative journey.

But in all honesty, my mindset shift actually began a while back, somewhere last year when I read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

There are so many things that I took back after finishing the book, but couldn’t really implement at the time as I was caught up in a work environment which did not allow me to have time for myself.

That book planted a seed in my mind:

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

At the time, it felt profound.

Today, it feels personal.

Everything I've been able to achieve:

• The idea gathering

• The weekend writing sessions

• The content recycling strategy

It’s somewhere rooted in this one philosophy - systems create success.

Atomic Habits didn’t just teach me about habits.

It has taught me about building a system that works for the life I already have, not the life I wish I had.

Why This System Is Working for Me

• Less Decision Fatigue: I don’t waste energy every day figuring out what to write.

• Compounding Effect: One idea can fuel multiple posts across different platforms.

• Consistency Without Burnout: I write when I’m at my best (weekends), and distribute when I’m busy (weekdays).

Most importantly, it allows me to respect my reality that I have a full-time job and responsibilities which doesn’t allow me the luxury of creating whenever I want to.

This system isn’t about hustle. It’s about rhythm.

It’s allowing me to slowly build, rather than burn out and crash.

A Final Thought

I used to think creativity needs freedom.

But now I have realised that sometimes, creativity needs constraints.

A good system is just that - a set of healthy constraints that help you show up, again and again.

If you're struggling to write more consistently, maybe the answer isn’t “more motivation.”

Maybe it’s a better system.

(And if you need a nudge, maybe it’s time to pick up Atomic Habits too. 😉)