“In ten hours a day you have time to fall twice as far behind your commitments as in five hours a day.”
— Isaac Asimov
It took me about two hours to finish this post.
I didn’t spend most of that time writing. Instead, I looked over notes for topics I meant to cover but didn’t… I read articles searching for inspiration… I picked up and then put down a book.
The trouble of course was that I had a large block of free time today.
I finished with client work some time earlier… I have a client call later tonight. In between, the only thing I have to do is to write this daily post.
Hence, two hours. To write about 300 words. You might know this as Parkinson’s Law:
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
It’s a problem in my life. And it’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to overbook myself with work — about three times the usual amount — for the coming month.
Because according to marketer Ben Settle, writing lots of words under intense deadline pressure will make you a faster writer. Permanently.
I’ll let you know how it works out. (Although there’s no need to wait for me. It’s something you can try yourself right now.)
Anyways, I’ve long collected copywriters’ advice on how to write faster.
So far, I’ve got direct “how to write fast” tips from Ben Settle (above), Dan Ferrari, David Deutsch, Colin Theriot, and a few others. I’ve also connected some ideas I read from people like Gary Halbert and Gary Bencivenga to the topic of writing faster.
So here’s my offer:
If these tips interest you, sign up for my daily email newsletter. If I share this complete collection of tips, that’s the first place it will go.