The 6 habits of

highly productive 
academic writers
A qualitative investigation into the writing processes of 23
scholars. 

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Research scope
The objective of this research was to look into how academics and
researchers write – the writing practices they adopt and the
processes they use.
We also wanted to find out what kind of methodologies scholars use
to keep writing and what they found challenging during the writing
process.
Interviews with 23 scholars were conducted by phone and in person
between 20th November and  8th of December 2017. 
23 scholars,
6 productivity
habits
1. Time blocking and scheduling. 
2. Setting artificial writing deadlines 
3. Deliberately seeking a 'flow state' to write.
4. Designing accountability structures.
5. Using small steps and short deadlines.
6. 'Writing your way' out of becoming blocked.
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Background
Scholars have a strong desire to write about
their research. Those we interviewed  see
this as their responsibility and as an
important aspect of their role as a
communicator and teacher.
Saying that, many also report being under
significant and growing pressure to publish.
Academics in the UK referred to Research
Excellence Framework (REF) targets. US
scholars made reference to similar targets
currently impacting their institutions.
Quotes
“I’m at an institution that’s increasingly
emphasising writing and scholarship as part of the
promotion process. The rule of thumb is three or so
peer reviewed articles in order to qualify for tenure.”
“There’s increasing pressure on academics who’ve
never published before to be more active – I can
only see this pressure growing.”
"A lot of schools are putting pressure on faculty to
publish more. Lots of people who haven’t published
much are now finding they have to - they’re looking
for outlets that they can work in." 
Time pressure
Whilst the pressure to write and publish is
growing, many academics find it increasingly
hard to find the time to do it.
In general, we found that senior academics find
it far harder to write than more junior
researchers - due to growing admin and
student support responsibilities. 
Quotes
“It’s very hard to spend time focused on the writing.
There are many distractions – calls on your time –
and you get pulled in a 1,000 different directions.”
“I found it easy to write my PhD but now I’m
teaching, it’s far harder – when you have two hours
in-between classes you can’t get down to
anything.”
"When I got my professorship and started to have
more meetings to go to – prioritising writing and
putting aside time for it got more and more
difficult."  
Systems work
Despite pressures to publish, we found those
academics who had developed their own
system to write were better able to cope.
Whilst everyone’s system was different –
there were some clear characteristics and
themes which for the purposes of this report,
we will call 'habits'. 
 
We identified six habits common to the most
prolific academics in our sample (a more
detailed list of interviewees is at the end).  
Habit #1 
 Time blocking and scheduling writing in advance.
Our research found that scheduling time to
write was the single-most common habit prolific
academic writers possessed.  
It didn't appear to matter what type of time
blocking method a scholar chose to use or how
lengthy an individual writing session was. For
example, some blocked out long periods of time
on sabbatical, whilst others preferred to block
out short, regular times in the day or week.
What seemed to matter far more was the act of
planning-in as this mentally prepared the
individual for writing - and so made the process
easier and less stressful. 
Quotes
“I use big gaps and spaces in my calendar as writing time and I just
get it into my head that that’s what I’m going to be focused on at
that time. I don’t have to physically write ‘writing time’ in my diary –
but I know it’s coming up and that’s the important thing.”
“When I need to write I block out time. I’m lucky in that I can work
from home – I block out a couple of straight days to do the writing
and I plan it in beforehand. I couldn’t really write in any other way
than blocking out that time.” 
“I actively try not to write when I’m not supposed to be writing –
even if I want to. I find fitting in bits of writing here and there to be
so damaging to your overall concentration. For me, either I’m
teaching or I’m writing – never both.”
Habit #2 
Setting artificial writing deadlines to meet pre-defined milestones. 
Many academics were aware that their
productivity can suffer when they do not have
external deadlines. This is especially relevant to
those completing long form writing projects
such as books or monographs. 
 Whilst scholars don't necessarily enjoy the
pressure of external deadlines - they do
appreciate the focus they provide. 
With this in mind, many of the most prolific
writers create self-imposed writing deadlines to
keep them moving forwards. One popular
method was to use forthcoming conferences as
milestones towards their overall goal. 
Quotes
“I’ll use conferences as deadlines in terms of when I need to have
the next thing ready. I know the research – I’m a psychologist. I
use artificial milestones to keep me motivated.”
“The major driver for me is deadlines. For me it’s all about the next
milestone – let me hit that. I write like a journalist.”
“There are a number of those conferences throughout the year and
many times, authors will use those conferences as deadlines in
terms of – when do I need to have the next thing ready." 
Habit #3 
Deliberately seeking a 'flow state' to write but being accepting if and
when that doesn't happen.
Productive academics appear to know what it
is required get the ‘flow state’ needed to deliver
a writing project (especially a long-form one) so
deliberately arrange their working lives around
this objective.
We also found that academics who have the
easiest (and least stressful) relationship with
writing know when to stop trying to find this
flow state. They don't push themselves when
they can't achieve the 'headspace' they need.
Typically, they take a break to go and do
something else rather than straining every
sinew to write. 
Quotes
“When you really feel that you can get into your writing head space.
In your own environment – then you make a lot of progress.”
"Having the space to go into your own world is important – you
can’t be doing with distractions. You need to find your bubble. You
need concentrated space." 
"If it’s not flowing – I then go off and do some research and come
back. It’s about how do you enable the flow to happen and being
strategic about it." 
"When I’m in the flow then it’s great but I’ve learned not to push
myself either. If it’s not coming then I stop. It’s frustrating but
trying to write when you can’t is damaging. You have to accept!"
Habit #4 
Designing accountability structures involving friends, colleagues and
family members to keep motivated.
The most productive scholars we spoke to all
tended to use some kind of accountability
system to help them write - although these
systems were often very different. 
For example, some academics actively sought
out accountability partnerships with other
writers and entered into formal relationships
with them - where each would agree to submit a
certain number of words by a certain date for
feedback. 
Others took a more informal approach and
simply preferred working collaboratively than
working alone. Another popular method was
to use 'having to present at conferences' to
give them the motivation to keep going. 
Quotes
“I ask colleague to hold me to account. We tell each other what we
want to do and we check in on each other’s progress. She’s like my
writing buddy.”
“I use co-authoring as a psychological trigger. When you have to
deliver to someone else it really makes you get your butt in the
chair - disappointing someone else is a lot tougher than
disappointing yourself.”
"I find it far easier to write when it's a collaborative effort - when
you know you're writing with and for someone else. I don’t want to
do research alone in the bunker." 
Habit #5 
Using small steps and short deadlines to tackle large projects.
Prolific academics typically said that they had,
over the years, learned how to structure their
writing process to avoid being over faced with
very large writing projects.
Most often, they did this by using a ‘small steps’
methodology whereby they approached a large
writing goal incrementally or with short
deadlines. 
Sometimes this was achieved by splitting the
task down into smaller chunks - for example
deliberately approaching the project chapter by
chapter - or by 'easing themselves in' to large
writing projects by taking on small writing
projects first. 
Quotes
“When I’m stuck or feeling overwhelmed by a large project, I find
it’s useful to start with smaller and shorter articles to get me back
into the swing of things.”
"Sometimes when you’re at the beginning of a new project it feels
like an enormous mountain. You really need to cut it into small
pieces in order to conquer it – otherwise you never start. First
write the literature review or do part of the data – that is easier." 
"My style is learning by doing. When I was doing my PhD I used to
set very short deadlines with my supervisor – almost not doable –
and I would really go for these deadlines. I know that even if I didn’t
make the deadline – I’d have still achieved a lot." 
Habit #6 
'Writing your way' out of becoming blocked.
We found one of the toughest parts of the
research/writing process for scholars was
starting something new. Many experienced
getting stuck in the 'chasm' between one
project ending and another beginning. 
At this point, productive academics tend to
'write their way' out of their blocks - they have
recognised the risk of getting stuck and so
deliberately take on a series of small projects to
keep the momentum going. 
Other academics have stumbled across an
unblocking technique called ‘freewriting’ used
more commonly amongst creative writers. This
involves writing in a non-judgmental way –
without editing.
Quotes
"My advice to PhDs is to avoid the gaps inbetween research
because it’s in those gaps that you lose confidence – you have to
keep writing. If it’s only just smaller articles. You have to keep
going and keep engaged."
"When I’m in a productive writing phase, the next piece is always
relatively easy. But when that runs out – when you’ve got to the
end of the project – then what? That transition between projects is
really difficult. I try to keep up the momentum by writing."
“When I get stuck I just put my thoughts on paper and just write -
just continue and don’t look back. It’s not perfect but your ideas
are on paper. At least your ideas are there in front of you and not in
your head"
Interviewees
The research comprised qualitative
interviews with:
- 23 academics from universities across
the UK, Europe and United States
- 1 university administrator who had set up
a institution-wide writing programme
- Broad range of disciplines covered 
- Six months to 27 years' experience 
- Broad range of journal writing, book and
case study writing experience
About
Prolifiko
Prolifiko is a digital tool for writing
productivity. We help people to track,
optimise and improve their writing process
through a system based in behavioural
science and persuasive technology.
This user research was undertaken to inform
the development of a new product aimed at
mid-career academics and scholars. 

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