Finding time to write is an essential part of growing an audience. It’s about showing up and doing what you promised yourself and others you would do each week.

I’m new to this blogging thing, but I formerly wrote a weekly column for a small-town newspaper, so keeping up the pace shouldn’t be that hard, right? Well, with some planning, it can still happen.

Finding myself in another state so I can get my grandkids off to school in time is my main prerogative for a few days. Their parents are in Las Vegas to participate in and watch the Mrs. American prelims and finals. My daughter-in-law is a top contender, so her parents and sister are also there to cheer her on.

Meanwhile, I’m holding down the fort at their house, making sure lunches are packed, water bottles are full and special first-day t-shirts are ready and accessible for teachers to facilitate the chaotic maneuverings of first-week school rituals.

Lucky for me, I’ve carved out some time between meal planning, laundry and vacuuming to go through emails and jot down some thoughts on keeping the flow going with marketing my book “Mission Possible.”

Keeping the momentum going is something I hope to continue. I’ve attended numerous virtual summits lately that emphasize the need to just show up and be on time.

It’s much like getting the grandkids to the school bus stop on time so Mr. Dave can deliver the little munchkins to their respective school before the bell rings. While the first week can be a learning process, I’ve emphasized to the munchkins that getting into a timely routine is key to having a successful day. In my case, timeliness will lead to more awareness of my book and hopefully, more sales.

Some steps to develop a habit of writing from Author Gretchen Rubin are helpful to consider:

· Select time and frequency. Decide what time of day you will write, and how often. As you think about when to schedule your writing, pay close attention to your energy level. If you’re a morning person, schedule your writing time early; if you’re a night person, use a later time. For many people, putting an activity on the calendar means that it happens.

· Consider your space. Figure out where you do your best work, and make that space as convenient and comfortable as possible. Corner of the sofa? Kitchen table? Public library? Bed? Do what you can to put yourself in an environment that suits you.

· Adjust your sound environment. To do deep work, some people prefer silence. Others prefer music with words, music with no words, one song on a loop, white noise, or the busy clatter of a coffee shop. Create the sound surroundings that suit you.

· Upgrade your tools. Beautiful tools make work a joy, and bad tools make work unnecessarily tiresome. If you’re putting up with poor tools—inadequate light, an ancient laptop—make the effort to upgrade.

· Start a focus ritual. Maybe you light a candle, or walk around the block, or make your favorite coffee drink, or sit next to the same window when it’s time to begin. By repeating that action, you’re signaling to your brain that it’s time to enter a creative, associative state.

· Articulate your why. Why do you want to establish a writing routine? To make progress on your book manuscript? Carve out space for self-reflection? When you understand why you’re pursuing a habit, it’s easier to keep it up.

· If you need accountability, get it. Join a writers’ group or class where you’re expected to hand in work; work with a writing coach; post a schedule where your family members will see it; recruit a friend to read your drafts.

· Choose a metric. How do you know when you’ve completed your writing time? Is your metric a word count, minutes spent in the chair, or a completed draft? Pick a marker that’s concrete, measurable, and realistic.

· Don’t forget to read. The best writing routine includes reading. As Randall Jarrell wrote, “Read at whim!”

· Set up safeguards against loopholes. Put guardrails in place for the days you’re tempted to abandon your writing practice, and anticipate challenges. What will you do when you go on vacation? If you’re traveling? If you have house guests? If you don’t have any ideas? Make a plan.

Rubin emphasizes what is most important: Never forget that to write, we must write. These things are not writing: research, interviews, formatting, outlining, daydreaming, talking about writing. These things may be necessary for writing, but they aren’t writing.

Like all habits, we gain the benefit of that habit day by day. With writing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, but day by day, we make progress.

As novelist E. L. Doctorow observed about writing: “It’s like driving at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

UPDATE: Achieving top six in the Mrs. American finals just shows how persistence leads to the benefit of developing good habits! Congratulations Shelby Hastings!