When you’re trying something new, when you’re learning a new skill, when you’re pushing for a goal that you’ve never chased before – it’s not supposed to be easy all the time. It’s difficult to reach new heights if you never push yourself beyond what you’ve already proven yourself capable of.

If you’ve started a dozen short stories and determine that this time, for real, you’re going to finish one… that’s a push.

If you’ve always wanted to finish a novel but always get stuck somewhere in the middle… it’s going to take a push.

Your comfort zone is a great place to be for maintenance. My “maintenance” writing practice generally looks like me having two or three writing sessions a week, probably over the weekend at some point. I write when I have the desire and don’t worry too much about hitting word counts, chapter goals, or even finishing the project at all, to be honest. This type of load doesn’t feel hard. I keep up with my writing practice, I keep those mental muscles flexing, and it fits comfortably into my daily schedule.

But then we come to the point in time where I have a deadline or a goal. “Maintenance” isn’t good enough. It’s time to push. And that means getting a little bit uncomfortable.

If you’ve never experienced this and no one has ever told you this before, I’ll rip the Band-Aid off for you now: writing under pressure can be difficult, but it is absolutely possible, and it’s a great way for you to improve yourself as a writer.

So, you’ve decided that you want more out of yourself. You want to see more growth. You want to finish a project. You have a deadline breathing down your neck. It’s time to push. What does that look like?

We all respond to pressure differently, which means there’s no one-size-fits-all method for pulling the best out of everyone. But I’ll share just a handful of ways that I put pressure on myself to create more, perform better, and rise to the occasion.

• Stop skipping sessions. In maintenance season, if I’m really not feeling a writing session, I’ll skip it. It’s not a huge deal. In push season, I stop giving myself that option. I commit to showing up for the sessions I planned, and I put in effort for their duration, even if it’s not fun or pretty.

• Write for longer periods of time. If maintenance season saw 30-minute sessions, push season will see 45-60 minute sessions. If you’re disciplined with your time, adding even ten minutes to your session can do a lot of work for you.

• Write for more, shorter periods. If I can’t fit in big writing sessions, I plan more, shorter sessions into whatever breaks I have during the day. I write for fifteen minutes in the morning before I leave the house. I write during breakfast. I write during lunch. I get on my stationary bike and write. I promise you, the time is there.

• Prioritize your writing. In the weeks leading up to my marathon, all I cared about was the marathon. It was all I talked about. It was all I thought about. I literally dreamed about it. That sort of one-track mind can become exhausting and obnoxious if it was year-round, but it’s great for push season. Eat, dream, and sleep with your project in mind, and let it be more important than watching TV, folding the laundry, or organizing the attic.

If this all sounds like a punishment to you, don’t stress. You actually don’t have to work any harder at your writing than you are right now if you don’t want to. The productivity police aren’t coming for you. But if you’re curious about what you’re capable of, start to put a little pressure on yourself. Ask more of yourself than you ever have. And watch yourself grow.