The Most Effective Strategies to Overcome Writer’s Block.
The Most Effective Strategies to Overcome Writer’s Block. Let’s face it… Procrastination is horrific. It’s a silent dream killer of pandemic volumes. When you consider all the possible things that could be achieved without procrastination being a factor in this world, the world would look extremely different. Inventions and technology would be further ahead. Artists and their artwork would be serving more people through inspiration, empathy and compassion. But unfortunately, for a number of reasons, we often stay in our comfort zone with too many “good things” within an easy arm’s reach and not enough undesirable consequences to drive us forward. If we can work from home, get everything delivered to us at short notice, why try harder? Here’s why… Because it’s within you. It’s an idea burning away. If you can feel it there simmering for days, weeks and months, do something with it! It’s calling to you. “It’s better to regret something you have done than regret something you have not done.” – Billie Joe Armstrong I’ve wanted to write consistently for a long time. I knew I wanted to leave a bigger legacy of content on the world, serving better mental and emotional awareness. And a habit of writing was for certain one of the core pillars to build this. But the usual blocks, resistance, and justifications would come up… “But what would I write about? I don’t have an audience. When I make just a bit more money, I’ll take the time off to write.” Like many things in life, the solution is quite simple. Just like the desire being within us, the solution to achieve that desire is also within us too. It’s not about waiting for the right invitation, to have enough money or the right idea to drop from the heavens like a lightning bolt. There is only one solution to beat procrastination – taking action. When you are taking action, you are no longer procrastinating. The more action we take (yes, even it’s a bad) is moving us toward (yes, even if it’s slowly) our goals. Take action. Don’t wait for someone else, the right amount of money, the right invitation. Get out there and make it happen. Let’s face it. Does the world need another piece of artwork or blog? No. BUT the world DOES need YOUR blog and YOUR artwork! And that’s what I truly believe. I knew that someone, somewhere, somehow sooner or later is going to enjoy and benefit from my blog (perhaps this is you right now? It’s fine if not but thank you for reading all the same) and someone will pay me money to solve problems for them with my coaching and speaking, through the blogs that I’ve written. The feeling of the expected and future based outcome was good enough for me to say yes to myself, but how would I get started and take action when all of the lack of clarity, lack of momentum and a whole world (or so it feels) is against me? You do whatever it takes, edge finders! I had to trick myself into writing. I pulled out the best tricks in order to get myself to do what my heart desired while my mind and current state of affairs told me otherwise. I had many well-worn paths and programs doing other things that didn’t get me closer to writing (stuck on social media anyone?) that it was an uphill battle to motivate myself to act differently from what I had already been doing for years. Here’s what I did to reprogram myself… Better People Programs They say that your net worth will be the average of the five people you hang around with most. So, this is where you secretly need to tag along with others who are going to the same places as you are too. I got accountability buddies, an editor that I was paying for and a good friend (Scott Ko I’m looking at you buddy!) who was in a similar place with writing content too to have regular discussions with. These all helped pull, push and lift my connection to my writing up. Trap Programs This habit is essentially you setting a trap for yourself. I would leave my laptop out on my bed or couch so that I would have to move it doing anything else relaxing at least. And I would leave it open to the most inviting page, either a blank screen or a half-finished blog. This way I was always likely to say “well, while I’m here I guess I’ll just…” and hopefully that would be enough for me to tip over the line and start writing. Usually, I never had a problem writing once I got started. A trap program like this does nothing other than get you closer to the intended action. Ideally, so close that it’s the only next logical step. Adjacent Programs What other mental programs, tasks or actions are adjacent to the current task? This once again comes from my good buddy Scott Ko who writes a lot on curiosity. Instead of directly writing, which can feel difficult and daunting for some of us to have a starting point AND feel like you have to achieve a certain outcome, ask yourself: “what programs or habits can I run that are similar but not the same, that may get me in the mood, zone or inspired to do what I desire?” This can look like reading other people’s writing which might inspire me to write my own. Or complete a coaching session that is likely to be a problem someone is trying to overcome as well as a solution for them AND a pathway in between the two. They can’t be the only ones with this problem, it’s just not possible. Therefore, it MUST be valuable to someone else too. Another example is the good old gym session that so many of us procrastinate
