I see a lot of books and tools out there that seek to address or overcome writer’s block. That’s good. It’s good to have a lot of options. Sometimes it’s good to have a distraction (like fussing around with a writer’s block tool instead of writing). I’m going to propose an alternative.
Decide to relax. If that’s not your style, decide instead to give yourself one of two options:
- be totally productive for a three to five hour block, or
- be totally relaxed for a given duration.
Why these two options and no more? These two modes are where all the magic happens. You deserve to live in such a way that you can be assured you’re living at the right time and in the right place. The alternative: So much waffling, so little time. Stick with one dominant mode of focus, and be either totally productive (eliminating distractions of all sort) or totally relaxed.
Another Binary
It is said that the two great skills of any country fall into two categories, and they are:
- achievement
- appreciation
In the United States, we tend to excel at achievement. We are achievers. It’s the American Way to get a lot of things done quickly. What’s lacking is an ability to appreciate the fruits of our labors. Just think of the irony: we are surrounded by prosperity, yet we fail to take time to enjoy it because we’re addicted to getting more and more. We need to balance this desire for achievement with the ability to appreciate life.
Option 1: Doing A Lot At Once
Pros: You feel like you’re really busy. Probably a lot will get done.
Cons: You truly aren’t as efficient as you think you’re being. You will take your work home with you.
Multi-tasking is easy to do because there’s so much that wants to get done. But it takes time, energy and attention to switch tasks. Each time you have to move from one task to another, you have to change your focus, re-tool your short term memory so that your thoughts become relevant to that new task. That takes time and it takes a lot of effort to keep several tasks in short term memory.
When I do too much multi-tasking, I lose sight of any long-term goal. With multi-tasking I train myself to always be on the lookout for what else could be done. As a result, I find it harder and harder to go deep with a single activity.
The brain is plastic. The more you do anything, the better you get at it. If you’re working inefficiently, you get better at that. Changing habits isn’t always easy either. Your brain will invent all sorts of reasons you will want to cling to your ways of doing things, even if it isn’t productive and even if it negatively impacts your health.
Option 2: Doing One Thing Exceptionally Well At a Time
When you change your habit toward single-task productivity, you’ll feel a little old-fashioned. But when you choose to schedule your interruptions rather than living a life of reaction (emails, tweets, updates, text messages), you will be able to go far deeper with what you really want to pursue. The tasks will leave you feeling fulfilled because the end goal is still clearly in mind.
Most of the time, writer’s block comes when there are alternative things to do. It’s like your brain is saying “You don’t really need to do this. You could do this other thing instead. Forget about writing for awhile. Besides, see how hard it is?” This commitment begins internally with a decision of what to focus on.
So when you sit down to write, ask yourself good questions. If you’re in a lousy state of mind, you’re going to be unproductive. Direct your focus to what you care about and what inspires you by asking better questions, such as:
- What’s the best thing that could happen, and how can I connect the dots from where I am to where I’d like to go?
- What did I intend to do when I decided to work? Why did I intend that?
Focus on the potential upside. Once you have a good idea of your path, begin at once, and direct your focus onto the best possible outcome as it continues to unfold before you. This eager focus will help you press through any challenges.
Whatever you do, don’t try and make it perfect. Make it better. And use these three points to guide your focus throughout each task:
- Visualize the end result.
- Connect with the feelings you get when you’re in the state of flow.
- Don’t accept any alternative.
Let me know what you think by posting your comment below.
Wellness and Writing Immersion Retreat in Italy – Creative Writing + Yoga