When Should You Abandon a Project?

Trusting the process means being willing to let go when things change. Major life skills highlighted in this article: Willingness rather than willfulness. Applying yourself to the hilt while remaining receptive and adaptable. Checking in with your deepest values. Being real. Equanimity. Discerning when committing to something means redoubling your effort and when it means… Continue reading When Should You Abandon a Project?

The Essentialist Secret to Productive Writing

Minimalism is about paring things down to the minimum — minimum elements, clean sleek minimal design. Essentialism is similar but different. It’s about “less but better.” In Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, he lays out the core essentialist mindset. 1. Individual choice: We can choose how to spend our energy and… Continue reading The Essentialist Secret to Productive Writing

Try this 2 Minute Freewrite for a Quick Creative Boost

Maybe you’re in the middle of a writing project — a book, a blog, a presentation — and you’re starting to feel boggy. Dragged down, uninspired. Sometimes we get stuck because we have been looking at the situation the wrong way. Or we have run out of good ideas. Or we can’t for the life… Continue reading Try this 2 Minute Freewrite for a Quick Creative Boost

I Use This Rapid Outlining Strategy to Boost Productivity

People have all sorts of opinions and even emotional baggage when it comes to making outlines for a writing project. Some people love outlines, most people hate them. One of the biggest misconceptions about outlining is that they are somehow separate from the creative process, that whereas writing is creative, outlining is something done only… Continue reading I Use This Rapid Outlining Strategy to Boost Productivity

Writing Isn’t Fun Anymore: 6 Ways to Squeeze Delicious Nectar Into Your Life

It’s not even “writer’s block.” You just don’t care. Writing no longer fuels you. Stacks of boring papers. Stacks of boring books. Boring letters on the screen. Unclear writing. Annoying mistakes. Blank, dead mind. Zero drive. Someone please come distract me. How to bring vitality back to your writing process Every writer I know goes… Continue reading Writing Isn’t Fun Anymore: 6 Ways to Squeeze Delicious Nectar Into Your Life