Today has been a struggle.
I’m suffering from a severe lack of sleep and I can’t seem to think straight. I think I’ve already been staring at this computer screen for 15 minutes. Lost in space. Physically unable to put my fingers on the keyboard and start typing. I don’t think my body and my mind are connecting today.
Besides my own personal memoirs, I’m pretty new to this writing game. So it’s definitely been a challenge trying to figure out how to overcome my emotional roadblocks and keep writing, even when I have no inspiration.
Here are a few tips I’ve come up with to get my mind flowing into the writing stage:
Set the tone. If it’s time to get writing, I like to take a few minutes to set up my “writing area” if you will. I personally like some nice smooth jazz in the background. (I’ve discovered that words with lyrics tend to confuse me when I’m writing.) I also like to make sure I have something to drink (which eliminates the risk of using the “I need something to drink” excuse when I should be writing). Hot tea or coffee really seem to do the trick. Then I try to minimize as many distractions as I can. If I’ve set the mood for writing, I feel more inspired to do so.
Schedule the time. I’m working on a post right now that shares my new goals for this side hustle business, but to give you a sneak peek, one of my first goals was to schedule time to write. I’m kind of a schedule junkie, so I know if I want to really make this work, I need to make it a priority. How else can I start a business without putting in the time? So I know that every workday at lunch time, I’ll be writing for 45 minutes. I’ll also be working on writing/furthering my freelance business every Monday and Thursday evening for an hour or so after the kiddos go to bed. It helps to look ahead and know, it’s time to write, whether I feel like it or not.
Shut off electronics. Oh Facebook... HOW MUCH TIME DO I WASTE ON YOU A DAY? I’m actually not sure I want to know that answer. Gah. This little blue button on my phone causes me much distraction at random points throughout the day. So shutting off my phone entirely or removing it helps me focus on the task at hand. This kind of goes along with point number 1 - Set the tone for writing. No Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Snapchat during writing time!
Utilize any inspiration that exists. Today I was planning to write more about my goals, but staring at the page just left me bored. I wasn’t in the mood to rearrange, edit, and explain some of my points. I could have said screw it and went along with my day, skipping over writing time. Instead, I decided to write about something else that seemed more interesting to me in that moment. I mean really, what could be more fun that writing about overcoming not wanting to write? ;)
Be proud of getting it done. I like to celebrate the fact that I accomplished my goal! I might have written complete gibberish in dire need of drastic editing tomorrow, but at least I got it started. Cross that task off the list. The writing will come easier tomorrow now that I’ve pushed through this tough day.
So there you have it: 5 tips to move my mind from what is this writing thing to it’s time to write - let’s get it done.
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