Whether you’re writing a term paper or the next post for your blog, sometimes getting the words to flow properly from brain to paper is impossible. I’m sure everyone has experienced the frustrating feeling of staring blankly at your document as the hours tick by with no progress. The feeling only worsens as time ticks closer to your deadline and progress remains at a standstill. Recently, I’ve had to fight against writer’s block to write in the limited time I have between coming from work and going to bed. Starting up a blog can be extremely difficult when juggling a full-time job and kid, even if mine is the four-legged kind. Because I know this struggle, I wanted to share a few tips I’ve found that help when churning out blog posts and other writing.
1) Remove distractions
While this one can seem like common sense, it can be a lot harder than it sounds. We live in a wonderful world where technology allows us to access whatever information we want with a simple click of a button. And while this can be useful when researching, it’s far too easy to end up spiraling down a rabbit hole and losing hours. Part of the issue is when you click away from your paper to look at another page, even if it’s your research, you’re mentally stepping away from your writing mindset. Therefore, one of the easiest ways I’ve found to remove distractions is to lose the computer entirely for the first draft. Most of my posts, including this one, see their initial conception via pen and paper. If I do need to research, I keep the page pulled up on my phone so I don’t have to click away to anything else. If you don’t want to go that low tech, I would highly suggest having a second monitor and keep your research pulled up. That way you don’t have to click away from your writing and lose your train of thought.
2) Separate Work and Play Spaces
This one is in the same category as the first one and can help a lot with keeping your focus. Your brain tends to associate certain places with certain activities, like your bedroom with sleeping and the gym with working out. Thanks to the invention of laptops, people can work wherever they want, whether that’s on the go or just moving rooms. However, that’s not always the best thing for your focus. If you’re anything like me, you spend your evening relaxing on your computer in the living room, either watching videos or playing video games. While this can be a great way to relax, it can be counter-productive if you’re trying to write in the same location. Because your brain is used to playing in that location, it’s not going to be able to focus on work as easily. Having a separate area for your work, even if it’s just a different chair in the same room, can be extremely helpful. It allows your brain to start to associate that the location means it’s time to work and makes it a lot less likely to get distracted.
3) Write First, Edit Later
We all want our writing to be perfect. No one wants to spend hours on a piece only to go back and find it’s complete trash or realize you’re going to spend just as much time editing. For some people, the answer to this is simple: edit as you go. Make sure each sentence is completely perfect before it is typed out onto the paper. However, problems can arise from this really quickly. What if you can’t craft the perfect sentence off the top of your head? Do you sit there waiting for the perfect sentence to form or do you write out what you do have and come back to it later? For some people, this first option is what causes the issues. By allowing themself to get stuck on crafting the perfect sentence, they get stuck in a rut and can’t escape it to finish the rest of their writing. It’s okay for your first draft to suck, for it not to be perfect. If you can’t think of the perfect sentence, go ahead and hack out one that works to connect the rest of the post or just put a placeholder so you know to come back later. Don’t let one imperfect line freeze your entire writing day.
4) Take Breaks
Breaks are important no matter what you’re doing. Whether you’re playing video games or working hard on writing, it’s important to set times where you stand up, stretch, and allow your mind to rest before continuing. While it may be tempting to just power through while you’re on a streak, this can actually be damaging in the long run. Writing without a break is the perfect recipe to cause burnout, whether while you’re writing the piece you’re currently working on or when you sit down for the next one. Speaking from experience, burnout can be terrible, lasting anywhere from a day to months on end. It can take the form of writer’s block because you left yourself exhausted, making creativity much more difficult. Allow yourself to take a break, even if it’s just getting up and walking in a circle around the room. This can also help your brain restart and make it easier to get the creative juices flowing again.
5) Set Goals and Reward Yourself
I’ve saved my most important tip for last. Like taking breaks, no matter what task you’re working on, it’s important to set goals so you can make sure you stay on the right track. These goals can change per person, per project, or even per day, but that doesn’t make them any less important. For me, I tend to set general goals I set when working on my writing. Usually these goals are to either write a certain number of words for that day or finish a specific article. I set these goals knowing personally what I can complete for that day, based on my own mental health and what else I must do during the day. Your life and mental health aren’t stagnant and therefore your goals aren’t either. If you’re feeling horrible, it’s alright to take a step back and make that goal more about taking care of yourself. Set goals throughout your process and make sure you reward yourself when you reach them. For me, this can be as simple as going to get a snack or pausing to watch a funny video. Having these goals work as the light at the end of the tunnel, a rest stop along your journey of writing.
I hope these tips help you out in your writing but before I go, I want to offer one more piece of advice for both writing and in life in general. No matter what you’re doing or what you’re working on, your mental and physical health should come first. Make sure to take care of yourself as you continue your journey forward, and don’t be afraid to take the breaks you need to keep yourself going. Happy writing!
