The pain of Writer’s block and what to do about it

This is nice pic I could pick up from Gabriela Perreira’s article as I was (image) searching for pains for writer block . Mine is more of frustration > depression > let-it-go.

Frustration because just when I feel like writing then some other chore, travel , schedule comes up. Or I just could not make up my mind on where do I write it — evernote, google doc , word doc or my site.Or ideas just dont flow out and it looks a very strained effort ; that reflects in the output.

Depression because my mind is at times (many times actually) is crowded with ideas. And not just the ordinary ideas . Yet whats the use if I could not write them down. Such a waste. Soon they disappear in the deepest and darkest crevices only to re-appear to give more frustration.

Let-it-go. Like many things in life . Many things that you wished you could ….but you did not. And trick your brain to think that all is not lost. So what you have not contributed to the online ‘literature archive’ . Who cares . There are so many famous blogger who are getting followed on Twitters and Pinterest and ‘fed’ on Feedlies and Scoop Its of the world. No body will even miss mine .

Life goes on.

And pain re-appears at times.

But today was a bit different as I finished a discussion on a possible partnership. And one of the things I have to do is write. Write at what I am good at to show what I am good at. And sell.

And so I start. Not exactly my ‘sales’ blog. But just some inspiration. And to formally inaugurate my new blog which was without any content but the introductory like since I created to show my students on setting up a WordPress site. Might as well make the best out of this.

So what are the ways one can deal with the writer’s block

1. Write something — may be a few lines. Every day . Or every half of the day. Or whatever ‘non-procrastinating’ frequencies you may deem it right. As Austin Kleone says “”Writing a page each day doesn’t seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel. You do it your whole life, and you have a career.””
2. Don’t be too hard on yourself— Mistakes , bad grammar and language are OK. everything is editable (thank God it is not Twitter) . You can always come back and edit.
3. Change the setting. May be from your desk to your bed (my current position). Or to a coffee house or to the pool. Just a new refreshing area.
4. Use personal assistant in Siri (still cant catch my pronunciation though), Google voice assistant in keep . Or Evernote — does it have one. Nowadays most of these note taking apps/ software will have the ‘dictatable capability’ . But of course you need to come back and edit. Especially the way they process my pronunciation.
5. Take a pen and make some notes in your note bank (I am a notebook junkie so finding one is not a problem) . With the hope someday it will make your writing easier.
6. Take some time when you write some your thoughts and instruction on mail. The long ones that you write to your co-workers, clients and mentees. Some of them can be spun off into a blog. Just save them to a separate folder or ‘mail’ them to Evernote or Trello. This is an original idea.
7. Switch off distractions. Mail . Facebooks. Phones. “Family member discussions” (except for the occasional ‘uhu’ when your wife is speaking). And of course TV.
8. If you think a specific time works for you — then block that time. Most of my writing happens after my morning walk or yoga or run (no I am not really practicing for even a 7k one) . Unless of course you want to quickly come back, have the breakfast and has to get out before the traffic becomes one more source of frustration.
9. Constructive Procrastination — I am still trying to figure out what it is is. But it has a nice bell to it. You can use this . Rest — please google. (you may also stumble upon a term neurotic inhibitions of productivity — once you find it let me know what it means.
10. Hit publish. As they say — don’t worry about perfection. Just ship it. Like I will be doing in another 5 minutes. All these are editable — and you will have the fear of being launghed/misquoted . That increase chances of your coming back and making it better. You are right Jodi Picault — you cant edit a blank page

Serendipitious ? A-ha moment? B.S? What’s your thought