Common Obstacles To Writing
- You’re busy: separate 5-15 minutes to write, first thing in the morning, and stick to it.
- You’re intimidated: The important thing is to start.
- You’re not motivated: Commit to writing to an accountability group and report to them if you wrote or not.
- You’re distracted: Close all programs but the writing one.
- Nothing to write about: Spend some time during the day thinking of what to write. Exercise, going to bed, the shower, and your commute are good times to do this.
MORE IDEAS FROM THE ARTICLE
Make a public commitment, to people who will hold you accountable. You don’t need to publish your writing each day, but just write at least 5 minutes a day.
It can be any type of writing and it doesn’t have to be good, so let go of your desire for perfection.
Setting your writing time during the morning is ideal as you haven’t gotten busy yet. But find what works for you and treat this appointment as unmissable.
It’s best to set your writing time right after something else you regularly do each morning: wake up, shower, brush your teeth, etc. Try to set it before anything that might lead to further tasks or distractions, like email checking.
You can also set reminders, or write reminder notes for yourself, that will be seen when your trigger happens.
Think about what you want to write during a workout, on a walk, in the shower, while you eat, on your commute, in a boring meeting. But definitely think about it before you go to sleep.
Turn off notifications and, if you’re not using pen and paper, close all programs but the one you’ll use to write. Preferably though it in the night before, so you aren’t distracted when the writing time comes the next day.
You don’t have to write for a full 5-10 minutes. Writing just a few words is all you need to be successful today, the volume will come later.
Report to your accountability group every day, whether you were successful or not. When you are unsuccessful, strongly commit to getting back on track the next day or even set up penalties or rewards for extra motivation.
RELATED IDEAS
Keeping track of streaks is a very powerful tactic for developing any new habit. Knowing that you have consistently succeeded for a number of days helps you push through the days who are unmotivated.
Other ways to foster regularity: writing in a different style or genre, and doing your writing first thing in the morning.
The quality and depth of your writing aren’t important in journaling.
Just get your honest thoughts down on paper as they come to you.
We are constantly distracted throughout the day. Without focusing on anything with a calm, relaxed mind, we keep jumping from messages, to-do lists, social media, and email.
Constantly jumping and busy minds keep us stressed out and unfocused. This mind in this state can be termed as a 'Monkey Mind'.