A 3-Step Process to Help if You’re Blocked
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Before I discuss the topic of this week’s post, I want to circle back to the “4 Burners” post from a couple weeks ago: Burned Out? The 4 Burners Theory of Energy. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to rebalance my life, and make the time I do spend more meaningful. Which means that, at least for now, I’ll be greatly curtailing my blog posts and newsletters – from once a week to once a month. I may post more frequently over on my Substack – or I may give that up, because honestly, as much as I want to cultivate a community there, it is yet another burner that I don’t have the time to fully devote my attention to.
It’s all about deciding what my priorities are, and the best way to use my time and energy towards them. Something we all need to do, in order to give ourselves the space we need to write and create.
So next time I’ll be writing about my retreat in Italy! In the meantime, though, life has gotten even more crazy with the preparations for leaving. A recent post from The Happier App was about sleep, but it resonated with me because I felt the steps offered were applicable to so many other moments in our lives, including writing.
When it comes to being blocked, we may need to change our fundamental attitude toward the act of writing. We fight with our creative self until we dread even trying to sit down and write. We’re spending a lot of energy, but getting nothing in return. These three steps below can ease the struggle.
Step One: Relax and Allow
Sometimes when we come to the page, our minds are whirling with all the other things we need to be doing. Worry, stress, and anxiety tighten our muscles and scatter our thoughts. Sometimes it’s even hard to think about writing, much less make the mental space and time to do it. We can get so in the rhythm of the next thing, and the next, that we don’t feel able to relax into the dream of the subconscious that is the flow of writing. And if we’re blocked, it’s even worse. All the tension and fear of not being able to write makes it even less likely that we’ll actually do it.
As the article says, the first step is to simply give yourself permission to be there. In this case, it means permission to write. To take this time, to do this creative thing. Even if you do it badly. Even if you only do it for 15 minutes. Take a moment and breathe. Before you open the notebook or laptop, just sit and allow yourself to reorient yourself inward. Slow down. Relax any tight muscles especially in your neck and shoulders. Prepare to focus.
Step Two: It’s All Nature
Remind yourself that your creativity is a natural part of you. An essential part of you. It’s not some weird extra appendage like a third arm. You are a writer. You write.
With that said, having a mind obsessed with thoughts, worries, plans, hopes, fears, is also natural. You can’t just turn it off like a faucet. Fighting your thoughts and the emotions they generate is just going to create more tension. Maybe your thoughts have to do with your non-writing life. Maybe they have to do with the project you’re working on. Practice telling yourself that whatever comes up is okay. Practice allowing thoughts to arise, and then depart. Whenever you find yourself distracted by an unhelpful thought, acknowledge it, and go back to your writing. Thoughts are natural. Writing is natural. Feeling like you have nothing to say, or that you don’t know how to say it, is natural. There is nothing wrong with you, or the process. We often think we should be writing, or writing more, but the ebb and flow of the creative process is natural – including those fallow periods when we feel no words will ever come again.
Step Three: Appreciation
Appreciate that you are taking this time for your writing. Appreciate the love for your story that drives you to want to finish. If the words just aren’t coming today, appreciate the fact that you’re there, at the computer or with your notebook, open to whatever comes up. You get this wonderful creative pause in your day. Appreciate your imagination. By taking this time to work on your writing, you are already opening the door for your subconscious imagination to do its work. Instead of berating yourself for not doing enough, appreciate whatever you have done. If it is what you can do in this moment, it’s enough.
These three practices are about changing your attitude toward being blocked. We all have times when writing is more difficult than others. As Santos writes in the Happier article, “Our job is to simply have the attitude that allows the nature of this moment to be as it is.” Stop fighting reality. Relax, and allow. Appreciate the moments you give to your writing. And appreciate that your subconscious is always working, even if you’re not at your desk. What seems to be a barren field may surprise you with a sudden burst of rich, verdant green. It’s all natural.
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