In the process of organizing your writing life, once you have taken time to:
1. Get clear on your writing project
2. Read and researched
3. Plotted out your time line — and communicated it if necessary
4. Created a personal action plan and prioritized your day
5. Organized your work
6. Backed everything up
7. Created boundaries and focused
8. Taken responsibility (for whatever isn’t going well), then…
#8. continued… Prevent Blocks by Switching Tasks
If you get “blocked” when writing, one way to keep this from happening is to learn to juggle multiple tasks and projects. If you are unable to move forward on one part of a writing project, either because you’re not “inspired” or you’re waiting for someone else to do their piece, switch to another task. For example, if part of your project requires more reading and research, or interviewing someone, schedule that activity and carry it out.
I became blocked on a writing project a while back. It became too painful and confronting to write. I felt trapped in my head… blocked… so I did something completely different. I painted my bedroom! It might sound funny, but it worked. Doing a physical task that I find enjoyable (and peaceful) was the right choice.
So, I ask you: What are the strategies you use — other than eating and shopping — to cope when you’re blocked? By the way, there’s certainly nothing wrong with eating or shopping. Those activities may be on your list; however, what else can you do? Here are some ideas of things I do: Take a walk, work on another writing project, go out and listen to some good music, talk to a friend, do some gardening, take a yoga class…
When you’re blocked and struggling remember what Henry Ford said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”