WARNING! I swear in this post, so if you don’t like bad language, don’t read tip 6!
So, I book myself a writing day every week…and the idea is that on that day, I’ll work on articles, guest posts and perhaps even future books… But for the last two weeks the reality has been very different. Last week, I didn’t actually get to writing at all…I just piddled about doing other very important stuff until the day was over and there was no point starting to write now…
And this week…well, put it this way, I started writing at 5 to 4 in the afternoon! Ok, there were other things that ‘needed’ to be done…but many of them could have waited (particularly the re-organisation of my screensaver picture folder!) So, what the heck is going on? Honestly, I’m not sure. I have ideas coming out of my ears, I have 6 books in the information phase, I have a huge list of places to submit guest posts…and I know that once I get writing, I’ll come up with something.
But there’s this damned resistance… But you know what, every writer that ever lived dealt with resistance – it’s just part of the game. And not just the game of writing, the game of exercise, of clutter clearing, of business growing, of any artistic or creative endeavour. But there are ways to overcome the resistance. Here are my top 6:
1. Confront the resistance
Ask the resistance what exactly the problem is. Are you feeling under pressure? Feeling un-creative? Have too many ideas? Just don’t want to? What exactly are you resisting? When I asked this question, I got the ubiquitous “I don’t know” (top tip, keep pushing past “I don’t know” to the answer underneath…if you did know, what would the answer be?).
When I pushed underneath I don’t know, there was a really vague feeling that I’d enjoyed my writing day so much last time and got so much done that I wouldn’t live up to that. At this point I nearly snorted my drink out of my nose, because in reality, without the rose-coloured glasses, I wrote 2 articles last time. And I think I started at 3.30 too! So that is bullshit. Resistance often is. So check: what exactly are you resisting? Often you’ll find your resistance is “monster under the bed” syndrome…and it’s just a sock!
2. Change the energy of the room
So, in my office, the energy is all about powering through a list…at least it has been for a few days, so now I’m giving myself the time to just sit and create, I need to change the energy in the room. I have already clutter cleared my desk today (as part of procrastinating getting to the writing) from a bombsite to a clear, clean space; I’m now burning some Bergamot oil and have an 80’s playlist on (because 80’s energy is creative, right?! Or at least, it gets me smiling and dancing…which is similar enough).
I’m thinking (when I’ve stopped writing, because now I’ve started I don’t want to wander off again if it’s not necessary!) I’ll also get the singing bowl and sage out. You could throw open the window, take yourself to a more writing-conducive space, pray, burn your favourite oils, change the lighting, clap…anything that helps you to change the energy of your space from frenetic doing to creative musing.
3. Change the energy of yourself
If your energy is in resistance mode, you need to change your own energy too – get yourself moving, have a dance break, stretch, get outside, shake off the energy, change clothes, tie back your hair, breathe deeply, meditate. Some people I know have a creative ritual – they play a certain playlist, they light a candle, they do a creative meditation.
Personally I only pull that stuff in if I’m struggling, and today I was…hence the 80’s playlist. It’s helping me to change my energy because every now and again I just have to get up and dance to Duran Duran or Haircut 100. You need to do what works for you…and if you don’t know yet, figure it out! Explore, try things…but make sure you’re doing it to get past your resistance, not as part of the resistance.
For example, I was tempted to go and create a writing-friendly playlist today…but I know that would just have been avoidance, so I didn’t. I’ll do it another day. Resistance is tricksy…it’ll pull all sorts of crap to keep you not doing what you’re supposed to be, so pay attention and get the energy of yourself strong and focused without getting distracted by the unnecessary “good ideas”.
4. Eliminate distractions
It’s so easy to wander off from what you’re doing when distractions are all around, so close the door, put up a do not disturb sign, close all unnecessary windows on your pc, move the rest of your to do list out of sight, if the radio or music bothers you, switch it off. Set yourself up for success by minimising distractions.
If you’re on a laptop and the internet keeps tempting you away, put it on flight mode. If you need the connection to access your thesaurus, use an app that locks you out of distraction sites. I use Stayfocusd for Chrome. Of course, if you’re looking for ways to distract yourself, this one’s going to be fun – you may just have to keep putting yourself back on your writing chair over and over again; like a kid being taken back to the naughty step!
One thing I do if I find myself getting figdety is to do something physical – a yoga pose, a dance break, a 2 minute breathing meditation. Figdety can just be a sign that you need to check your posture or get the oxygen flowing, not a sign to wander off to facebook for 4 hours.
5. Use your resistance
You know what, sometimes resistance isn’t there to just drive you utterly wild, it’s there to tell you or teach you something. It’s there to inspire you. For example, I had a list of topics today that I could have written about…but none of them were inspiring me. All I could think about was resistance and what to do to get past the resistance!
So, there was my topic for the day. I’m writing this for me, but I’m fairly sure there’s someone else who needs it too…and next time it’ll be on the blog for me to come back to the next time I’m resisting! You may not have the freedom to write about your resistance (although why not, we all encounter it, and I, for one, would love to read your take on it!), but your resistance still may be showing you something – to lighten up, to change the subject, to do things differently, to make it fun.
As I was writing this, I realised something – I have a list of topics I want to write about, and on my writing days, I look through my list and pick something…but that’s not always the way I write best. Sometimes it is just a case of “follow what’s here” in my mind, heart and soul. So, check that your resistance isn’t actually showing you a better way; as mine is showing me today that I don’t have to pick a subject off the list, I can just go off-piste!
6. Just write
When I think back to writing my book last year, I realise I often procrastinated like a mofo…but eventually I just sat down, put my fingers on the keyboard and started writing…and the flow would come, whether I felt like writing or not. Sometimes you just need to ignore the fucking resistance and just crack on with the thing you want to do.
You love to write, you love to create, so sit your arse down and do it. You may need a sentence or two of “I have no idea what to write today” to unblock the creative pipe, but once you have, out will pour the ideas and inspiration. And if it doesn’t, you have a whole bunch of other stuff to try to get past that damn resistance!
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