I had a heck of a time convincing myself to do my workout today. I just needed an hour of purposeful movement to tick off the box in my to-do list, and I felt so grumpy and disinterested that none of my options sounded like fun. But I dragged myself into the gym, and within five minutes, I felt my emotional whirlpool settle, and I started to smile.
I’m sure you know where I’m going with this.
Starting is the hardest part. There will always be days when you don’t feel like writing. There will always be days when pulling out your computer and opening that WIP doc is as painful as pulling teeth. Over time, if you create a habit of pushing through those feelings, you won’t fall victim to them nearly as often. But how do you create that habit of pushing through?
Don’t give yourself time to overthink.
If you sit still contemplating the steps of the task for too long, it’s going to feel more and more daunting with each passing second. The clock ticks on, and eventually you’ll convince yourself it’s “too late” to get anything done, and — if you’re anything like me — you’ll swear up and down that you’ll get it done first thing in the morning.
Don’t let that spiral begin. I like to count down from three and then move. That movement can be getting off the couch and plugging in my laptop. It can be doing twenty seconds of jumping jacks just to shake off stillness. If you sit still long enough, decision paralysis will get you. Don’t let it get you! Make yourself move right away.
Create a routine that begins with very easy steps.
Routines are a great way to lock in good habits. They eliminate the need to make decisions in the moment; you just follow the pre-established steps which are tailored specifically to your needs. It helps to make the first steps of that routine very, very easy.
For instance, step one of your routine can be turning on your computer or setting out your notebook and pens. Easy-peasy. Low commitment. Low effort. Step two might be putting on your work playlist and laying out some snacks. Step three can be to write five sentences. Ease yourself into the work as kindly and patiently as possible so it doesn’t feel so scary.
Trust in your good experiences.
I know for a fact that I never regret a writing session. And I know that nine times out of ten, I will have a pretty good session even if I wasn’t feeling it when I started. Sometimes, that knowledge is enough to make me push through the bleghs and start writing anyway.
Commit to writing one paragraph/page/chapter before you give up.
Depending on how quickly you write and how long your sessions typically are, choose an amount of time or work that you’ll commit to before deciding whether or not to keep going. I do this when I go for runs a lot. Barring injury-related pain, I tell myself that I have to go for at least one mile before I’m allowed to quit. After a mile, when I’ve given myself time to warm up and settle in, I almost never decide to quit.
If you let yourself push through that initial warm-up period, you might very well find the words start to flow. Don’t quit too soon. You’re only robbing yourself!
Don’t quit on yourself.
That’s the long and short of it. Don’t let yourself fall victim to the negative thoughts that tell you this is too hard, you’re not enough, and you can’t push through this block. You possess greater drive, greater strength, and more creativity than you can even imagine. And you can see that for yourself when you refuse to give up.
Go write!
