3 Ways to Be a Better Writer

Do you wish you were a better writer, but always feel like something is holding you back? Chances are, whatever is keeping you from writing the novel, blog or thesis that you wish you could write are the common factors that all writers face: physiological needs, thought patterns that block creativity, or self-defeating habits that you’ve developed. Let’s talk about how these can be overcome.

1. Body Needs: Identify Them,  Satisfy Them, Write

What holds me back from writing in terms of antecedent behavior to writing are a million physiological needs. I’m hungry, I have to go to the bathroom, my hip or back, or neck hurt. All of these have a solution. Why fight them? Fix them.

2. Too Many (Or Not Enough) Ideas: Back of the Napkin Method

Whether it is too many or not enough ideas, the way to overcome this problem is simple. If you have  too many ideas, write them down. All of them. One by one. In a circle, in a list, in little thought clouds. If you don’t have enough ideas, start drawing, or just write any words that cross your mind.  Unless you are under the influence of mind altering substances, there are always things floating around in there. Set a timer for 10 minutes and sit with a blank piece of paper or black screen. Don’t self-censor. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Courtesy Flickr Melo McC

3. It Takes Ten Minutes to Get Coffee at Starbucks

Once you have taken care of 1 and 2 above, think about ways you can work this into your daily routine. Most humans are on autopilot at least 50% of the time anyway.  Make it the first thing you do at work when you come in, or make it the last thing you do before you leave. Your job isn’t going to vaporize into the void in 10 minutes. Emails can wait. Whatever your writing goals, you already have the keys inside yourself to overcome them.  The way you unlock that potential is to set yourself up for success. Whatever the behavioral cue that helps you get it done is ok. Give yourself permission, go ahead and write it out.

Pain in the Neck

Have you seen the Celebrex ad? “Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion?” This week my body hit a bump in the road. With the fear of gym overcrowding hanging over my head, I had stopped going to the gym in the morning. I was going every day at 1:40 p.m. (no one there at that time!) and doing 45 or 50 minutes or intense cardio. My goal was to reach 5 miles every time I set foot in the gym. Because of the time constraints of leaving the office in the middle of the day, I had stopped doing my physical therapy and stretching routine. I don’t know if the lack of stretching or Murphy’s law is what set off this problem in my upper back and neck.

On Thursday, I ran into the bathroom just before we left to attend the Surgeon General’s “Call to Action on Breastfeeding”. I was pulling up my pants when I got a sudden stabbing, throbbing “don’t move” horrible pain in my neck. It felt as if it were some sort of muscular spasm. I took my Ultram but to no avail. The pain was still there an hour later as we rolled into the George Washington University auditorium. It must have been bad because all four of my colleagues said the same thing when I walked in: “Are you okay?”

Yes, I was okay…no I really wasn’t. I ran into and out of the auditorium. That Amanda Bookmark was right. There was no signal in the auditorium, which made Tweeting out the messages impossible. I had to go outside and Tweet what I was hearing on the webcast. After the event was over, we went back to the office but I couldn’t leave. Dr. M was supposed to come and give an in-service on the Affordable Care Act. Of course, since it was evident that this was just NOT MY DAY, she couldn’t find us and was half an hour late, which meant that she didn’t finish her presentation in time for me to go see Dr. Kim the acupuncture specialist.

That night, my Darling Spouse gave me a massage….and every night since then. I’ve been doing my stationary bike and physical therapy exercises slow…ly….. religious…ly I don’t want to sustain this sort of injury again.

Start the New Year Right!

2011 is off and running and I am afraid of everyone else’s healthy intentions. I am afraid of gym overcrowding. I am looking forward to gym drop out.

Every year I see the same thing in my gym. January first there are more people there than I have ever seen before. The locker rooms are impossible to navigate, the lines for machines long. That state of affairs continues for the first two weeks of January, and then right around Martin Luther King Day, there is a drop off. Something about the three day weekend makes people’s spirits give out. They give up, back away, let go, throw in the towel. That is when I get my gym back.

So my New Year’s resolution is the following: stay away from the gym for the first 17 days of January. I have a stationary bike, a couple of workout DVDs, and a list of physical therapy exercises. I am gonna work on those for the time being. Having the gym all to myself makes me want to go more. I can count on solace, and on having an elliptical with my name on it the rest of the year.

Health expercts argue about what is the best way to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Today while I was pedaling on my bike someone was on CNN saying that it is better to make a “big” change so you get immediate feedback about your behavior. Still, the Centers for Disease Control have taken the approach of promoting “Small Steps” as the secret to lasting adoption of healthy habits. What works for you? What makes you tick? I am a creature of habit and I like being left alone when I am sweating. That’s why you won’t see me in the gym until Jan 18th :)