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How to Stay Inspired





Recently, I walked into a bout of writer's block. The kind that feels like a physical headache and drives you to insanity. As much as I wanted to write, I just couldn't. Sentences just wouldn't form, instead I would spend hours staring at a blank page.

Luckily, I've got through the worst of it. Partly down to just generally moving through it, but also because of different techniques I've tried. Today, I'm going to be showing you some of these techniques. I'm telling them from a writer's perspective, but you could apply a lot of what I'm going to say to anything.


1. Set Vague Goals

Setting goals can be helpful for some. They give you something to work towards. However, I found setting myself strict goals, such as writing to a certain word count, very counter-productive. Instead of enjoying my writing and doing it for myself, I was stressing and making it into hard work.

Now, instead of saying, "I will write this many words," I say, "I'll write until I run out of ideas." Or, "I will write for an hour." This way I still have goals, but I'm not taking the fun out of my writing.


2. Use the Pomodoro Method

Another great way to stay inspired is to write for short bursts of time. Following the Pomodoro Method can be helpful with this.

All you have to do is set a timer for 25 minutes. In that time you just need to write, or get whatever task that needs doing done without stopping. When those 25 minutes are up, you take a short break. Then repeat however many times you need. After the fourth time, you can take a longer break of up to 30 minutes.

This method helps you keep focused and feels less draining than just working for an hour or two straight.


3. Freewrite

Freewriting is my favourite way to stay inspired. It's a great way to just let the creativity flow without worrying whether it's good enough.

For this, set a timer - anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes. Then, just write. Whatever comes into your mind, just write it down and don't let your pen leave your paper. Even if you just keep repeating one word, just keep going.

Not only does this put you in the right frame of mind for writing, it can also help form great ideas.


4. Set a Relaxing Atmosphere 

This is an important point: make sure you set a relaxing atmosphere.

Everyone is different but for me, I like to light some spell candles and put on some calming sea sounds on Spotify. The beach is my favourite place and the sounds always remind me of the place I feel most at ease.

Also make sure your work area is tidy. You know what they say: tidy desk, tidy mind. Or something like that. Either way, you can't work in a messy area.



Those are the four things that helped me get out of this bout of writer's block. I hope they've helped you if you're in a similar situation, whether you're a writer or a university student struggling through your last weeks of assessments. Keep going and believe in yourself.

Until the next time,

Char


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