Tip 18: Chris and Bec’s favourite tip
Stuck or blocked? Here's one thing to get the ideas flowing again.
Hello and a happy Monday to you,
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the one writing tip that we believe rules them all.
TL;DR: This was ‘productivity is personal’ the idea that your writing process is unique and as individual as you are. To find your process, experiment with different approaches, adapt them to your preferences and life, and be open to change, dropping those that no longer work.
However, this isn’t the tip that we necessarily say the most to people. So, this week we thought we’d write about that tip.
When all else fails: scale back
People often get stuck because in one way or another, they take on too much and their expectations of themselves are too high. For example, people are often:
Too tough: They set themselves overly ambitious targets because big goals are exciting and they think they’re the kind of person who really should be able to reach them (but become discouraged when they don’t).
Too vague: They set themselves targets that are so vague they’re impossible to make progress on (like ‘write a book’) or so vague and intimidating that they put the fear of god into them (like ‘write a really great book’) or completely out of their control (write a bestselling book) and so, they get stuck/never start.
Too perfect: They wait until the conditions are just right. When they have a clear few weeks, when they’ve done all the research they need to, when it’s quiet in the house, when they’re feeling motivated and happy with their idea, when they’ve reached zero inbox and their boss stops calling them. You get the idea.
Too optimistic: They ‘clear the decks’ and buy sumptuous new stationery in the belief that given the optimum situation, beautifully-crafted words and sentences will flow unencumbered from their minds to their fingertips for hours at a time. Being human, the ‘clearing the decks’ approach normally has the reverse effect and leads to one into a procrastination-inducing self-flagellation spiral.
What scaling back means
When we say to people that they should scale back, what that means depends on the person we’re saying it to. (ICYMI productivity is personal!)
If you’re too tough on yourself it means taking on less, introducing constraints (like write a paragraph then stop, write for one hour, then stop) and being kinder to yourself.
If you’re being too vague it means being more specific.
If you’re being too perfectionist it means starting small and accepting that the perfect situation will never arrive.
If you’re being too optimistic it means writing fewer words/for less time and again, being kinder to yourself. (Be kind you yourself is our second favourite tip fyi).
Some people don’t like this advice
People push back on this advice in different ways. Over the years we’ve come to realise that some people equate scaling back with giving up or lacking ambition.
We’re taught to be strivers and we get that. Having high expectations of ourselves is a good thing. But those expectations also need to be realistic otherwise they just become guilt-laden burdens.
Writing doesn’t need to be a slog. In fact, it’s far better if it isn’t.
‘Writing isn’t supposed to be fun,’ people often say to us.
To which we reply, ‘perhaps not, but it’s not supposed to be miserable either’.
‘I just need to get it done, I need to go big’, they say.
‘But you’re not getting it done are you’, we often reply.
It’s far better to scale back and get a few small pieces of writing done and under your belt than have a grand ambition that never goes anywhere.
So, when you’re stuck. Scale back. If you can’t get going - scale back.
If the writing feels intimidating in any way, scale back and make your first step smaller. You can always scale back up again later on.
Keep writing,
Chris and Bec
Want a new writing habit in 2024?
Over six weeks, our Writing RESET course helps you build a habit that works with you and your life.
Stop procrastinating, start writing! RESET is open for enrolment now and starts on the 12th of January. Find out more.
Live events coming up this January
We’ve been invited back by our friends at Reedsy and The London Writers’ Salon to host two New Year goal setting events.
We’re celebrating the January launch in the UK of the paperback of Written which you can pre-order now.
Tune in if you want to set a 2024 writing goal that works for you.
Reedsy: Writing Productivity in 2024: From Resolution to Habit, Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 8 - 9pm GMT. Register free
London Writers’ Salon: Kickstart 2024 with a Healthy Writing Habit, Thursday January 11, 2024, 6 - 7pm GMT. Register here (get 15% off with the code HABIT15)
Your weekly emails are a gift. I consistently find great value in the practical advice you offer. Thank you for sharing another great tip.