We’ve all been there. You stare at the blinking cursor. The cursor stares back. It’s a silent, digital standoff, and right now, the cursor is winning. That has been me this week.
Sometimes there is not enough time to wait for the mythical inspiration fairy to turn up. Sometimes you just have to write. Even though your motivation is down a hole. If famous writers only wrote when they were motivated, then most of the books, articles, and newsletters out there would never exist.
I have a few methods I use when I feel like this. Maybe one of these will help you when the writing slump hits.
Lower the Bar
Perfectionism is the absolute enemy of progress. When you lack motivation, the thought of writing a masterpiece feels exhausting. So, don’t try to.
Permit yourself to write absolute rubbish. Tell yourself, “I am going to write the worst first draft in human history.” Ryan Holiday talks a lot about how the only goal he sets for himself is two crappy pages a day. It frees your brain from the pressure. You can easily fix a page of bad writing; you can’t fix a blank page.
Change the Scenery
If you’ve been sitting at the same desk, staring at the same monitor for hours, your brain goes into a stagnation loop. Break the circuit.
Move to the kitchen table, sit on the floor, or head to a local cafe. If the screen itself is the problem, step away from it entirely. Grab a notebook and a favourite pen, or pull out an iPad and an Apple Pencil to scribble things down by hand.
There is a strange, tactile magic in physical writing that often bypasses the mental blocks standard typing creates.
Use the 10-Minute Micro-Timer
When motivation is zero, committing to a three-hour writing session feels like climbing Everest. It’s too intimidating, so you procrastinate instead. I have even been known to favour the washing-up over writing.
Trick your brain by bargaining with it.
Set a timer on your watch or phone for just 10 minutes. Tell yourself that you only have to write until the alarm goes off, and if you still want to quit after that, you have full permission to walk away.
Nine times out of ten, once you break the friction of starting, the momentum carries you right past the 10-minute mark.
Follow the Energy, Not the Outline
If you’re working on a longer piece, you do not have to write it chronologically. If chapter one or the introduction feels like wading through wet cement, skip it.
Look ahead at your outline and find the one section, scene, or tip that actually sparks a tiny bit of interest. Write that part first.
Writing is modular; you can stitch the pieces together later. Capturing a bit of genuine enthusiasm anywhere in the piece will help generate the momentum you need to tackle the drier bits.
How do you tackle the blank page when you’re feeling completely uninspired? Let me know your go-to tricks in the comments!
Until next time: Find the time, find the words, find the way.
Sam 😊
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. — Jack London
