In a guest post on C.S. Lakin’s blog, Michelle Boyd offers advice for writing when you don’t feel like writing. “It doesn’t matter that the conditions are perfect, or that I’ve been looking forward to this quiet time for days,” Boyd says. “It all adds up to the same old thing: I want the writing to be done. But I don’t want to have to do it.”
Writers and coaches offer a lot of advice for getting yourself to write, but Boyd had a unique one.
Lie.
“I first learned this trick from my running self, who is also quite ‘lazy,’ especially when the weather turns cold,” she explains. “On the days I don’t want run, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and say to myself, ‘I’m not going running, I’m just getting out of bed.'” This proceeds to putting on running clothes, donning running shoes, and checking the weather. “Two minutes later I’m on the pavement,” she says. Fifteen minutes later, she’s having a good time.
It’s also worked for her writing, as “I’m not writing, I’m just…” often turns into a solid writing session. “Why does this strategy work? What’s happening that makes it so powerful for so many people?” Byrd asks. “The reason this strategy works is because ‘lying’ is an easy way to do two things that the research on productivity says will ease our way into writing.”
In this example, the lie is taking a small manageable step toward the activity you don’t want to do, but not tackling the activity itself. Getting dressed and checking the weather are so far removed from actually running that the brain doesn’t feel the need to shut down against them.
“Scholars who study habits and goal setting all tell a similar story: one of the best strategies for getting started on a dreaded activity is to break it down into parts so small and so manageable that getting them done feels like no trouble at all,” Byrd says. “We sorta sneak up on ourselves until we’re past our own defenses and helpless against the attack.”
This approach also works because the small steps don’t amount to a commitment to the activity you’re avoiding. Fear and anxiety don’t have the opportunity to jump in. “If we can head off those agitating voices with a less threatening form of self-talk, our chances of getting our butts in the chair and our minds in the game are a lot higher,” Byrd says.
Try it!
