Writing: Make Time to Write: Overcome Your Excuses

Make Time to Write: Overcome Your Excuses

Written by Cynthia Morris

By Cynthia Morris

After a full day of work, family and life, you fall into bed exhausted. Mentally ticking off your to-do list, you cycle through shopping lists, phone calls, and appointments, feeling good about what you have gotten done, until you get to repparttar thing you really want to do. You lay there, bathed in regret – why didn’t you get your writing done today? You vow to do it tomorrow. You will make time for your novel or that article you know would sell. You consider angles, write a few lines in your head, and fired up with enthusiasm for your writing, you fall asleep. The next day continues on much like repparttar 129114 one before and you live repparttar 129115 life of an unfulfilled writer, all because you do not do repparttar 129116 simple work of making time to write. As a coach, I have worked with many writers who claim lack of time as their number one excuse for not writing. But I have discovered that there are a number of other reasons that make it easy to put off our writing. When you do find time to write, these other demons loom up to prevent you from doing repparttar 129117 work. I ask my clients questions to help them understand their process. Use repparttar 129118 questions below to help you discover what is behind your time excuse. When you take some time before writing to gain clarity on what is true for you, that you are able to accomplish your writing more quickly. Often “lack of time” is a mask for fears. The work of writing, while satisfying, can be difficult to make time for. We put it off to do repparttar 129119 easier things, repparttar 129120 things we know how to do. Think about repparttar 129121 things you do when you are procrastinating getting to repparttar 129122 writing. Do you clean, cook, or exercise? Do you spend your valuable writing time reading or watching TV? The act of writing challenges us to dive into ourselves and come out with something tangible. This kind of work can leave us vulnerable to our fears that we are not good enough, not talented enough, don’t have anything to say and are likely to be rejected. What is scary for you about writing? Jot down some of your fears. Then look and see how true they really are. Often when we expose our fears on paper, they lose their power over us. Notice when you are resisting and when you truthfully do not have time to write. Be honest with yourself and learn to identify how it feels when you are resisting. Many creative types struggle with time management. We may have enough time but do not use it in a way that honors our priorities. What are your priorities? If you are not showing up for your writing, maybe it isn’t that important. What else is going on in your life that is more compelling than writing? Take a moment now to jot down where you spend your time. What do you notice about what is important to you? Once you have a clear picture of where your time goes, how do you feel about it? Does repparttar 129123 way you spend your time reflect what is important to you? Work and other obligations seem more fixed and indeed they may be for now, but where else can you make decisions to get writing into your life? What is one thing you could change this week to make more space for writing?

Write Your Way to New Possibilities

Written by Claudette Rowley

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print as long as repparttar

resource box is included. Please notify me of publication by sending a website link or copy of your publication to claudette@metavoice.org.

Word Count: 685 words, 65 characters per line

Thanks, Claudette Rowley =============

Write Your Way To New Possibilities

What makes writing such a powerful tool for reflection and repparttar 129112 discovery of new possibilities?

* Writing makes repparttar 129113 invisible visible. At any one time, you have myriad thoughts, ideas and insights lodged in your mind, waiting to be released. Writing is one way to let your thoughts flow, to take you wherever you need to go.

* Writing assists you in putting aside your internal censor. It is important for you put aside any self-judgment when you begin to write. Refrain from judging how "well" you're writing or repparttar 129114 ideas that show up on repparttar 129115 paper. Instead write to think, write for repparttar 129116 fun of it, write to relieve confusion. Sometimes repparttar 129117 thinking mind can't access what repparttar 129118 writing mind can.

* Writing is a process of reflective thinking or self-observation. It puts you in touch with emotions or thoughts you might not be aware of. Plunging into a problem on paper, you may suddenly see a solution clearly.

* Writing is a form of creativity, and creativity is one of repparttar 129119 best antidotes to mental or emotional confusion and burn-out. When you feel like you've thought a problem to death, stop thinking. Turn to creativity and engage repparttar 129120 right side of your brain. And allow repparttar 129121 answers to come to you.

Try this exercise:

Intuitive Writing

Find a quiet place and a 15-20 minute block of time. Sit down with a sheet of paper and a favorite pen or pencil. Think of an important question you'd like repparttar 129122 answer to. The question can be about anything - repparttar 129123 sky is repparttar 129124 limit.

Clear your mind of everything but repparttar 129125 question itself. Write out your question on repparttar 129126 paper. And let your hand - NOT your head - begin to form an answer. This is an exercise in intuitively connecting with yourself. You will begin to see that "thinking" of an answer is not always to repparttar 129127 most effective way to gather information.

Suspend your judgment about your answer. Let yourself go! Let your creativity and intuitive sense answer repparttar 129128 question for you.

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