Feeling stuck with your writing? Next time you're stuck, try one of these quick practices to get the words flowing again!
Go for a walk outside. In a Master class I took with Judy Blume, I learned that she swears by this method! Ms. Blume goes for a walk outside (in beautiful Key West, no less) every day. The essential part here is to not listen to music. Listen to nature, city sounds--whatever is around you. Let that soundscape clear and settle your mind, and I bet you will come back feeling ready to write.
Drink a cold glass of ice water. This one is really simple and quick and you can do it anywhere! I read somewhere that cold water is soothing to the nervous system and that staying hydrated attenuates any feelings of physical anxiety that you may be experiencing in your body. I can't remember where I read it, but I DO know that it rings true to my personal experience. Sometimes when I'm feeling stuck, all I need is a quick sip of cold water to stop any anxiety spirals about not knowing what to write and get me going again.
Do a "Tapping" meditation, particularly if it's one about getting unstuck, feeling motivated to write, or increasing your productivity. Have you heard about Tapping, which is also referred to as the Emotional Freedom Technique? There's science behind why it works (the TLDR is: by tapping on various acupressure points in your body, you send a calming signal to your amygdala; when you talk (either out loud or just in your head) while either listening to a script or making up your own words, stream-of-consciousness-style, as you go along, your body encodes new circuitry of feeling safe and calm while thinking about this issue rather than feeling activated and anxious). You can read up on Tapping here but, like #2 above, this is a method that I am recommending mainly based on my personal success with it rather than what the research shows. (Just as an aside, this is not a paid or sponsored post; I'm sharing this method because it has worked for me and I genuinely believe in it, not because I'm being compensated to say so! I really like the Tapping Solution app and I regularly subscribe to it, but I've also uncovered major insights by tapping along the points and speaking aloud, following my own stream-of-consciousness. There are a number of free meditations on the app if you want to check it out without fully committing.)
Here's to Getting Unstuck!
Image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash