INTRODUCTION

It’s not easy to be continuously inspired or remain in a continuous state of creativity. It almost seems inevitable that we will all experience writers block at some point on Steemit. This is especially the case if we post a new article every day or even multiple times per week. Sometimes the pressure to produce work in itself can create stress which can lead to writers block.

So how does everyone deal with it when it hits?

I’m sure that everyone has their own method for dealing with writers block but this article outlines some of the methods that I use to overcome it on Steemit. If you have any other methods that aren’t listed in this post, please feel free to share them in the comments.

ELIMINATE DISTRACTION AND EXTERNAL STIMULI

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For me the most important thing when it comes to eliminating writers block is to eliminate distraction and external stimuli from the environment. In general our brains tend to continuously search for stimulation and often times we distract ourselves with things like music, TV, our computers or our phones. However, these distractions tend to reduce our own thinking, imagination and creativity which greatly affects our ability to write.

However, when no external stimuli is present around us, our brains are forced to create its own means of entertainment so our thoughts become deeper, more imaginative and more insightful. I personally find that my thoughts are more interesting when there is a general lack of external stimulation in my environment. Sometimes I just sit on the couch and allow my mind to wander aimlessly. I find that this helps a lot with creativity and imagination.

REDUCE EXPECTATION AND REDUCE STRESS

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Often writers block manifests itself because of stress and because of the expectations and goals that we place on ourselves. Often we feel that we have to write something each day which can be stressful. Furthermore, if we do not have any ideas in the moment, we may get even more stressed out which may add to the problem and create a sort of vicious cycle. Sometimes forcing ourselves to write something when we do not have any ideas can actually increase our writers block. In such cases, I tend to step away from the computer and take a break. Its not the end of the world if I do not make a post each and every day.

FREE WRITE/STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

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This is a bit contradictory to what I just wrote above, but sometimes free writing can inspire us to be creative. Free writing (or stream of consciousness) is basically just writing down whatever pops into our heads in the moment. It is basically writing your own internal dialogue without editing it or trying to make sense of what is being written. This is basically mind wandering on paper. Its not always easy and sometimes its quite silly, but it can also lead to some interesting topics and articles.

DO MUNDANE TASKS

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I find that sometimes when I do mundane tasks like the dishes, house cleaning, outdoor chores or taking a shower that my brain becomes extremely active and creative. Often I have my best thoughts in these moments. I find that the key to this is to not think about writing and to not think about what I am thinking about. The key is to let the mind wander. I also find that it helps not listening to music because my brain often zones out and allows the music to occupy my mind.

DRIVING WITHOUT MUSIC

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I find that when I go for long drives without music my mind becomes extremely active. This is very similar to the method listed above in that it combines a mundane task (driving) with a lack of stimulation. Often I have my most creative thoughts when I am driving. The only challenge to this is that there is no way of writing the thoughts down and sometimes I forget what I was thinking about, which can be frustrating. Nonetheless, it sometimes leads to some cool ideas that I can write about later.

KEEP A LIST OF IDEAS

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Ideas often pop into my head about topics that I think would be interesting to write about. In these moments I try to keep a list of the ideas and to write them down in my phone so that I can review them later. I write them down so that I don't forget about them which still happens and which can be very frustrating. I typically use the ideas in my list as back up for when I’m lacking a moment of inspiration. Sometimes I never get to the ideas on my list but at least they are there in case I need them. I definitely recommend writing about the topic that you are most excited about in the moment and saving your alternate ideas for later. I find that my inspired posts tend to be the most interesting and well written - at least to me.

CONCLUSION

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These are just a few of the methods that I use to overcome writers block. Each person is different and I’m sure there are hundreds of other methods that people use to get their creative juices flowing. I’m interested in what you have to say so feel free to share your own methods in the comment section :)

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Thanks For Reading

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