How to Hustle Your Writing When You’re Lazy
How to Hustle Your Writing When You’re Lazy
Get words on the page so you can go back to the couch
The Story Writer’s Path
Get words on the page so you can go back to the couch
It’s time to admit it — I’m lazy.
On winter days when it’s cold and wet outside (I live in the Pacific Northwest, where we have rainy day after rainy day this time of year) I want to laze about on the couch, reading a book or knitting a sweater, and dreaming of sunny days in far-away locations.
But I’m also a writer, and because of that I’ve got to write. I’ve got to get words on the page to satisfy editors and to please myself. If I go too long without working on my novel, I start to get cranky and edgy. I start to feel antsy, like something is wrong.
And then lazing on the couch is no longer fun because I feel too guilty. How can I be lolling about when there is writing to do? When you’re a writer, you live in a state of constant conflict, always worried about getting the work done. Which is why I have devised ways to do just that so you, and I, can get back to the couch where we belong.
Hustle your writing
The idea behind hustling your writing is to get in, get it done, get out and get back to whatever else it is you want to do — whether that really is lollygagging or taking a nice long walk in the lovely winter weather.
To do this, you’re going to need to set aside a couple of things — like your social media addiction, and perhaps some of your beloved sleep. Though wouldn’t you happily trade those in order to get your writing done and still have time to be lazy? I would.
So first we are going to focus on….focus. No big surprise, right?
Focus
Yes, I know you know you’re distracted much of the time you work. We live in a vastly connected world, with a 24-hour news cycle that never stops. The press of an image and we can check email, social media, the news, a blog on a topic we’re interested in, a store to shop at. And, worse, every time we press one of those buttons and find something of interest we get a little dopamine thrill, which makes us feel good. The dopamine rush is a chemical messenger affiliated with the pleasures of drugs, sex, gambling, food, alcohol. So you can see why we crave it — and why it becomes easier and easier to keep pressing those icons so we can continue to feel good. Every time you do it, you’re making it easier for your brain to give into distraction and disconnection.
But constantly checking email and social media apps is a flat-out focus killer. Maybe you, like me, convince yourself that you’re just giving your brain a quick bring. And then half-an-hour later, you look up and realize how much time you’ve wasted. It’s currently estimated that the average American spends one quarter of his time at work every day on non-work related social media.
So yes, focus is hard these days. But you can train your mind to be better at staying focused, and it is imperative that you do in order to achieve your writing goals. All of the suggestions in this article will help you to do that.
Go to it first
Getting your writing done first thing will free you. You’ll no longer be sitting around thinking, I should be writing, I should be writing, I should be writing, and that alone will free up a ton of energy. Plus, there’s this thing that happens when you get the most important thing in your life done first. It often makes the rest of the day flow like a knife through butter — easy and gracefully. I’m not exactly sure why this happens but I believe it’s because of what I mentioned first — you’re not longer wasting energy worrying about not writing.
As James Clear notes, when you do your most important thing first, then you’ve always got something important done. Plus, willpower is often highest in the morning. And, you’re doing what’s most important to you, not following someone else’s agenda. Which is what most of us spend much of our time doing.
You can do your most important thing (writing) whenever you start your day, be it after lunch or in the evening. The point is to get your writing done first. Everything else will then follow.
Try morning pages or a different kind of journal writing
I wake up early (5–5:30 AM) naturally and pop out of bed. After drinking water and grabbing a cup of coffee, I head to my office. The goal is always to get a good chunk of fiction writing done, which is my most important thing. But it’s sometimes hard to concentrate on fiction right away.
I used to do morning pages. Did them for years, as a matter of fact. Morning pages are a technique developed by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, that allow you to clear your mind. Basically, you write three pages of whatever first thing in the morning. (Or after you’ve grabbed your coffee, in my case.) You don’t judge what you’re writing or try to make it pretty. You just write. Not only is it a great mind-clearer, it’s also a great way to generate ideas — they seem to pop up naturally as you engage your pen on the paper. Here’s an article on morning pages that gives you some good tips.
I highly recommend morning pages. Lately, though, I’ve wanted a more focused practice. I’ve hit on a simple process that works for me and might work for you, too. It takes about 20 minutes. I start by filling a page with what I did the day before. At the start of this year, I got entranced by the idea of writing in a five-year journal, but that seemed too limiting, so I began this instead. And it’s great. It gets me writing, and I love having a record of what I’ve done. After that, I write down 10 ideas. I got this idea from James Altucher, who promotes it often. Some — most — of the ideas are ridiculous or stupid or inane. But often there are jewels. I’ve come up with article ideas and bits for characters that never would have occurred to me without this practice. And finally, I finish with some gratitudes — making a sincere attempt to remember the details, not just skim the surface.
Practicing Gratitude Benefits Story Writing
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Know where you’re going
Ernest Hemingway famously quit his writing sessions in the middle of a sentence so that he’d always know where to start the next day. You can do this, and other techniques so that you don’t face the dreaded question: what do I write next?
One thing that works well is to end a writing session with some quick notes to yourself as to what you envision happening next. Then when you hit the page the next day, you’ll be all set. You can also skim the previous pages you wrote when you begin a new session. This often gets the juices going. But do not, I repeat, do not, fall into the trap of starting to edit said pages.
It can also be helpful to maintain a loose outline. That word is anathema to some writers, but if you’re one of them, think of it as just a list. A simple list of where you’re headed next in order to give you some guidance. I’m not one for complicated outlines and structures but I find a loose list invaluable.
Keep your hands moving
Whether you are writing by hand, or using a keyboard, one key to getting your writing done is to keep your hands moving. Don’t stop to edit (see below), and don’t stop to check for email or to see what’s happened in the news. Just keep your hands moving across the keyboard or paper.
Many writers practice this as a form called free writing. The rules of free writing are simple — find a prompt to get you started, set a timer for 15 to 20 minutes, and then go to it. But no matter what, keep your hand moving across the page. If you can’t think of anything to write, write that. Don’t worry about staying true to the topic of the prompt — that’s just a starting point. When the timer goes off, stop. And then see what you’ve got. Free writing is a great generative exercise and it also has the benefit of allowing you to feel you’ve gotten words on the page.
But you may also want to use this format for your other types of writing. I’ll talk about the concept of sprints next, so let’s focus on the most important aspect of free writing: keeping your hands moving across page or keyboard. Keep writing. Don’t stop to gaze out the window while you supposedly think. Down that path distraction lies. It’s too easy to decide you need to think about what’s going on in the world and click away from your work. Keep writing. Yes, you’ll write some terrible sentences and some that don’t make sense — but that’s why you have a delete key. Most writers find, to their surprise, that the results of writing quickly are surprisingly good. Try it. You might be surprised and happy also.
Sprints
Sprints hit a lot of the suggestions I make her — focus, keep your hands moving, getting it done. The idea is to set a timer and write for a given amount of time. When the timer goes off, you take a break. Then you rinse and repeat. This is also known as the Pomodoro technique, which is a productivity technique developed by Francesco Cirillo. He advocates sprints of 25 minutes with a 5 minute break, but many people design their sprints for longer. Don’t get too ambitious and go for too long, though. The idea is that short sprints keep your mind occupied and the short break refreshes it just enough to set you in motion again. After four pomodoros, you can take a longer break.
You can even use an online Tomato Timer for your sprints. Why the tomato theme? Because, as a university student, Cirillo used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato.
And, of course, there are apps to help you apply the sprints. I’m fond of brain.fm, which gives you music optimized for focusing (or relaxing or sleeping). And Freedom allows you to log yourself off of the internet for a pre-set amount of time. Also highly recommended.
Best Tools for Writers
You only need a few items for success in 2020writingcooperative.com
Edit later
Editing and writing require two different kinds of thinking — critical and creative. Critical thinking is analytical, logical, precise, detailed. Creative thinking is expansive, loose, free, out of the box. So don’t stop your writing flow with your editing mind. When you’re putting words down on the page, you need to tame your inner critic and get him to take a nap so you can work.
It can be fun to do a Meet Your Inner Critic exercise, where you close your eyes, relax, and then ask your inner critic to appear. Some of my students have inner critics that look suspiciously like their elementary school English teacher who marked read all over their papers. Mine looks like an impish elf and his name is Patrick.
By personifying your inner critic in this way, you can make deals with her. Tell her you’ll need her when you get to the editing stage — but for now she needs to be quiet and let you write. And then go for a writing sprint.
So there you have it — hustling for the lazy writer, like me. Join me on the couch later!