How I Manage "Writers' Block"

Are you one of those people who feel you cannot "write"?  Ideas may come to you but somehow you stop cold when you have to put it down on paper or on screen? Well, here's a very simple solution that I use a lot:  Write WHATEVER that comes to your mind!

I rarely use caps in my writing but this time round, I just have to because I cannot emphasize the word "whatever" more strongly than in caps!  Anyone who can put together a sentence should be able to do that, right?  In fact, if you can talk, or at least talk to yourself, you can write.  It's as simple as that.

Forget about grammatical accuracy, coherence of ideas, long-windedness, repetition of ideas -- these are but small obstacles that can be rectified later.  

The important thing is: Get your thoughts down in word form first.  In fact, resist re-reading what you have written beyond the current sentence.  Just let your words come to you.  Talk to yourself and you will be able to pen down at least a few paragraphs for a start.

I used to suffer the same fate.  I would wake up telling myself I want to complete a blog post or article but by the end of the day, I panicked, started to drum out some introduction, only to find myself going back to edit it because it just doesn't seem enticing enough.  And guess what, I ended up with lots of unfinished articles or drafts, which technically isn't true because I never really got around to completing them in the end!  

It helps too that I started tracking my time after I read the book "168 hours - You Have More Time Than You Think" which I blogged about previously.  Seeing the seconds and minutes ticking away, I felt impelled to type out something - in fact anything - to justify the time I have used.

The result:  I have improved my writing output by leaps and bounds. I wrote in a month what I used to write in half a year!  The quality isn't so bad either, considering the lesser time to output.  Again, don't kill yourself trying to write the perfect script. This is after all not an English exam.  

I think the thought that kept me going ultimately was: " I have a voice, and I want it heard!"   But how can other people know what I want to say unless I put it down in writing?

So there, just keep writing.

"The Real Truth about Success" - the stuff successful people don't tell you

I've read tons of self-improvement books, and some I must say are just over-rated.  They may appear on the best-sellers' list and yes, they may have their fair share of ardent fans, but if they don't speak to me, they don't speak to me.

But this book is kinda different.

Firstly, it's written by a former professional stand-up comedian.  He  now runs a company selling motivation techniques for companies' employees.  So expect "stand up comedian" punchlines in his delivery of the book.

Secondly, it really does say things which many "success" books don't talk about. Like, how your family connections do have a lot to help in bringing you success (Think "Paris Hilton") and how the ones who end up as the bosses may not necessarily be the best in the trade (Think "Dilbert" Comics).

I like his highly pragmatic style and frankly, deep in my psyche, I knew that to be successful, passion alone is not enough.  But I always wonder whether I was just being negative.  Turns out that many people use "passion" indiscriminately as a buzzword but if you really really dig deeper, there is always something else.

These are some of the key take-aways from his book extracted from the last chapter  "The Lazy Reader" (Quick advice for people who'll pretend they've read the book).  I swear I did read the whole book but it's just hilarious to know an author can be this pragmatic to include such a chapter!

The "Real" Success Factors:

 1) "Instant Image Impact" - Using a personal advantage to position oneself as the "solution"even before proving that you have solved the problem before.

2) Clarity, not intelligence, is the biggest determinant of success. That's where the really smart people may lose out.  Like the author said,"Don't let your intelligence prevent you from making sense."

3) Clarity on a consistent basis will establish you as the preferred source, boosting your perceived value, i.e. clients will still come to you for help because you are trusted, not because you are the expert.

4) People rarely seek out or choose the "best" solution. Instead, they choose what makes them comfortable, whether it's the best or not.  Why is McDonald's so successful even though there are others who make better burgers?

5) Don't be shy to leverage on your existing network.  I find this particularly applicable. My first writing job was indeed through someone whom I know - my ex-colleague.  Subsequent jobs were also through a friend!

6) Be and own who you are.  One must be willing to get real about how they are viewed by others, and get past how we want others to see us.

7) If you think your boss is stupid, that person is smart enough to be your boss.

8) Knowledge is not power.  Implementation is power.

168 Hours - You Have More Time Than You Think

Strange how some books don't speak to you until you re-read it.  This book is just what I need to get my act together right now at this stage of my life.

As a mom, wife, family CFO, small-time freelance writer, aspiring yoga teacher, I often struggle to find the right balance on how to utilize my 24 hours a day.

These days, besides watching the stock market a lot more closely (for obvious reasons!), I have also been feeling the urge to grow my writing business and teach more yoga lessons.   I love these three aspects of my life a lot and know I couldn't live without them.  But I only have so many hours to devote, and each does require a certain amount of discipline to delve deep into the craft.  So, very often, I do one a lot more, at the expense of the other or worse, procrastinate and ignore the important stuff.  Finally, I find myself feeling guilty.  I always gave the excuse that there was so much housework to do, so many errands to run, since I am also the chief Maid in the house.

"168 Hours" author Laura Vanderkam had it figured out by asking readers to think of our disposable hours not as daily chunks of 24 hours but more as weekly portions of 168 hours.  It's a very simple but powerful concept.  After all, our Mondays should be very different from our Saturdays and for that matter, Fridays too!  So, why are we so bogged down to looking at our tasks on a day-to-day basis. Also, she forces one to take a close look at what truly makes us feel alive and make sure that we devote a specified number of hours on those areas on a weekly basis.  Certainly, cleaning house everyday does not fall into that category for me.  

I know this book works for me because even before I have finished half of it, I have started to carry out some of the tasks she asked us to do. I have started a time log (in half hour chunks) noting down what I do.   It seems so much like me noting down my daily expenses when I first started on my path to attain financial freedom. Just that this time, it's the limited resource of "time" that I am very careful about.

That very act alone had me subconsciously working my way into serious work.  Because I know I can only do X solid hours each on these three areas of my life "personal finances", "writing" and "yoga" daily, I became extremely wary of distractions like checking FB, Whatsapp etc, which by-the-way do not count as work although many of us are guilty of doing it during "work time".   And productivity has really improved!  Things that I thought I would take at least 2 days took less than that.  I also didn't "plan ahead" as much as I used to, believing that the internal system would weigh the important versus the not-so-important tasks.

I particularly like the fact that I became a lot less frazzled when the house is a tad messier than normal.  In the past, I used to get carried away with cleaning small areas of the house and lost track of time.  Now, I have decided to just chunk it on a particular afternoon!  I also got my two boys to help out more - delegation or outsourcing at work!

Her chapter on "Don't Do Your Own Laundry" speaks to me loud and clear.  She debunked the widely-held belief that "cooking, scrubbing, vacuuming, lunch packing, and laundry" are mandatory tasks under the "caring for the family" core parental competency.  Instead, she insisted, time spent conversing, doing things with the family should be where we need to spend more of our time on! I didn't think of it this way before.  I often felt guilty not being the "good mom" who keeps the house spick and span.  Now, I realize, I was often naggy to my family whenever housework was involved, clean forgetting that why I kept house was really for my family in the first place!

Small things add up. And I hope the changes I make today will really add real joy and fulfillment to my many future 168 hours!