Willpower...it's not just for breakfast anymore
Anywho... the first article to catch my interest was "Overcoming Writer's Block Without Willpower" by Mike Bechtle, in which he sites a study where they found that willpower is limited. If you spend the morning resisting that chocolate donut then when you sit down to write that afternoon, you've used up all your willpower.
We're fighting distractions constantly these days; the constant interruption of the cell phone, easy access to the internet and email. We're surrounded by things that demand our attention; radio, billboards, spam, and noise in general; the tabloids scream at us from check-out lines, tweets capture our attention, facebook updates every second. It's a hurricane of information. It takes all our willpower just to concentrate. We're "focused on survival instead of productivity."
"Traditional approached to writer's block call for more discipline. That might have worked when conditions were calm. But it's tough to maintain our creativity and focus when trees are blowing by the window."
"The problem used to be discipline; now, it's distraction."
"We've trained our brains to spend every available moment reacting to what's coming at us instead of choosing what we think about. And the consequences for those of us who rely on our creative processes can be significant."
'Reacting become our default setting, we're constantly reacting to incoming stimuli and we train our reactive brain to take over decision-making. The creative brain gives way to the reactive brain, and we get distracted.'
"We can rewire our brain back to where it belongs," without using up our reserve willpower by limiting the distractions or change the way we handle the distractions.
Limiting the Distractions
- don't start your day by checking your email or phone
- limit your information input
- don't take your phone to bed
- plan your week before it begins
- check email and social media accounts only at set times throughout the day
- keep a notebook with you at all times to capture thoughts as they come
Handling the Distractions
- keep writing sessions short
- stay seated during that time
- replace your afternoon coffee break with a 20-minute nap
- set imperfect expectations
- fuel your creative brain-literally
- write with a single reader in mind, and focus on telling your story to that person alone
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So on that note, I'm taking all this into consideration when I revise my goals for this round of ROW80. I've begun writing daily, limiting my information overload (just had to watch the VP Debate and the tweets while the debate was on), changing aspects of my diet, and would love to take that mid-afternoon nap but don't think my employer would like that. So I highly recommend the article but I also recommend the Nov/Dec issue of Writer's Digest. There are so many articles in the issue that have inspired me, especially with NaNo just around the corner.
Goals: write a minimum of 100 words a day, preferable 500, setting a weekly goal of 3,500 words. Journal every morning. Read inspiring material daily. Meditate daily. Exercise daily. Lose 3-5 pounds a week. Read and write check-in's.
What about you?
May the Muse be with you...
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Categories: uncategorized
Tags: ROW80 Writer's Digest goals information overload diet distractions discipline willpower email cell phone hurricane
There's so much wisdom in this post. We most certainly have to deliberately avoid the countless distractions that bombard us. All the best as you seek to do so and as you seek to fulfill your ROW goals. TTFN
Shawn says: Thx Stephanie. I was blown away by the article. It is a must read for all writers. I'm researching the brain science it mentioned. I really have to re-wire my own brain if I ever want to achieve any of my dreams. Good luck to you in your writing.
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Sounds good goals. I got my edition of WD in the mail last week - it takes weeks to come over to Australia. When I first unwrapped it, I thought - "Wow, how thin are these getting" but the content inside provided me with lots of inspiration, including the writer's block article you spoke of.
Shawn says: one or two issues a year arenearly double the page count but it doesn't make up for getting only 8 issues instead of 12 but I still read cover to cover cause there just may be a gem in there somewhere. This issue had several. Glad to see I can reach the other side of the world with my blog.
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