I was supposed to post an article last week, but I didn’t. I didn’t post the article because I had a monumental bout of what’s commonly referred to as “writer’s block,” which is“The condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. I’ve had this before and I’ve battled with it like we all have, and usually it ends up as being a wasted hour (sometimes even a whole damn day — like last week).

If I had written the article beforehand, as opposed to a few hours before it was supposed to go live, everything would have been fine. I had a tight deadline though, and so things got messy. After getting angry at myself due to the poor-ass words that were making their filthy way onto the page, I left my desk and tried to clear my head on a walk around the neighbourhood.

The thing about taking a break from something important, is that as soon as you take a break you start feeling guilty. When this happens, you mentally berate yourself for leaving such a crucial task for even a second.

How are you supposed to take a break to help your writer’s block when your own brain won’t even let you?

Your Brain’s a Bitch

The interesting thing about our brain is that it’s constantly scanning the environment to assess problems and possible risks. Almost 80% of all the thoughts we have are negative, and while most aren’t that bad, some can really get you down.

Brain: You suck. You left your writing, but you should be back there! It’s urgent!

Sometimes it makes us feel guilty when we leave our work to take a break, and because of that it doesn’t ever allow us to actually leave our work — a key remedy for writer’s block. Taking a simple break can cause stress, worry and anxiety when we place far too much urgency and importance on a task that could surely handle waiting an hour or two.

Really, what’s the worst that could have happened if I had taken a break? I had plenty of time — a solid 5 hours to work. There was absolutely no reason for me to feel guilty for taking a break, but I still did, and so do you. Why? Because your brain’s a bitch.

Disregard the Negativity

Your brain is constantly going to worsen your self-doubt and worry by peppering you with negative thoughts, ideas and notions that don’t even make sense when you analyse them properly. So, the next time need to take a break from writer’s block, or you feel anxious about something, ask yourself, “Why?”

Once we begin questioning our negative thoughts, and how it makes us feel, we quickly realise that they really have no foundation to support them.

Brain: You suck. You left your writing, but you should be back there! It’s urgent!

Me: Why is it urgent, though?

Brain: Because it’s being published in 5 hours!

Me: But, 5 hours gives me plenty of time.

Brain: Yeah, but…

Me: But nothing. Shut up brain.

Not only would it have worked for me if I had questioned why I felt guilty, yet odds are it would have helped me fight through the block. Your brain is great and everything, but we have to learn to control our thoughts and stresses.

By analysing our negative thoughts we’re able to realise that life really isn’t that bad, so why not take a bit of a break and forget about work? The cure to any writer’s block is completely separating yourself from your work, and now you know how!

What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

The next time you start panicking over an important assignment, or stressing because you’ve momentarily left a paid project to go and have some fun, stop and ask yourself:what’s the worst that could happen?

Chances are that there’s absolutely no reason for you to worry, as long as you make sure you eventually get back to whatever it is you were doing. Now, don’t you feel silly? I know I do. Spread the word about our silliness and share this post with your friends!

About the Author: Damien du Preez is a freelance web content writer who has written for companies all over the world. When not writing for clients, he spends his time documenting his experiences in business, finance, marketing and freelancing on his website’s blog. Be sure to say hello!