Conquering the Blank Page
Revealing Secret #6 of My Unbroken 290-Day Writing Streak: Action Against Overthinking
From Overthinking to Overcoming
Attention — the one thing writing as a skill has over other skills.
What do I mean by that?
The act of writing cannot be done unless you are immersed, focused and free of distraction.
While not recommended, I’ve always found it surprising when I see people who can intertwine skills like listening, speaking, organizing, etc. with another activity.
They don’t have to be immersed to fully understand or experience what’s going on.
Writing isn’t like that. You cannot write meaningfully unless you are focused.
This brings me to my final secret of how I’ve managed to write every day for the past 290 days.
For nearly 10 months now, every morning, I’ve faced a blank page on my desk and let me tell you — most days it has been terrifying.
Thanks to unlimited possibilities and word combinations, starting from scratch and filling the blank canvas has felt daunting.
Starting fresh, with new angles, and new perspectives every single day is one of the most difficult experiences I’ve had to deal with.
The cognitive load on the mind, emotions and inner dialogue is so heavy that I’ve almost given up or thought about giving up several times.
All of this happens because internally, I’ve always considered the act of writing as one of the most difficult things a human can do.
While this is true to some degree, these thoughts in the past have instilled fear and stopped me from performing the act.
The act of writing.
In the past 10 months, the best solution I’ve found for this is to simply start.
Typing on the laptop or scribbling on a notepad helps me forget the inner voice and focus on what I’m trying to write.
It helps break the inertia.
It brings my mind to the present if it’s dwelling in the past or the future.
Action cures fear.
So, if you find yourself freezing or unable to lift yourself to write, pick a notebook and start scribbling gibberish if required.
Do it for a few minutes and within a few minutes you’ll find yourself immersed.
Permit yourself to write badly at first, so write well later.
This has been one of the biggest takeaways for me during my streak.
I hope this encourages you and gives you ideas on how to approach your writing.
Let me know if you have experienced something along these lines.
This also concludes this six-part series. If you enjoyed this, you can find parts 1–5 below.
