7 Expert Tips To Overcome Writer’s Block For Good

Published in

Marketing And Growth Hacking

9 min readApr 5, 2019

Writer’s block happens to the best of us. It comes out of nowhere, lasts anywhere from three hours to three weeks, and is difficult to overcome. There isn’t a single technique or trick that will work universally because there are multiple causes.

What’s more, it’s possible for a writer to assume writer’s block and actually be suffering from occupational burnout, which poses more severe, longer lasting risks to their health.

Writer’s block is defined as:

Cases of writer’s block lasting for years at a time are rare in my experience. Moreover, I don’t buy into the philosophy that there are instances in which it cannot be “cured.”

But what’s evident by the definition is that writer’s block negatively impacts an author’s ability to conceptualize or come up with new ideas, and it negatively impacts an author’s ability to finish ongoing work.

So on one hand, an author may have trouble coming up with a topic. On the other hand, he or she may start out strong and run into writer’s block midway through a project.

Causes

There are internal and external causes associated with writer’s block.

Internal causes can include:

A lack of inspiration
An inability to channel emotions into creativity or productivity
A lack of confidence or of self-esteem
A lack of knowledge concerning a specific topic

External causes can include:

Distractions coming from family members and friends
Distractions coming from social media
Distractions coming from news and current events
Stressful “triggers” from life (life sucks sometimes)
Pressure in various other forms

It’s also been suggested that there are instances in which writer’s block is a result of the body’s defense mechanism; wherein our brains, in times of stress, put more emphasis on physical movement than on thought processes.

Coincidentally, this is also why we sometimes experience stomach issues when presented with stressful situations. Our brain is telling our stomachs to empty themselves so that we’re able to perform better during “fight-or-flight” mode.

…moving on. :)

I wrote this list for amateur and professional bloggers, as well as for marketers and small business owners who’re interested in blogging for business. The R.O.I., when done correctly, is absolutely mindblowing.

If you want to incorporate a blog but don’t have the time, expertise, or skillset to pull it off, contact me today.

The following techniques are invaluable. You can’t really put a price on peace of mind.

1. Use productivity-enhancing apps.

Procrastination is a big-time blog killer. Since consistency is so important to the success of a blog, procrastination does a lot of damage.

There are a number of excellent apps developed for smartphones, desktops & laptops, and tablets that aim to increase productivity.

I recommend a quick Google search to find apps that work best for you, but a short list of a few apps that I know work great includes:

Trello
Evernote
Tomato Timer
Toggl
Ulysses

2. Utilize websites to generate new content ideas.

A lack of new ideas can be a symptom and a cause of writer’s block. And if coming up with ideas isn’t a problem, generating good ones that lead to engagements and conversions usually is.

Luckily, there are several sites and methods that can help you scale this obstacle with relative ease.

Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is an amazing website/app that offers free insight into keywords and phrases. The metrics they offer include:

Social media shares
Total engagement numbers
Backlinks

Buzzsumo provides topics that are trending. All you have to do is enter a niche-specific keyword or phrase and the results will pop up.

Google Trends

Google Trends enables users to see the number of people searching for specific keywords or phrases. It allows users to compare multiple search terms and even shows what geographic location the majority of search queries originate from.

Google Trends allows you to view the performance of a keyword or phrase over varying lengths of time.

For instance, you can see how the term “content marketing” has performed over the last day, the last week, last month, or even the last year.

Just enter a search term in and check out the “related topics” and “queries” to help generate new ideas.

Other sites that I use to identify trending topics include:

Social media

Many social media channels actually list trending topics. Twitter, for instance, provides trending lists based on your location and LinkedIn maintains a section called “What people are talking about now.”

Facebook doesn’t have a trending list anymore, but it’s still invaluable for identifying trends due to the number of people who are active on Facebook worldwide.

Following influential profiles is a great way to keep tabs on the pulse of your niche/industry.

Identify posts, articles, and comments that receive more engagement than usual. If the profile is popular enough, you can spot stories and topics that are about to start trending.

Social media is especially significant because people control trends. And people of all different ideologies, ethnicities, nationalities, and social classes collide in one space, making social media exceptionally valuable for this type of research.

3. Keep a daily journal.

I realize this one seems like a bit of a cliché, but if you give it a chance, journal-keeping can transform your life.

The truth is, you already have a content creation process.

Even if you don’t know it.

There are times of the day when you’re at your best. There are even songs, sounds, and colors that enhance your creativity.

But you don’t know it, because it’s subconscious. And when you get stuck with what you assume is writer’s block, it could be a whole host of elements working against you.

But you can solve the puzzle with self-reflection.

In my experience, the most effective method for self-reflection is journal-keeping.

By documenting relevant aspects of an average day in the life of…you, you’ll be able to cross-reference between exceptionally well content you’ve created and the steps you took subconsciously prior to creation.

I don’t suggest writing down every moment of every day, but there are several specific elements to look out for. They include:

Diet
Exercise
Music
Outdoor activities
Emotional circumstances

A lot of writers work well at night. Some work well alone. Others tend to work well when they’re listening to a specific genre of music. Regardless, if you document relevant activities or elements of your day, you’ll have something to look back on when you’re unable to be productive.

4. Exercise.

Physical activity releases endorphins and causes an elevation in mood. This reaction is commonly referred to as “runner’s high.”

I’m not going to dive into the science of brain chemicals, but I’ll attest to the fact that exercise does wonders for the body and the mind.

Not only does physical activity reduce the likelihood of physical and mental disorders, but it also enhances brain function, improving our ability to create elegant and engaging content.

Any form of physical activity that elevates your heart rate is beneficial but aerobic type exercises are noted for quick results.

Despite “mounting evidence” proving the necessity of exercise, almost 80% of adults in the US fall short of the suggested 30 minutes per day.

Exercise is great because it prevents writer’s block from happening. And if you’re in the middle of a battle, it energizes your mind.

If you’re serious about your work, you’ll take advantage of every opportunity to increase its value to the consumer. Physical exercise improves academic performance by enhancing your brain.

Check out this article by Healthline.com for effective aerobic exercises you can do at home, at school, or even at work.

5. Change your scenery… and your company.

One of the perks of “remote work” is having the ability to choose where you’d like to work on any given day. And while your bedroom is comfortable, it’s not exactly a conduit of productivity.

Working from home is great. But working day in and day out in the same room is not.

Monotonous scenery can diminish your mood, easily blocking your flow of creativity.

Changing your scenery doesn’t necessarily mean getting away from people. But if the people you live with or work around on a daily basis don’t believe in you, they’re detrimental to your performance. Period.

I know it’s a tough pill to swallow, but often times our friends and family members do more damage than our enemies.

I’m not saying it’s intentional. But if you’re stuck in a rut because of you’re not able to meet the expectations of someone else, you need to change up the process.

6. Force your creativity loose with a mindmap.

If you’re sitting around waiting for the mood to strike before you write, go ahead and hang it up.

It’s not coming anytime soon. Sometimes you have to just sit down and make yourself write.

If you have an article already started and you have a good idea of where you’re at and where you’re going, just sit down and start typing. It may take a few minutes to get in the groove, but it will come.

If you don’t have an article to start working on immediately, check out MindMup is a mind mapping tool that helps flesh out an idea or topic.

You don’t even have to sign up to use MindMup. Just follow the link and click on “Get Started.” The rest is pretty simple.

The reason tools like MindMup work so well for writer’s suffering from writer’s block is that often times, writer’s block can lead to procrastination. And it can be tricky to distinguish the two once you’re there.

7. Defeat procrastination.

Not only can writer’s block lead to procrastination, but it can also stem from procrastination. The longer you go without jumping back into your work, the harder it is to find purpose, motivation, passion, and creativity.

It’s best to defeat procrastination early on. But to do that, you’ve got to know what it is. And in short, it’s a bad habit.

Procrastination is a reaction, really. The root cause of procrastination is fear. And not just random fear. It’s a specific fear.

It’s a fear of failure. Alternatively, it’s a fear of not being accepted, which adds up to failure.

When we’re faced with a difficult situation or when there’s a difficult task to be done, we procrastinate because we lack confidence in our abilities to succeed.

It’s something we see our parents and grandparents do. We pick it up as a habit fairly early in life but rarely do we acknowledge it in ourselves.

James Clear published an excellent article on this very topic. In it, he describes bad habits (as a concept) and lists a number of steps that can be used to replace bad habits with good ones.