Four Things I Do When I Don’t Feel Like Writing

That at least move me in the right direction

Photo by Bruno Cervera on Unsplash

I hear lots of writers referring to ‘writer’s block’, generally understood to be an inability to think of anything to write. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced that. I generally have way too many ideas and never struggle to think of a topic to write on.

What I do struggle with is getting started, even though I have a lot of things I want to write about. Or that I have to write about (I’m a full-time freelancer who is - as often as not - working to a brief.) Here’s how I get around that.

I read (something related to what I intend to write)

In other words, I get started on the research, and before I know it I’m usually making notes. Sometimes I have a whole outline and a couple of well-made points before I realise I’ve started writing.

I research in some other way

Watching a video or listening to a podcast on the topic I’m planning to write on both work well. Again, I’ll generally start making notes whether I intended to or not.

I walk

And let my mind wander. It usually starts coming up with whole fully formed paragraphs I can jot down when I get home (or record as a voice note on my phone while I walk).

If I come up with exactly nothing, at least I’ve moved my body, touched grass, and breathed some fresh air. Healthier than just staring at the screen.

I set a timer

I tell myself I’m not going to fit another proper writing session in today, but I am going to write for at least ten minutes.

Worst case scenario: I have ten minutes worth of bad writing (that might still contain a good idea or two) to edit tomorrow. Best case scenario: I just keep writing, maybe for an hour or so. An object in motion (often) stays in motion.

---

Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week

• Discover the 7 Essential Steps That Transformed My Newsletter into a Substack Bestseller in Just 45 Days by

  Deni Sahaya

• Week 16: 10 Phrases That Scream ‘AI Wrote This!’ — Even When It Didn’t by

  Tan Rosado

• Is her writing worth more than a Netflix subscription? by

  Noor Rahman

What else I’ve been up to this week

Reading: Substack Books: A Complete Guide to Turning Your Substack Posts Into Money Making Books by

J.R. Heimbigner

(free on Kindle Unlimited)

Watching: Planethon videos (getting my plan on for 2025)

Learning: More about Benable

Tidying up: My messy Pinterest boards

Procrastinating on: Creating a hero post

This week’s Medium posts

(Friend links, as always, so you can read for free.)

• Online Courses to Help You Manage Your Personal Finances

• Is Shiny Object Syndrome Keeping You Broke?

That’s all for this week. If you’re reading this online and you’re not subscribed yet, feel free to subscribe to get future posts straight to your inbox.

Some of the links that you’ll find in my content all around the web are affiliate links. If you buy through me, I may earn a small commission. Find out more about how I use affiliate links here.

The newsletter is free right now, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, but if you want to buy me a cup of tea (or even a book from my want-to-read list) you can.

---

Medium | Gumroad | My eBook | My Favourite Things | Popular Posts