Here is a writing practice with a low bar but that can yield great results. It’s not about getting writing done or making progress per se. If you find yourself stuck, avoiding writing, lost or confused about your project, help yourself out of the muck with this simple process.
We start each of my Write ON sessions with a short reflective writing. I set a timer, give a prompt, and we dive in. This practice helps us:
- transition from our day-to-day life into being a writer
- reconnect with our projects
- gain valuable insights about our project.
The shifts we feel when we drop into writing for six minutes are profound.
Use this when you feel:
- distracted even though you know you want to settle into writing
- fear or angst about what you want to write
- confused or uncertain where to start
- too ramped up to focus.
I mentioned prompts, and my prompts play a vital role in making these short bursts of writing useful. They are based on my coaching inquiries, and guide us under the surface to reveal what’s been hidden to us. A few of my favorites include:
- What are you learning?
- What’s exciting now?
- What can you let go of?
It’s simple to engage with this process. Simply set a timer for six minutes, pull one of these prompts at random, and write without stopping.
When the timer goes off, read what you have written. Highlight or underline the main point. Make a list of 1-2 actions you will take from what you’ve learned.
Try it and let me know how it goes! If you use all of these prompts and want more, just email me.
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