Cognitively Benign Writing Session

I am not sure if I have written about this concept before, but I talk to clients about it all the time. What an odd choice of words for an act that so many people have so many strong feelings about. Benign. Why not excited, happy, joyful? 

Well, these are great to experience, for sure, but each of them is dependent upon evaluations/judgments about how your writing session is going. If you can evaluate a session as good, you will judge other sessions as bad.

But to not judge, not evaluate the actual process and to just sink into it, allow oneself to just be in the writing and not judge the actual session as good or bad? That is what I am getting at: trusting the process, working on what we do and learn to not judge or evaluate it. In this sense, or sessions can become benign--we can sink into them and just write, without emotion, day after day. 

It really is possible. It really is a good place to be. It is not easy though--it takes a lot of work to get there.

Try to get there 😀

Normal, Not Normal

I am having a day that feels almost normal. I drove up from Tacoma to spend a few hours in Seattle before dinner with a friend. Right now I am having wine outside in a "cute" neighborhood. I just had a focused half hour writing session that was super productive and stress free. I also cranked out 500 words of focused free writing on an article--not much work to clean it up either.

It has felt good to feel almost normal.  I have masked up, showed my vaccine record in my lunch spot that required it, and now, outside, I am without mask. It is nice, but I feel almost guilty. Shedding that will take some work.

I almost feel strange that I feel so relaxed, not worried at all about COVID at all. But it is there, in the background. It is going to take a long time to feel normal even when we go back to normal life, when, if...sigh....

Today, I feel grateful for a bit of normal, for the privileges that I have that allow me to enjoy the day.

I Don't Hate Goals

At times, I give the impression that I am anti-goal setting. I really am not. What I believe, however, is that focusing too much on goals without clearly defining and then leaning into your processes rarely leads to good outcomes. Think about it--a goal in and off itself does not make you more creative, faster, a better writer, etc. You are what you are.

 Thanks Rich, captain obvious!!!!! 

But really, you are your awesomeness all the time--what you may lack are good processes that help you actualize yourself fully in a healthy and sustainable way!

Good processes are what help you actualize who you are and bring out the best of your work. Have goals, but then develop and master your processes that will help you attain them. In the moment of writing or creative work, allowing your goals to enter can lead to anxiety and tension.

I Don't Understand Why I Don't Get Writing Done!

 A cartoon by Joe Dator, here. 

Awfulizing: Brain Fog

One of my clients would tell me about his "Brain Fog" and attribute this condition to his problems with writing. He would describe his tired (and somewhat depressed) mood in great detail, and would catastrophize being a bit tired, unfocused and "down" by actually viewing it as a condition over which he had little choice and control. After a good deal of work, we were able to help him change that!

To help him start to view his "condition" in a new light, I referred to it as "San Francisco of the brain"--he found it funny, and this helped him be non-defensive as he started to realize that perhaps his "condition" was not something that he had no control over. This allowed us to craft a plan full of strategies for moving toward consistent morning writing: Self talk to help reduce his awfulizing and  challenge his expectations of what "Must" occur (I must be sharp and totally "on" to write), a few minute of exercise to help him energize, and rituals and habits to help him stay in process.

Overtime, he began to see "Brain fog" as something that he could write through, and that he had choices.

A Short Post on Awfulizing

I have written about awfulizing a good deal over the years. Awfulizing is the cognitive (thinking) error of making something more horrible than it actually is. It is not simply a matter of choosing strong language as a stylistic preference--the language we use stems from, and reinforces, core beliefs that lead to our feelings and behaviors (put in a rather simple way).

There are many awfulizing beliefs that academics hold that that lead to anxiety, self downing, and inertia. I am going to explore some of these in subsequent posts--stay tuned.

Saying No to Something is Saying Yes to Something Else

It is hard to say no. It is, perhaps, one of the most important skills that academics need in order to focus on what is most important to us. Without getting into the 1000 reasons we have for not wishing to say no, there are times we know we need to.

One attitudinal shift that makes it easier is to realize that saying no to something is saying yes to something more central to what and who we wish to be, or at least what we need to do. When we say no to something, we give ourselves back the potential time and energy that we would have used on the task in question. Channel your inner toddler. No...No...No...

Take that in. Feel it. Live it.

Rich is at a Coffee House!

For the first time in a year, I am sitting in a coffee house.  Great social distancing, a "garage door" open for tons of airflow--it is safe. My goal? To not cry! Prior to this year, I have written in coffee houses perhaps two days a week or so since I was a teenager. I feel joyful, but wistful--it has been a long year for all of us. It has been a long year for me.  This feel like something of a new beginning in a year of many, many losses.  I am going to work on one of my books, and I might even cry a bit--that is just going to have to be ok!

Say No To That Which Falls Outside Your Core Mission

Perhaps just a reminder post--I have written about this a bunch.  We are in a global pandemic (no duh, Rich), you don't have to take on more, and especially not things tangential to the core of your mission. You can and should say no to things that are not super congruent with your key skills and values.

The core of your mission. Know it--live within it. That is it for now.

Writing Agenda Plate

A year ago, I wrote a post that explored the optimal number of writing projects. You can find it here. 

One of my wonderful clients took these insights a step further, and created a fantastic visual depiction of her weekly writing agenda. The items that are on her plate are the only things that she can "eat"--everything else is saved in the metaphorical 'fridge or cupboard. If you like this idea and find it valuable, try doing your own!

The Tools That Got You There

Wondering why a change you made has no longer "stuck"? Consider if you are still using the tools that supported the change. 

Too often, we make a change, and then feel as if "we got this" and stop doing the things that got us there. I have seen this happen often with writing--a scholar adds some of the tools of writing productivity (e.g. a ritual, good use of time blocking, a sustainable session duration, accountability, self talk, entry points, etc. ) and then slowly "regresses to the mean" of their previous ways. 

Lean into the tools that get you where you wish to go. Stay in the process.

Simple Rituals to Ground You

I first wrote about writing rituals on this blog nearly nine years ago, and find it valuable to touch on them every once in a while. 

A writing ritual should have several key features:

1) It should ground you and put you in the mental space for writing.

2) It should be simple and not more than 5 minutes

3) For many people, it might be wise to include disconnecting from technology. That means, unless you have to be connected for safety or caretaking issues, turning off your cell, browser unless it is needed for a critical task that day, social media, etc.

Many who start writing rituals fail to persist once things are going well for them.  The begin to feel like they never will not write, and begin to neglect the tools that got them there. Hmm, an idea for my next post.

Happy 2021: 10th Calendar Year of Write Publish Thrive

Happy New Year everyone. While nothing magically transforms just because the calendar page turns, I think many of us are just grateful to be done with 2020. I was a tough, tough year.

One of the things for which I am grateful is all of you who read my blog. 2021 marks the 10th calendar year in which I have written in this space.  There have been over a half a million page views of over 800 points. That sounds crazy!

Yet, these numbers really mean little--what I am most grateful for are the relationships I have formed with so many amazing scholars. It is for you I feel most thankful, and you who keep me going writing here.

Happy new year, and thank you for sharing this adventure with me.