I have made is no secret in the past on this blog of the difficulty I have writing my thoughts and ideas down, and often that leads to days, nay weeks of procrastination when it comes to certain tasks. If you know me personally, then you would most likely agree that I am already quite the pro at procrastinating, I'm lazy and I put things off far too often - I admit that. Despite often being an obstacle in my life as a 'blogger', this actually has a much more serious affect when it comes to my studies. For instance, I am supposed to be writing my dissertation right now (or to be truthful, I should have finished it about Easter time?) but here I am, tapping along on my keyboard trying to get my thoughts down in a comprehensible manner for this blog post inspired by said essay, but not actually working on the thing itself. When I find things too hard, I have a terrible habit of simply giving up and simply leaving the task for 'another day' (see: as far in the future as possible). Hence, I am always in a mad rush before deadlines and I get myself completely and utterly stressed out to the point of physical and mental breakdown. I'm just not a writer, I never have been - why did I start a blog?! - so I just assume that I can't do whatever I'm tasked with completing. However, somehow I have made it through 3 years of university (and blogging!) already, so I have a tip to share with my fellow people who have as much trouble as I do when it comes to weavin' the words.


JUST WRITE. WRITE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND. 
Seriously, it's the only way to get going. I'm a serious perfectionist so it pains me to do this, but having 300 words of questionable content to work off of and improve at a later date is much, much easier than returning to a blank canvas and still struggling to get any thoughts flowing. The majority of my blog posts and pretty much every essay I have ever written have consisted of random thoughts and ideas thrown onto a page in an incomprehensible order, which are later bulked out and arranged, before one final check to make sure I'm happy with the wording/order etc. I even say to myself (especially with essays) that I can go to sleep/take a break/grab some lunch after I've written 1000 words for example - they don't have to particularly special or even final, but it's 1000 words less to write and a piece of text that I can come back to and polish in time. These separate 'stages' are usually done with a bit of time in between to allow new ideas to flow before going back and reading over my work with fresh eyes. So, although this hasn't helped much getting things done that much earlier, it at least helps me to get over the initial 'blank page syndrome' that can leave me um-ing and ah-ing for weeks on end.


Do you have any tips to get those more daunting tasks done? Let me know!

16 comments

  1. I loved reading this Isobel, it's so interesting to have a peak into your process. I'm like you, if I'm struggling to write I just sit down and write anyway and hope that the words help me find my way!

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  2. I am way too lazy but lately I have been enjoying to write a diary and the more entries I write they longer they get!

    victoriatheresia.blogspot.com

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  3. I am really lazy with my blog which is really bad because I want to be a writer but at the moment I am trying to get back into blogging. I've got loads of ideas it's just finding the time to write them xx

    http://ourstorycanresume.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. I had a creative writing teacher in high school who would have us start class by spending 5 minutes having us write whatever came to mind, it was so great!
    Allison from www.mercuteify.com

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  5. I know! I always am best at keeping up with my blog when I have loads of work to do! Oops!! x

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  6. I've never been able to get into writing a diary - jealous that you can! x

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  7. I totally understand - I find it really hard to keep up sometimes. x

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  8. That's a really great idea - you need to get the mind working! x

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  9. Thanks Jen! Your posts never read like you've struggled in anyway. I guess you get quite a lot of practise though! x

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  10. Very true and good advice! I've come back to blogging advert a few years of not doing so. So far I am enjoying it, but still find it hard to Carve out the time I want... But it's a slow process finding get again I guess!
    Ps. Lovely blog, glad I found via Jenny's post!

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  11. Thank you so much for replying and understanding x

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  12. Thanks Holly! I'm glad you've found my blog and I hope you enjoy it :) Blogging is so up and down but you just need to write posts about things that excite you! x

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  13. You know, I've been using this one site to force me to write -- it's called One Word! They offer you a one-word prompt and you have 60 seconds to write something. They publish it on their blog and it's pretty awesome to review what other people have written in response.

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  14. I don't have problems writing: in fact the problem for me is that my uni course involves 0 writing. I can totally relate to you when you talk about being a pro in procrastinating: my exams know the problem too well... The only way I can prepare them is starting way before and doing little at a time... The closer I get to the day the more ways to procrastinate I find! xx

    Gyudy’s Notes Of Beauty

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  15. I don't know about anyone else, but 'blank page syndrome' always happens for me when I'm staring at a computer screen. Once I sit down and write out my ideas on a piece of paper, it's much easier for me to get going on the computer and ignore the temptation to log into Bloglovin'.
    On the upside, though, when I have a paper to write, I'm a much more prolific blogger because the task of putting together a short blog post seems much easier in comparison.

    teenbeautylover.blogspot.com

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