productivity

Make writing work for you

You might not think it, but you write differently, dependent on what tools you use.

Our brains engage on different levels when typing compared with when we use pen and paper.

Desk 1 (photo by woodsy)

But what other factors change the way your brain tackles the creative process?

1. Location

Be it in your room, in the library, on the steps of a large building, at a mate’s house…wherever you are, your emotions are altered based on your surrounding.

In turn, your writing takes on a different life.

The next time you can’t get the words out, your creativity will burst through when you just change where you are.  Just pick up your stuff and take it somewhere else.

Better still, take it somewhere new.  See how the unknown surroundings open your thoughts up to places you didn’t know existed.

2. Format of the paper/screen

Paper comes in various types, suited to all sorts of situations.  Plain paper, lined paper, squared paper, notation paper, and so on.

Standard lined paper may restrict the way in which you work.  Why not buy a plain moleskin notebook and let the perfectly empty canvas take you to the heart of your creativity?

3. Shape and size of medium

Are you an A4 fiend, or an A1 wonder?  Do you open the word processor window in fullscreen, or do you keep half the screen real estate available to other applications?

The physical appearance of what you use to write with can also lead to different actions within the creative process.

An enormous sheet of blank paper may be screaming out to some people as a challenge to be covered, while others will see an ever bigger piece of paper as an ever shrinking confined space.

4. Time of day/Weather

Most of us know that we react better at certain points in the day.  However, we also take cues from the state of the atmosphere.

When the sun is out and there’s peace all around, you may fare far better with a sunny disposition.

Alternatively, the sun may be a distraction for having fun, so your prime writing time may be on a dull day when nobody wants to leave their room.

It all depends on personal preference.

Of course, we can’t control the weather, but it’s worth getting an understanding of what influences you.

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The act of writing is more than a simple set of processes that you either have or don’t have.  You have the power to form a state in which the writing comes easily.

Before you work on inspiration, you have to find the right surroundings and tools to be inspired…

Understand what you don’t know in one easy step

Whatever point you are with a module, from months away until starting to halfway through the work, you have the power to dictate where you’re going and telling yourself what you don’t yet know.

So much study is based on being told what to learn and looking back to what you already know.  As soon as you stop being shown the signposts, you’re running without direction.  A dedicated student should have no trouble putting that right and setting up their own signposts.

All you need to do is to write down what you don’t yet have a grasp of.  Explore the places that you haven’t yet explored.

It’s easier than it sounds.  When you’re faced with anything like a specific topic, subject, module, text, assignment, or similar, you already have a starting point with which to work.  You can see the basis of what’s needed, but you need to fill in the gaps.  Once the gaps are filled in, it’s so much easier to then learn and research all that you need.

And the one step to take you there is this:

Ask questions

This is the most important aspect of uncovering all the elements you need to learn.  Far from being a passenger, you’re the one in the driving seat.  Ask what you need to find out about before you can excel.  The mind is good at going blank when it craves answers, but we’re ever so good at asking questions.  Make the most of it and ask away.

Get these questions down on paper.  Make it visual, add some colour, let this process of exploration lead you further into questioning, not nearer to answering.  It’s a contradiction, but by not getting nearer to answering, you’re developing a stronger position to do exactly that.

Here are just some of the many questions you can ask:

  • How do the topics fit together?
  • What do I need to research further?
  • Do some topics seem important than others?  Why?
  • Who are the most important figures to discuss and refer to?
  • How much is known by scholars in the field?
  • Where could I look to expand my knowledge on this subject?
  • What are my initial impressions of this topic/assignment?
  • Are there any well-known arguments that will help or hinder my work?
  • Is the information likely to change over time, is it just historical, or is the matter widely contested?
  • Who is in the best position to help uncover what else I need to know?
  • What ground have I already covered?
  • Could my prior knowledge of generally unrelated subjects help in any way here?

It doesn’t matter whether you know a lot, or just a little.  Without questions, you don’t have any solid basis for answers.

Whatever you don’t yet know, let the process of uncovering and understanding these new findings be a relaxed one.  It’s pointless to feel overwhelmed with the belief that you don’t know enough.  Instead, congratulate yourself for having so much interest and so many questions ready to answer.

That is the difference between simply being in the dark and actually walking toward the light.  You’re walking when you let the questions guide you to greater understanding.  So get walking.

Walk on gold (photo by mdezemery)
Photo by mdezemery
You can find more photos by mdezemery at http://mdezemery.zenfolio.com/

Trust your gut

Yesterday’s post was an exercise in minimalist thinking to achieve maximum advantage.  Today’s post continues with that approach.  It’s time to go on your gut instincts!

Each day rests on a series of choices.  Do you make choices quickly, or are you more inclined to carefully weigh up the pros and cons of each situation?

If you prefer to rely on your gut instinct, your results are not only instant, but also likely to form a great conclusion, despite the relative lack of work.

It doesn’t sound fair to those who meticulously consider every move they make.  But there is truth in it.

My Unconscious Mind (by Sara Al-Mudhaf)

To trust your gut is a sign of confidence.  The further you go before making a decision or committing to your work, the more you are questioning your current beliefs, judgements, opinions, and research.

When I begin anything, I like to note down all my current thoughts and ideas that are rattling around.  Sometimes the ideas get written down as complete nonsense, but that nonsense is also often surrounded by details that I wouldn’t have considered if I’d not spent 10 minutes on a brain dump like this.

For one module, I was asked to write an essay on a pretty uninspiring topic.  But before I spent any time worrying about that, I spent a short time making notes on what might inspire me.

Among those instinctive thoughts was a barely related idea that stemmed from an entirely different course module.  I wouldn’t have even brought the two things together in ordinary terms.  But to see it written down within my brain dump, I found inspiration to start writing in a way that was sure to be both strong and unique.

When my finished essay was marked, it gained a First.  I maintain that this was entirely down to going on my gut instinct, just moments after having been given the assignment.

Here is why it’s so important to trust your gut instincts:

  1. It allows unconscious thoughts out.
  2. We all have these unconscious thoughts.  That’s why it’s crucial to listen to them.  As soon as we pay conscious consideration to what we think, it’s enough to send more curveball ideas and seemingly unrelated possibilities our of our head and into the dustbin.
  3. Opinions differ at the outset of a project, halfway through it and at the end too.  Each day is filled with new developments, so we’re easily swayed on most things, even if we don’t notice.  The only way to know where we stand from the outset is to let them out right away.
  4. There hasn’t been the time to question what’s going on, so we present ourselves with raw, unprocessed thoughts.  These can often produce the best starting points to spring from.
  5. Instinctive thoughts are emotive.  For many, this is seen as a negative force against good reason and judgement.  But evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss argues, “Emotions such as jealousy and anger, rather than reducing rationality, may embody inherited ancestral wisdom”.

After taking stock of instant reactions, it’s a lot easier to manage further research and output.  It makes no difference, even if you end up backing away from all your instinctive proposals.

When has your gut reaction worked for you?

Stop thinking and start listing!

A simple thought today.  Lists are easy to consume, quick to compile in a rough form, easy on the eye, and a good way of getting your brain out of first gear.

Notepad (photo by abeall)

Perhaps I should have said that lists are:

  • easy to consume;
  • quick to compile in a rough form;
  • easy on the eye;
  • a good way of getting your brain out of first gear.

If you need to brainstorm, but can’t quite muster the storm part (or the brain part), try compiling a list of rough ideas/thoughts first of all.

I’m not talking about a wonderfully thought out to-do list.  This isn’t time to worry about what’s important either.  You needn’t number the list or think about an order of importance.

A simple list is just a way to get your mind wandering in a productive fashion.  Doesn’t matter what the focus, just list!  Don’t even think of it as work.  Just see where it takes you.

There is a well-known tip for conquering procrastination.  Take just 10 minutes of your time to start working on that project that you haven’t begun yet.  10 minutes is no time at all, so it’s pretty easy to commit to those 10 minutes.  Since starting is usually the hardest part of getting to work, you’ll have crossed that bridge and are likely to keep going for an extra 10 minutes.  And another 10 minutes.  And so on.

Combine the procrastination trick and list-writing with the aim to spur you on to greater thoughts.  It’s surprising how many ideas are suddenly unlocked from your mind just by drawing up a quick list when you’re working against the clock.

In the summer months away from campus, you’re probably thinking about what you want to do over this time.  Spend 10 minutes listing what you’d like to achieve and it’s a quick way to form a basic plan.  In no time, you have a major starting-point to work from.

Quick, give it a go!  It’ll give you an idea how this type of exercise could also help with your academic work.

Tomorrow, I will look at why an initial listing like this can work so well at engaging our deep thoughts and bringing out the best in us.