Are You Doing too Much?

If you bite off more than you can chew, you’re going to choke.

Writers always want to catch the next big fish. We like to write content that stimulates others. We want people to be impressed with us — sometimes at the cost of our sanity. It’s normal to dream big. Yet, doing too much at once can lead to stress, lack of ambition, and not living up to your full potential. Furthermore, it will end up leaving you with mediocre articles. Or worse, you will give up on writing entirely.

”We need to take a step back and sharpen our mental crayons before plunging them back in the box.”

Just focus on one thing.

Maybe you are a fiction writer or a blogger who likes to write articles about the next best toilet paper brand . Whatever your niche is, focus on that. Don’t ride the COVID-19 wave to get more traffic . If you aren’t passionate about what your doing it will show in your work. A lack of focus can cause a lack of passion. When you’re writing, stay focused solely on your piece. Avoid stressing over things that will get in the way of who you are as a writer. Don’t focus On things such as,

• What everyone else is writing
• Ways to get rich
• What will others think
• How to get famous
• Outside influences, (bills, drama, etc.)

I started blogging about my abusive childhood to deal with my depression. I saw everyone else’s articles and wanted to write like them, and get all the claps and cash. I wanted to be heard; I wanted to be the next big thing overnight. I realized quickly it’s not who I am as a writer.

So a few badly written articles later, I realized I like to help people. That’s my niche. And it took a lot of focus to get there.

Ways to find your niche and stay focused on your goal.

• Make a list! Lists are always helpful. Try and jot down at least three of your favorite topics. Then, write what you love about those topics. Keep picking away at sub-topics until you find what draws you to the main interest. Kinda like chipping away at a dirt clump to get to the diamond.
• Read, Read, and read some more! Reading is one of the best ways to buff your writing skills. It could be short articles, novels, or a cereal box. When we read, we are conditioning our brains to understand writing and the familiarity of storytelling better. Sentence structure, displays of emotion, punctuation, and grammar. Those are other examples of what we can gain expertise in from reading. Try setting the alarm or a timer each day; give yourself a daily goal. Every day at 2'oclock, I am going to read three chapters.
• Share your work with family and friends! Sharing our work is a great way to get crucial input from others; from catching a simple misspelled word to get a view from a different set of eyes. Also, sharing your work on social media can benefit you as well. Twitter, for example, has some fantastic groups for writers, bloggers, and artists. It’s a whole community of like-minded individuals who share ideas and ask questions. I’ll share my favorite one below. If you have a Twitter account, this one is a must!

#Bloggerstribe (There are many more.)

4. Take a chill pill! We, as creators, sometimes stick our heads in the creative cloud and suffocate from lack of reality. We have limits, we need to take a step back and sharpen our mental crayons before plunging them back in the box. If any of you are reading this lives a stress-free life, then please, share your secrets below! (seriously, I want what you’re taking.) Yet, most of us are riddled with day-to-day stresses that can inhibit our creativity. We can let a sink full of dishes, or an unpaid bill, divert us from liquoring up our creativity juice. Take a breath or a hot bath, and relax.

”It is ok to feel stumped. It’s ok to need a break, but it is not ok to create a piece of chaos because we can’t come up with a good idea.”

5. Set a goal, alarm, or anything that will create a daily norm! I can’t stress enough the importance of setting daily goals and sticking to them. Make that time a day designated to honing your craft. Even if it’s only an hour — don’t focus on anything other than that goal. Hard work and discipline is the only way you’re going to advance. When we follow through with our goals, we condition our minds to accept our creativity as a necessity. I mean, it should be, right?

Ways to get your creative fruit turned into freshly squeezed creative juice!

Now, we know that we can create, and we have the love for creating, but sometimes we get stuck (let’s call it, creators block.) We start to get in the mentality of just getting it out of the way.

It’s safe to assume most of us suffering from creators block, will either walk away from the project or try to force-feed our mind creative juices. When in reality, we are feeding our mind generic juice flavored crap. It is ok to feel stumped. It’s ok to need a break, but it is not ok to create a piece of chaos because we can’t come up with a good idea. Don’t rush it. Mediocre should not be a word an artist uses. Here are some brain activities to help clear that blockage!

Puzzles are amazing! They can improve our memory, vocabulary, and many other mental skills. Playing with jigsaw puzzles, word searches, sudoku, or any other kind of problem, is a brilliant and fun way to sharpen your mind.

Diet!

Like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress — the “waste”

Try to drink copious amounts of water, and snack on healthy things. Junk food and other valueless food may keep you alive, but you aren’t giving your brain quality sustenance. So naturally, if you take care of yourself, your brain will react to being nourished and add to a happier, healthier, and creatively superior, you.

Keep a journal. Go pick up a notebook and scribble down every idea you have for whatever project you’re working on. Even if it’s a few words, a picture, or your thoughts . Keeping a log of your ideas creates a pattern of noticing and recording beneficial pieces of knowledge. And it’s therapeutic!

Go into your cave and ride the brain wave!

Music has the ability to take the brain on a journey that invokes different thoughts and emotions. And it is all down to frequencies; because all sound is made up of frequencies.

Seriously, turn off your laptop and play some Brain wave beats. Cut out the lights and just…exist. Give your mind a chance to work its magic without any interference.

Conclusion

Stay focused, stay healthy, and stay you. Your mind is a powerful tool, and when used correctly — it can produce magical things. When you try and cram everything, including the kitchen sink into your mind, it’s going to explode; and not with fun confetti.

I invite you to close your eyes, (after you read this.) Now think of what makes you happy, once you got that in mind just exist, for 2 — 3 minutes abiding in a memory. Feel the juices flowing yet? Good, now pour yourself a glass and get to work!