Here’s a Quick Way To Solve the Problem of Not Being Able To Write an Article
Key Lessons From My Un-Productivity Story
Just a few months ago, I had to give a speech. I was a part of Toastmasters in the city I live in and was scheduled on the agenda for a prepared speech. It is a speech that is supposed to have a duration of 5–7 minutes, usually on any topic of the speaker's choosing.
I had two weeks to prepare it. A lot of time right?
At least your procrastinating brain makes you think so.
Somehow it makes you forget about the entire packed schedule of all the other things that you have to do in the coming two weeks, giving you an illusion that you have ample time on your hands.
And this illusion sticks in your head like a stubborn piece of chewing gum under your shoe.
For the next couple of days I didn't even begin to write a single word, nor did I have a topic in mind.
I had a small nagging feeling at the end of the first week, but it was quickly put to rest. There is still time. I am researching for it, I thought. All I was doing was sporadically watching some toastmaster's speeches looking for inspiration.
Was I trying to get inspiration or was it insidious procrastination in disguise?
And soon enough, it was the day before I had to give this speech. I thought it was now or never. I blocked a few hours in the evening for undisturbed time. I locked myself in the room, away from all distractions, and sat at my desk, in front of my PC with a cup of cappuccino.
Nothing would prevent me from thinking of a topic and writing it down.
Except perhaps, my brain.
Has it ever happened to you that when you sit with the aim of writing, your mind becomes blank? You stare at the blank screen, which in this situation pretty much resembles your own mind.
Silence. Not a thought occurs to you.
Strange isn't it? Just a few moments ago, before I sat to write, my mind was buzzing with thoughts, flitting across multiple topics in fractions of a second.
At that moment though, I couldn't even get hold of one of them.
Did I do something wrong?
On the contrary, I did everything right! At least as far as productivity advice goes — I had eliminated all the distractions.
- My mobile phone was nowhere in sight.
- I had closed myself in a room so that no one physically comes to disturb me.
- I had just had a sip of freshly brewed coffee, its aroma making me feel alert already.
For all intents and purposes, I was as ready as an eagle who had spotted its prey.
Then why was I not able to think anything?
Funny how the human mind works, I thought. When you need it the most, it goes into absolute silence. How annoying.
I wondered, what would happen if I did not prepare a speech.
I am deathly afraid of going unprepared anywhere. I still sometimes get nightmares that I am in my school exam hall, staring blankly at the question sheet and realizing that — No! I studied the wrong subject! Now I am going to fail. And I wake up in the middle of the night with a sweaty forehead.
I forcibly brought my mind back to the present.
You've got to write something, dummy!
I decided to watch and listen to a few toastmaster speeches on youtube. And before I knew it, I was going down the rabbit hole of speeches on youtube.
I watched the Speech that made Obama President. I watched the speech by Dananjaya Hettiarachchi — World Champion of Public Speaking 2014.
I listened to Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins, and so on. After what seemed like an eternity, I dragged myself back to reality.
And you know what. Something surprising happened when I finished watching all these inspirational videos and listening to some of the greatest speakers of our time.
My mind was still blank.
Silence, except for crickets chirping in the background.
For a whole 2 minutes.
But then, something really happened.
Inspiration struck me like a lightning bolt.
The understanding was blazing through my head so fast, that it almost bypassed my thoughts.
Why not write a speech about almost not being able to write one at all?
At worst, I would have a boring talk not fit for toastmasters. At best, I will come to know that everyone in this room has the same experience as me?
And thus, my fingers started typing frantically on the keyboard.
For the next few minutes, if you stood silently beside me, all you would hear would be just the clicks on the keyboard and maybe, if you listened hard enough, the whirring of my brain.
And there it was, the page that was blank was now filled with coherent words, a testament to the fact that the human brain works in amazing ways.
I felt like an artist who had just completed a magnificent painting.
Amazed at what lay in front of me, knowing that the work needs only a bit of fine-tuning. And a bit of speaking practice on my part.
It took me about an hour to actually start writing this, but only a fraction of that time to actually write.
This makes me think — is anything a waste of time for our brain?
A few things I wondered:
- Did I spend too much time thinking?
- Did I spend too much time procrastinating?
- Did I spend too much time learning and not implementing?
All the above.
But these are also the reasons why there was a successful speech, a story to tell, and an experience to share.
An experience about procrastination, not being able to generate ideas when needed the most, and productivity (or a lack thereof) that finally still resulted in me being able to write something unique (at least unique for the toastmaster's group).
How To Solve The Problem Of Not Being Able To Write?
Now that you know what I experienced, do you think I should pull such a stunt again?
I think not.
Should I give you advice on how to solve the problem of not being able to write based on this experience? I think not as well. Why?
Because:
And I am a bit hazy about what I learned!
Still, here are my takeaways from this experience, that may help you when you are stuck for words or ideas to write:
- Do what you feel can give you inspiration — be it reading, watching videos, or even just staring blankly outside the window. In search of creative inspiration, nothing is a waste of time — you never know what can trigger the inspiration center in your brain.
- Blocking yourself from distractions works really well. Then, you don't start scrolling through your social media feed because you feel stuck. But you confront the feeling of being stuck head-on.
- Just start writing, even if it just means writing whatever you are experiencing at that moment. Putting thoughts on paper, no matter how silly, gives you a start — and it builds the momentum.
This was basically how this post came into existence, even though I had no idea what to write.
So it is up to you — dear reader, dear writing aspirant, or simply anyone interested in productivity to interpret more lessons from this story other than what I said.
Probably you will be uniquely inspired? I hope so.
Or probably not — and you consider that the entire read did not bring you one single insight? In that case, I am sorry but truly grateful to you for reaching the end!
In either case, I hope you enjoyed the post.
Until then, happy reading!
fin.
