Summary

The article presents a psychological technique to combat writer's procrastination by ending writing sessions in the middle of a thought or paragraph, leveraging the brain's desire for closure.

Abstract

The text discusses a counterintuitive method to overcome writing procrastination, emphasizing the importance of stopping writing sessions at a point of incompletion. This approach capitalizes on the natural human inclination to seek resolution to unfinished business, compelling the writer to return to their work with a heightened sense of urgency and focus. The technique is likened to the brain's response to unresolved social situations, such as a sudden end to a friendship, where the lack of closure keeps the event at the forefront of one's thoughts. By applying this principle to writing, the author suggests that writers can maintain engagement with their projects and reduce the tendency to procrastinate, as the brain actively seeks to complete the unfinished ideas.

Opinions

The author believes that traditional methods of stopping writing at the end of chapters or paragraphs can contribute to procrastination.
It is suggested that the brain's need for closure is a powerful motivator that can be harnessed to increase writing productivity.
The technique is presented as a way to create a mental "cliffhanger," ensuring that the writer is eager to return to their work.
The author implies that the struggle to finish writing projects is often due to a lack of intrinsic motivation, which can be addressed by this method.
The article posits that stopping in the middle of a sentence or thought is more effective than stopping at natural breaking points, as it leaves the brain in a state of anticipation.
The author emphasizes that this technique is not just a theoretical suggestion but a practical and effective strategy that they have personally found success with.

The Mysteriously Easy Way To Finish Writing What You Started

It’s not has hard as you think it is to stop procrastinating and complete your book, article, or story.

Does it take too long to finish your writing projects?

As much as you want to complete the books, articles, and blog posts that you started, do you have a tough time doing so?

You make time to write.

You put your butt in the chair.

You give yourself deadlines.

You celebrate milestones.

You limit distractions.

Even so, you have to fight to finish your writing projects and, to be honest, sometimes it feels like you are losing the battle.

You know what? With this surprisingly easy technique, you can change that immediately.

How to stop

Imagine. You’re seated at your favorite restaurant. Giddy and nervous. You’re about to have the first face-to-face (well, social distanced, mask-to-mask) meeting with the love of your life.

The two of you met online a few months ago. You’ve never known anyone so right for you.

And it feels so good. Even as you stomach flip-flops and your palms sweat.

Someone is coming toward your table. Is that…? Is it…? Your heart rate increases, as if it could go any faster. At the same time, your phone chimes. You glance down quickly. A text. What’s going on? It’s from

(I’m going to pause here — midsentence and mid-thought. We will get back to it a little later).

What if a friend suddenly stopped communicating with you online, verbally, and in person? You have no idea what happened. Things were cool one day — at least, you thought so — at the next day…ghosted.

That happened to me. A friend stopped answering my phone calls, texts, and emails. I went to her house. No one came to the door. It was as if she fell off the earth. (I know she didn’t because her ex-husband said she’s still around).

There was never any closure to our friendship. My only option was to let it go. However, years later, I still remember the fun we had and the plans we shared. I don’t know what caused the friendship to dissolve. The reason she disappeared remains a mystery to me.

Of course, people sometimes get angry and stop talking to you. They might feel guilty about something and choose to end the friendship. You may not like what happened. Yet, you have an idea about why it happened.

But what about when you’re clueless about the relationship change and your brain won’t let it go. As hard as you try to, you can’t forget it? What about when you need to know what happened?

Right there. Right there. Hold that state of mind.

That is the exact state that prevents you from procrastinating and compels you to finish what you started writing.

The easy, mysterious, never-fail way to stop procrastinating is to always stop your writing sessions in the middle of a paragraph or thought. Stop before you finish.

Here’s what I mean.

Baffle your brain — don’t finish

When most people write, they make a habit of always stopping at the end of a paragraph, chapter, or after something is finished? Don’t do that.

Rather than writing until you get to the end of anything — chapter, paragraph, or even a thought — stop when you’re “almost finished” with it. If that’s the middle of a sentence, no problem. Leave it hanging.

You might think that’s silly; that doing so will cause you to forget what you were going to write. Don’t worry. It won’t.

When you brain is left in limbo, it places a tremendous amount of focus on that particular situation. It analyzes, flips, and tries to understand what transpired. (That’s why it’s so hard to get over someone having the audacity to walk out of your life without saying a word).

Your brain craves closure.

It wants puzzles solved, questions answered, and actions explained. Your brain is on alert for satisfactory endings.

When you leave it hanging, your brain does not wait for you to get back to what you were writing; it compels you to do so.

Change your stopping place

When you stop at a “finished” or natural stopping place, be it at the end of a chapter, after a specific action, or as soon as a thought is complete, your brain sees it as done. It sees no need to go back to what you were writing or to give it additional attention.

When you try to force it to do so, as far as your brain is concerned, you ‘re trying to do something you’ve already done. Your brain thinks you completed the project.

That’s why when you return to work on it, your focus is gone. You can’t get your thoughts together. You feel lost.

This uncomfortable feeling generally leads to procrastination. You try to pick up where you left off, but it is hard to do so from that point. It’s frustrating. It’s why you keep starting over.

It works well. Try it.

Remember the story that I started at the beginning of this post?

If you remember that I left you hanging there, certainly, you will remember what you were going to write. After all, what you’re working on is more important to you.

(In the story above, the true love simultaneously approached the table and sent the text that said, “I’m here for you”).

When you end your writing sessions at strategic “unfinished” points, you create cliffhangers for your brain.

And then, there is no way you can procrastinate. Your brain won’t let you. It wants closure. It wants you to sit down and pick up where you stopped writing.

Of course, you’re happy to oblige.

Points to Remember

It’s where you stop writing that can easily help you get back into the flow.

When you stop writing at an “unfinished” point, your brain reserves focus at that point because it craves closure. Thus, when you return, you can easily pick up where you stopped.

You won’t have to press or fight resistance to finish your writing project when you stop each session in the middle of a thought.

Creating these mysteries for your brain makes it easy to stop procrastinating and finish what you started writing.