Has this ever happened to you? You’re working on a writing project, maybe a book or a blog. You know what you want to write next. But you can’t seem to fit it into your schedule. Life keeps happening.
That’s okay. You can still move your project forward: by thinking about what you’re going to write.
How does thinking help? It keeps the project top of mind. What you focus your thoughts on, you’ll eventually get to. By thinking about your project, you’ll also come up with inspiration. As you mull over the topic, ideas will form even when you’re not sitting down to write.
What does thinking about your project look like? You might run through how you will open or close the piece. Mentally go through the points you want to make. You can ask yourself what the biggest takeaways will be. Maybe rehearse how you would explain a certain point. Think of your examples, setting, dialogue, details to include.
When you finally have time to sit down and write, you won’t be starting from scratch. You will already have the basic outline and even some of the content. Your writing will flow more smoothly because you’re not writing a first draft. You’re expanding on the draft that’s already in your head.
Thinking about your project on those busy days helps you stay connected to your writing. You’re still moving your project ahead. And your actual writing time will be more efficient because you’ve already done a lot of brainstorming and rehearsing.
This week, instead of lamenting your lack of writing time or trying to squeeze writing into a five-minute, distracted time slot, just think about what you want to write next. Let it sit for a while in your mind while you’re doing other things. See what ideas pop up throughout the day. That’s a great way to move your story forward when you don’t have time to write.
Janet Eriksson 