Many blogs go through stages were posting slows down, sometimes for extended periods, at one time or another. disassociated.com is no exception, and there have been a number of quiet patches since I created this blog way back when.

Though usually no more than a few weeks apart, there were occasions I was only posting four or five times over a three or four month period.

There were certainly times that other things were going on, in real life, which resulted in blogging activities having to take a back seat. But there have also been plenty of periods when procrastination, and writer’s block, have squarely been the cause of some slow downs.

While I’m sure all bloggers have ways to motivate themselves out of their writing lethargy, I thought I would share a few things I do, that in most cases get me back into the flow of writing, in case it may be of use to others!

Write something!

This seems like a no brainer doesn’t it, but if you’re dealing with a case of writer’s block, how is writing going to help? Well you’d be surprised. Some years ago I went to weekend writing course run by a local magazine and book writer, June Duncan Owen, who spoke about the “free-writing exercise”.

Basically this involves writing for three to ten minutes on any topic you care to think of. ANY thing at all. It could be about an issue at work, a problem with your neighbours, what you remember of a dream you had last night, the object of your desire, something your partner said or did to annoy you, anything.

I have a “scratch pad” file (heh, password protected) on my hard-drive where I write such ramblings, as 90 per cent of the time, they are for my consumption only. But starting to write on a topic that stirs up your emotions, or that you are passionate about, whether or not it has the slightest relevance to your blog, is a great way to get back into writing mode.

Make lists

While I make a lot of use of online task lists such as Remember The Milk, I also find making up a “to do” list of things I need to do, or write, in the next few hours, on paper, a great way to kick start productivity.

There’s then the satisfaction of crossing each item off the list as you move through it. This gives me a sense of achievement which then tends to motivate me to do more.

Set deadlines

Many bloggers probably aim to write a post, or a certain number of posts, by “sometime today”. But that can result in thinking that goes “well, I’ll get started after lunch”, which then becomes “ok, I’ll get started after tea then”. Sometimes it is better to say, “right, I’ll get this post/these posts completed by 12:30pm.”

Working to some sort of deadline is usually more conducive to producing results than “sometime whenever”. Working with an enticement in mind also helps. “I’ll get these posts completed by 12:30pm, then I’ll go out and buy a coffee”.

That sure works for me!

De-clutter

One thing that causes me to procrastinate is a lingering sense of guilt at other, non work or non blog, things that I have been neglecting, yet require attention. For instance the other day I filed away almost two months worth of paperwork, bills, bank statements, and more, that had been gradually piling up in my desk in-tray.

I should add I now keep my “desk in-tray” on a shelf in the cupboard, so admittedly it’s easy to forget about it sometimes! (Why do I keep it out of sight? I hate the way it “clutters” my desk!)

Sometimes this expands into doing other things around the house, that once again, have been neglected, or put off for too long. Yet I can return to my PC and find myself a lot more focussed, knowing I don’t have to worry about “getting around” to doing quite so many other things at another time.

Get out of there!

Sometimes it simply pays to change the record, and completely escape from your work environment for a while. If you’re a freelancer, or working from home, then you most likely have have the freedom to do this.

Do something different for a while. Go to a movie, the beach, cycling in the park. Whatever. Anything that creates a change of scenery for a while!

Get going!

So there we are, a few ways of mine to handle the dreaded writer’s block, and procrastination.

What helps you get back into writing?