Note: The winners of Chrystle Fiedler’s book A Scent to Kill are Alicia Rades and E.M. Bahnsen. Congrats!
Organization may be difficult for the naturally creative person. Often, when we’re swept up in our latest creation, everything else falls to the wayside. Time spent cleaning is clearly not time spent writing. And if you have little kids in the house, cleaning can become an endless cycle that perpetually zaps any extra time you may have. But what if your clutter and daunting chore list were actually impairing your ability to write?
Organize to Free Your Creative Mind and Prevent Writer’s Block
Scientists and psychologists alike have found that stimuli compete for the brain’s attention. When your eyes detect objects in your surroundings, your brain is forced to process what your eyes have found. If you’re distracted whenever you sit down to write, take a look around. Is your desk covered with papers? Are there piles of laundry to fold? Even bright posters on walls can be over-stimulating when you’re trying to focus. Create a “safe” place to write:
- Paint your office a soft, neutral color.
- Remove family photos. Even though you love your family to pieces, their photographs may become a distraction. At a glance, you may remember everything else you need to do for them, or you may miss them enough to wander back downstairs. Instead, hang calming watercolor paintings (flowers, the ocean, a sunset) on the walls.
- Attempt to keep things tidy, if only in your office. Keeping the entire house in order all of the time is not realistic. But your office should be a no-go zone, except when you’re writing. This will limit the mess and make it a more inviting place to work.
Make a To-Do List to Keep From Feeling Overwhelmed
If that nagging voice inside your head (Oh, shoot! I need to . . . I still haven’t . . . When was I supposed to . . .) continues to disrupt writing sessions, it needs to be addressed. Feeling like you have a million things to accomplish without being entirely sure where to start is never good. Don’t let chores loom over you—attack them! Create a list and figure out when you can realistically accomplish each item. Though you may still have a million things to do after you create this list, you will at least feel more on top of everything and better equipped to accomplish it all.
Enroll in Online Banking to Simplify Paying
One click. Paid. Instead of putting bill payment off because you don’t have any more stamps and you really can’t/don’t want to go to the grocery store with screaming kids, just set up accounts online. This is a huge to-do list “phantom” for most people. If you know it is painless to pay your bills, maybe you won’t put it off. That’s one less phantom that can haunt you.
Take Care of Trash and Recycling to Help Unclutter
Writers love pens and paper. That doesn’t mean you need to keep every single one of them. Break your habit of collecting piles of paper. That stuff can stack up quickly and hide the things you actually do need. When you go to the mailbox or open your child’s backpack, assess items on the spot. If a paper isn’t something you need to read, toss in the recycling bin. The same goes for pens. How many times have you reached for that same, dried-up pen, remembered it didn’t work, then put it back in the coffee mug with the others? Recycle it! Garbage is a huge clutter contributor.
Use Reminders on Your Phone to Unclutter Your Memory
I don’t know why this took me so long to do. Why I ever thought I would remember deadlines months in advance between work, writing, family and friends, and the kids’ school is beyond me. I’m far less delusional now. Making use of that little phone calendar (which beeps to remind you of the event) is very handy. This is another way you can help yourself feel more organized, in control, and able to free your mind for writing.
After all of this, if you should you find you’re still stuck on page twenty of your manuscript and you just can’t get past the block . . .
Get a Life . . . or Less of One
When we get right down to it, the reasons you’re restless at writing time probably come down to only two: Either you spend too much time indoors, hissing at the sunlight and avoiding social interaction—or you have nothing left to give at the end of a jam-packed day. For you, dear reader, I hope you find balance. I’m definitely still working on this one.
Tell me your opinion: How do you organize the rest of your life to make writing less stressful?
