5 Steps to a Better Power Nap

By Dee Jones


When I was a kid, I hated taking naps.

The three minutes it took me to fall asleep were just so boring.  And I was convinced the grown-ups only made me nap to be mean. Why else would they force me to miss all the cool stuff that was surely happening while I was asleep?

But it turns out those grown-ups were on to something. Naps are good for you, no matter your age.

What? You’re too busy to lie down in the middle of the day and sleep for two or three hours?

Well, do you think you can find ten to thirty free minutes in your afternoons?

Good, because that’s all you need for a power nap.

The Benefits of Napping

When you get hit by an afternoon slump, your go-to solution might be to drink a strong cup of coffee. And that can give you a quick energy boost.

But the boost is usually temporary. More often than not you’ll crash, and end up feeling even more tired than you did before your caffeine fix.

On the other hand, studies show that a short nap can give you the same boost as that strong cup of coffee, but without the inevitable crash. So, if you’re feeling tired and run-down, sleeping for just ten to thirty minutes is a better way to recharge your batteries.

But power naps aren’t just good for overcoming the afternoon slump. Research shows that taking a nap in the middle of the day can also:

• Improve your memory.
• Reduce feelings of stress.
• Give your creativity a boost.
• Restore your willpower.
• Improve your ability to focus and concentrate.

Some people equate taking naps with being lazy. But people who take naps seem to get more done than those who don’t. So being “lazy” for half an hour a day will actually make you more productive overall.

How to Power Nap

Okay, you don’t really need instructions on how to take a nap. You just lie down and sleep for ten to thirty minutes.

But here are five tips that will help you get the most from your power naps.

1. Set an alarm for thirty minutes.

Don’t count on yourself to magically wake up thirty minutes into a nap. No, set an alarm clock (or an alarm app on your cell phone) to wake you up.

Thirty minutes is a good, all-around time limit to settle on. Even if it takes you twenty minutes to fall asleep, you’ll still get a ten minute power nap. And if you’re able to fall asleep in five minutes, you’ll get a full 25 minutes of sleep, which is even better
.

2. Practice power napping.

No, seriously.

If you’re not used to taking naps in the middle of the day, you might have trouble falling asleep at first. And after a two or three days with no success, you might be tempted to give up on the idea of taking naps altogether.

But don’t. Keep lying down at the same time every day. Eventually, you’re body will catch on and realize that, when you lie down at 1:30  every afternoon, you want to go to sleep. And, over time, you’ll find yourself falling asleep faster and faster.

3. Do your napping in a dark room.

If it takes you fifteen minutes to fall asleep for your power nap, there might be too much light in the room you’re trying to nap in.

Your body associates lying down in a dark room with going to bed at night. So, if you lie down for a nap in a dark room, your body will think, “Oh, it must be time to sleep now,” and you’ll fall asleep faster.

If you can’t find a dark room to nap in, wear a sleep mask. Being unable to see the light will usually trick your body into thinking you’re in a dark room.

4. Choose a time that works for you.

They say the best time to take a power nap is between 1 pm and 3 pm in the afternoon. But, really, you should power nap at whatever time works best for you.

If you usually feel a little drowsy right after lunch, take your power nap right after lunch.

If you feel wiped after work, take your power nap after work. And don't worry that napping so late in the day will make it harder to get to sleep at night. Just make sure you wake from your nap at least three hours before going back to bed.

Taking a power nap at any time is better than not to taking a nap at all.

5. Get up when the alarm goes off.

Longer naps can be more beneficial than quick power naps. And there will be days when you want to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock and nap for five or ten more minutes.

But if you nap for more than half an hour, you could suffer from “sleep inertia,” and wake up feeling groggier than you did before you went to sleep.

Long naps are great on days when you don’t have much to do. But if you’re napping on a day when you still have plenty on your to do list, stick to 30 minutes or less.


Taking a power nap every day will make you more focused, relaxed and productive. They are a healthy alternative to coffee, energy drinks, and caffeinated sodas. And they’re the perfect antidote to the afternoon slump.

Why Positive Affirmations Don’t Work…Sometimes

By Dee Jones


You’re brain believes what you tell it. And this seems to be especially true when it comes to self criticism. 

If you tell yourself you’re a loser often enough, you’ll start to believe it. You might only believe it on a subconscious level, but the message is there, affecting everything you do. Keeping you from applying for your dream job, or entering that short story contest. (After all, if you’re a loser, why bother?)

The good news is that, just as your brain believes the negative stuff you say to yourself, it also believes the positive things you say to yourself.

Well, sometimes.

The opposite of self criticism is positive self affirmation. Instead of engaging in negative self talk, you keep the self talk positive.

In theory, if you say good, positive things about you to yourself, you’ll start to believe them.

• If you tell yourself you’re confident, you’ll feel more confident.
• If you tell yourself everyone likes you, you won’t feel so shy and awkward when you meet new people.
• If you tell yourself you’re a great writer, you’ll finally sit down and start writing that novel.

Improving your life just by thinking and saying nice things about yourself? It sounds great right?

There’s just one problem.

A lot of the time, positive affirmations don’t work. You can spend weeks or months saying positive, self-affirming things to yourself and never see any improvement in your mindset, self confidence, or self image.

Now notice I didn’t say positive affirmations never work, because they definitely can.

As long as you choose the right affirmations.

One Thing That Can Make Positive Affirmations Ineffective

A lot positive affirmations don’t work because they’re based on lies.

Let’s say you’re going into a situation where you need to talk to someone new. It’s a job interview. Or a first date. Or your first meeting with a future in-law.

You want to make a good first impression, but fear your nerves and self doubt will get in the way. So you choose a positive affirmation to help boost your confidence.

I’m a great person, and everybody likes me!

Immediately some logical, subconscious voice steps up and says, “What? Did you seriously just say everybody likes us? That no one ever has or ever will dislike us? Well that’s just not possible. Everybody has people who don’t like them, even if it’s for no good reason. Even the nicest person in the world has people who don’t like them. Probably because they’re too nice!”

And just like that, the positive affirmation is pretty much nullified. You can keep saying it to yourself, but it won’t do much good because your subconscious has already dismissed this impossible statement as nonsense.

But positive affirmations aren’t completely useless. The trick is to use the right kind of positive affirmation.

If you want to make a positive affirmation effective, you need to do two things.

1. Make it believable.
2. Prove it.

How Can You Make Positive Affirmations More Effective?

That logical part of your subconscious will have an easier time believing what you can prove.

Let’s take, “I’m a great person, and everybody likes me!" and replace it with, “I know I’m a likeable person.” Or maybe “People like me.”

Can you prove that?

Well, are there people in your life right now who like you? What about friends? Family members?

Did you have a good relationship with one of your teachers, or the manager at your last job?

Is there a cashier who always smiles when you approach the checkout counter?

Then you are likeable. People (you’re mom and best friend count as "people" after all) like you. This is something your brain can believe because it’s true, and you’ve got proof to back it up.

A realistic affirmation like, “I know I’m a likeable person,” might not be as flashy as “I’m a great person and everybody likes me!” But the more understated affirmation is the one most likely to work.

And isn’t that the whole point?

Action Steps

Here are some steps you can take to turn the positive affirmations you’re already using into more effective self-talk.

1. Think about one of your positive affirmations, something you’ve tried to use to get over some fear or self-doubt. Is there any aspect of this affirmation that you think your subconscious might not believe? If so, move on to step 2.
2. Rephrase the affirmation into something true and believable but still affirming.
3. Try to find at least one piece of “evidence” that supports your new affirmation. If you can’t, try rephrasing the affirmation.
4. Write the new affirmation on an index card, and tape it where you’ll see it often. For example, if you’re new affirmation is, “People like me,” you can tape the index card to your bathroom mirror, where you’ll see it every morning and night.

Now you have an affirmation your subconscious will actually buy, so that affirmation is more likely to do what you need it to do.

Positive affirmations can be great tools that can help you overcome self-doubt, low self esteem, procrastination, and anything else that could negatively impact your productivity. The key is creating a positive affirmation that will actually work for you.


Have you tried using positive self-talk? If so, which affirmations really worked for you?

How to Have an Ideal Day

By Dee Jones

Can envisioning your Ideal Day help you to have an Ideal Day?

According to Jason Womack, it can.

Every morning, he spends 15 minutes writing about what his day would look like if it was “ideal.” And he believes he’s more productive as a result.

Of course, what an Ideal Day looks like will differ from person to person. But, to me, an Ideal Day isn’t a “perfect day.” And it isn’t necessarily a day when I do everything on my to-do list. (Although it can be.) Instead, it's a day when I can go to bed feeling content about what I got done, and how things (projects, meetings, activities) went in general. And I keep that in mind as I envision my Ideal Day.

I admit, this isn't an exercise I do regularly. But, when I have done it, I do feel more motivated to do the things I need to do. It’s like my subconscious wants to make my dreams of an Ideal Day come true, and gives me the motivation I need to make it happen.

Hmmmm. Sounds like something I should do more often, doesn't it? 

If you’d like to learn more about the concept of an Ideal Day, and think you'd like to give it a try, check out this blog post.

Envision Your Ideal Day to Become More Productive


What does having an Ideal Day mean to you? And how many Ideal Days do you have in the average week?

How to Work for Just 90 Minutes a Day

by Dee Jones

All across the Internet, people are trying to find ways to be productive. And, when they come up with techniques that work for them, they share them with the rest of us.

Sarah J. Bray shared a technique that’s become pretty popular, especially with freelancers and entrepreneurs. But I think it can work for anyone with a little customization.

Bray came up with the technique in a moment of desperation. You see, she had several projects, both personal and professional, on her plate. And she had no desire to work on any of them.

So she found a way to work around her lack of motivation and do some work on her projects every day. And she managed to reawaken her motivation in the process.

Here’s what she came up with.

The 90-Minute Workday

You can read the blog post in which Bray shared her technique on her website. But here are the basics.

First, Bray separated her projects into two groups. In the first group were four time-sensitive projects that needed to get done by a certain day. In the next group were personal projects that weren’t tied to a specific date.

At the start of her workday, she spent an hour working on the time-sensitive projects. And here’s how she did it:

1. She set a timer for 15 minutes and started working with the first time-sensitive project.

2. When the timer went off, she gave herself a choice. If she felt like it, she worked on the first project during the next 15 minute block. But if she’d had enough of that first project, she moved on to the next project on the list.

3. After four 15 minute blocks, that was it. She was done with her time-sensitive projects for the day.

The next day she’d repeat the process, starting with the next time-sensitive project on her list. So if she worked on projects A, B and C one day (working on project C for two 15-minute blocks), she’d start with project D the next day.

After a break, she repeated the process with her personal projects, working on those for two 15 minute blocks.

After working for a total of 90 minutes, she was done for the day, and free to do whatever she wanted.

The Results

According to Bray, when she first started using her technique, 90 minutes a day was all she could manage. But eventually her motivation returned.

She still only committed to working on her projects for 90 minutes a day. After that, she was free to do whatever she wanted. And, sometimes, what she wanted to do was keep working on her projects. And she often ended up doing so for several hours beyond those first 90 minutes.

I’ve used this technique myself, and it can be pretty effective. I especially like using it for maintenance and administrative tasks, like cleaning out email, organizing papers, or cleaning out a closet. I’ll pick four projects and work on them for an hour a day, rotating through them in 15 minute blocks.

It might not seem like you can get much done in just 15 minutes. But, trust me, you can. And those 15 minute blocks of time will really add up.


If you have several projects on your plate, and they feel like they are all at a standstill because you can’t seem to find time for them, why not give this technique a try. Bray goes into more detail about her technique, and shares a few extra tips and tricks, in this blog post:

My 90 Minute Workday


Do you ever feel like you’ve just run out of motivation? What techniques do you use to get the work done even when you don’t feel like doing it?

3 Ways to Beat the Afternoon Slump

By Dee Jones




At some time after noon (maybe around 2 or 3 p.m.) you start to feel sluggish and rundown. It gets harder and harder to focus or concentrate. And all the stuff you still have to do that day starts to loom over you like a dark, impossible cloud.

Yep, you’ve been hit by the dreaded “afternoon slump.”

For some people, the solution to the afternoon slump is a big cup of strong coffee. And a shot of caffeine can give you a quick energy boost. But the boost is only temporary. In a few hours you’ll crash from the caffeine high, and end up feeling more tired than you did before you drank the coffee.

You can delay the crash by guzzling one caffeinated drink after another. But that can lead to lots of sleepless nights, which will make your problems with afternoon slumps even worse.

Fortunately, there are other ways to beat back the afternoon slump. And they won’t keep you up at night.

Take a Multi-Vitamin Every Day

Taking a multivitamin every morning can help prevent a slump in the afternoon.

Maybe you try to get all the vitamins and minerals you need from the foods you eat. But you can make sure all, of your basis are covered by taking a good multivitamin every day.

When your body has all of the nutrients it needs, you will stay energized throughout the day. You’ll also find it easier to focus and concentrate. Meaning you’ll get your work done faster, and won’t get distracted as easily.

Now choosing the right multivitamin can be tricky. There are just so many options. You can get multivitamins made for women, for men, for pregnant women, or for people with poor eyesight. There are even multivitamins especially designed to give you more energy.

Choose your multivitamin based on your specific needs. If you’re a man over 50, choose a vitamin for men over 50. If you’re concerned about heart health, choose a multivitamin that promotes heart health.

Whatever multivitamin you choose, take a look at the Supplement Facts on the label. You want a multivitamin that has 100% Daily Value (or DV) of as many essential vitamins and minerals as possible. But don’t expect the vitamin to have 100% DV of all of them.

For example, most multivitamins won’t have a 100% DV of calcium because in the result would be a pill too big to swallow.

Luckily, the foods you eat can make up for anything your multivitamin lacks.

Drink Lots Water

Drinking plenty of water has many benefits. It helps you feel more energized. It helps you stay alert. It can even improve your concentration.

If you’re feeling rundown and listless, dehydration could be the culprit. In fact, if you’re thirsty, that means you’re already dehydrated. If possible, drop what you’re doing right now and go get yourself something to drink.

When the afternoon slump hits, you’d be amazed what a difference drinking a glass or two of cold water can make. It’s also good idea to drink some water before you do any work that gives your brain a workout. Whether you’re writing a report or preparing your taxes, drinking some water will make the job easier. You’ll also get better results.

There’s really no substitute for drinking water. But drinking other beverages (like milk, juice, decaffeinated soda, or decaffeinated iced tea) will also help to keep you hydrated. But avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which contributes to dehydration.

Choose the Right Snacks

Having a light snack when you start to feel run down can give you an afternoon energy boost.

The trick is not to snack on anything too heavy. A heavy snack can make you feel even more tired and sluggish. And that would defeat the purpose of eating a snack to boost your energy.

What kinds of foods should you snack on mid-day? Well, when it comes to energy boosters, sweet is good. But you want snacks that are naturally sweet, like fruits and berries. Avoid snacks that are sweet thanks to processed sugars, like candy bars or glazed donuts.

Fruits like apples and bananas are good, quick energy boosters. They’re also convenient.

First, they don’t take much time to prepare. All you have to do is peel your banana or cut your apple, and you can start snacking.

Secondly, you can eat most fruits with one hand. And that will leave the other hand free to hold a pen or operate your computer mouse.

Fruit isn’t the only thing that can give you an energy boost. Here are some other energy-boosting snacks that are easy to prepare:

• A fruit salad made with fresh fruits and berries.
• Yogurt with granola sprinkled on top.
• Peanut butter spread on whole grain crackers.

When it’s 2 p.m. and you still have a couple of hours of work ahead of you, there’s nothing worse than getting hit by the afternoon slump. Luckily, taking a multivitamin every day can help prevent the mid-day crash. And, if you do need a boost, drinking some water and having the right snack can give you the energy you need to get through the rest of your day.


What are your favorite remedies for the afternoon slump?

How to Do Anything Faster: Use Parkinson’s Law

by Dee Jones


So you have an essay to write. You're not sure how long it will take, but you’re thinking maybe an hour or two.

Three hours later and your essay still isn’t finish. You’re sick of the whole thing and wish you could quit and go cruise Facebook. But the essay is due tomorrow, so…

Or maybe you were doing something else, like cleaning out your email inbox, or organizing the books that are trying to take over your house. For whatever reason, these projects always seem to take a lot more time than you thought they would. It's frustrating. And it makes you reluctant to tackle these kinds of open-ended, "not-sure-how-long-it-will-take" projects.

So why does this happen?

It’s called Parkinson’s Law.

What Is Parkinson’s Law?

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

That’s Parkinson’s Law. And it’s just a fancy way of saying if you give yourself a certain amount of time to do something, that’s how long it will take.

Say you give yourself a month to plan a party. Parkinson's Law says it will take you a month to plan that party. And you’ll probably believe there was no way you could’ve gotten that party planned in less time than that.

But give yourself two weeks to plan the same party and, low and behold, you’ll manage to get it done in two weeks.

And, with personal projects, we often don’t give ourselves any kind of a time-frame or deadline to work with. We say something like, “I’m going to write that essay today.” And writing the essay ends up taking up most of your day.

There’s a quick and easy way to keep projects from getting out of control and eating up precious time.

You just put a time limit on them.

Conserve Your Willpower by Making Fewer Decisions

By Dee Jones

At some point during the day, you start to feel like a car that has run out of gas.

It’s not a question of energy. You don’t feel tired, really. In fact, you could probably spend the next few hours creating Pinterest boards.

No, it's your motivation tank that's empty. For some reason, you just don’t feel like doing any of the things left on your to-do list. You know, the stuff that actually needs to get done.

That “ran out of gas” feeling usually happesn on days that are busier than usual. But not always. Sometimes it seems to happen for no reason at all.

But, no, there is a reason.

You’ve run out of willpower.

You Can Run Out of Willpower?

Yes, you can. At least that’s what decades of research says.

It turns out that willpower is a finite resource. When you wake up in the morning, you have all the willpower you’re going to get for the rest of the day. The minute you get out of bed, you start using that willpower up. And the later in the day it gets, the less willpower you have.

That's why it's so much harder to get yourself to exercise after dinner than to go for a run early in the morning. 

Some things eat through your daily supply of willpower faster than others. And one thing that really uses up willpower is making decisions.

Any time you have to make a choice, no matter how small, it depletes your willpower.

• Deciding what kind of doughnut to get.
• Choosing a pair of socks.
• Debating over two different parking spots.

All of these little decisions dip into your well of willpower. And the more choices you have to make, the sooner that well will run dry.

So if making decisions depletes your willpower supply, it stands to reason that you can conserve your willpower by making fewer decisions.

And here are three ways you can do just that.

5 Ways to Deal With Feeling Overwhelmed

by Dee Jones


There are a lot of things that can cause procrastination. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Perfectionism. And, of course, there’s feeling overwhelmed.

When you sit down to work on a big, overwhelming project, it can feel like being dropped in the middle of the ocean with no lifeboat in sight. It can be confusing, stressful, and even a little scary.

These aren’t pleasant feelings, so you might avoid working on the project so you don’t have to experience those unpleasant emotions.

But here’s the thing. The longer you put off a project, especially one with a deadline, the harder it will be when you have no choice but to sit down and finally get to work on it.

If you have a project you want to stop avoiding, here are 5 quick and easy things you can do right now to help ease your feelings of overwhelm. And, hopefully, stop procrastinating.

1. Take a Few Deep Breaths

When you think about working on an overwhelming project, your body can react like you’re in physical danger.

You heart starts to race. Your breaths become quick and shallow. And the old “fight or flight” response kicks in.

And, when dealing with an overwhelming project, “flight” usually means dropping the project to check your email or mow the lawn.

A “flight” response is great if you’re being chased by a lion. But it’s not so great when facing a project you need to finish before a deadline.

One way to get your body back under control is to take a few deep breaths.

Here’s a simple breathing exercise you can do any time you’re feeling nervous, anxious, or overwhelmed.

1. Breathe in for a count of four.
2. Hold your breath for a count of four.
3. Breathe out for a count of four.
4. Hold your breath for a count of four.

Repeat this exercise four or five times. (Or as many times as needed.) Soon, your breathing will slow, your heart will stop pounding, and your feelings of overwhelm will start to fade.

2. Strike a Power Pose

It’s common knowledge that your body language can affect the way other people perceive you. But now there's research that says your posture can effect what you think and feel too.

Here’s a video that explains things in more detail.

Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

The gist of it is that if you strike a power pose for just two minutes, it will, among other things, raise your testosterone levels. This, in turn, will decrease your feelings of stress, fear and anxiety. It will help clear your head, and increase your confidence.

According to the research, people who struck power poses before job interviews did much better than those who didn’t.

You can watch the video for some examples of power poses. One of the simplest, that you can do almost anywhere, is what I’ll call the Super Hero Pose. Just stand with your feet spread apart, put your hands on your hips, and raise your chin up high.

3. Break the Project into Steps

One reason a project can seem overwhelming is that you see it as one big, nebulous undertaking rather than as a series of small, concrete steps.

“Write a novel” is a pretty big project to tackle. And, well, how do you do that? Where do you start? How long will it take? How can you get from Point A to Point Z?

If you’ve never done it before, and haven’t really thought out the steps, writing a novel can look like a mystery you have no chance of solving.

One way to make a project less nebulous and mysterious is to break it into concrete steps. For example, for “write a novel,” some of the steps might be:

• Brainstorm story ideas.
• Make a list of possible characters.
• Do profiles of my main character.
• Do research about ducks. (Or whatever you need to know for your novel.)
• Re-read that book on plot structure.
• Make a rough outline.
• Write the first scene of chapter one.

Your list doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it probably won’t be. But even if your list is incomplete because you don’t know all the steps, yet just having a list of steps can help you feel less overwhelmed.

Having a list of action steps will also give you places to start. And figuring out where to start is one of the hardest parts of tackling an overwhelming project.

4. Focus on One Small Step

Sometimes, even breaking a project down into steps can be overwhelming.

So forget about the project as a whole. Instead, focus on doing one small thing to move the project forward.

For example, if you’re organizing a party, you could focus on making a mind map to start organizing your ideas. Or focus on choosing the best night for you to throw the party. (Fridays and Saturdays are always good, right?)

If you have an essay to write, you could focus on making a list of possible topics, or reading one encyclopedia entry about the topic you’ve already chosen.

When I say “small step,” I mean really small. Choose a task you could complete in five or ten minutes.

No, working for just five or ten minutes at a time probably won’t get a big project done (unless the deadline is months away). But, as we know, the hardest part of any project can be just getting started.

A small step that takes just five minutes can be enough to get you over that “haven’t started yet” hump. In fact, after doing that 5-minute task, you might want to keep going.

5. Ask for Help.

It’s strange that asking for help is often our last resort when we’re really struggling on a project. In fact, sometimes we never think to ask for help. Maybe because we believe, at least subconsciously, that we have to do everything ourselves.

But getting help from someone else can be a great way to deal with feeling overwhelmed. In fact, sometimes, it should be your first step.

If you know someone who has done a project similar to the one you’re struggling with, ask them for tips and advice. Sometimes, just talking to someone who’s “done it before” some of your “This project is too big and I don’t know what to do!” panic.

You can also ask for more hands-on help. Chances are you know someone who would be glad to give you a helping hand. They might even take over some of the most difficult parts of the project.


So, the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by a project or task, try one of these strategies.

1. Take some deep breaths.
2. Strike a power pose for two minutes.
3. Break the project into concrete action steps.
4. Focus on taking one small step.
5. Ask someone for help.

I bet at least one of these techniques will help quiet those feelings of overwhelm so you can get some work done on your project.

4 Types of Journals that Take Just 5 Minutes a Day

by Dee Jones


You're just not a journal person.

Yes, you've heard about the benefits of journaling. But spending 30 minutes a day writing about where you went, what you ate, who you spoke to, what you did at work...

You don't have time for that!

Besides, staring at a big blank page, trying to think of stuff to fill it with, and doing that every single day? Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun.

Well, here's the good news. You don't have to keep a traditional, “here's everything I did today” type of journal. There are other types of journals, many of which don’t take much time or effort to keep.

If you can find just five free minutes in your day, here are four types of “5-minute journals” you can keep.

1. The Quick Journal

With quick journaling, you don't worry about filling an entire page in your journal. You don’t even have to write a whole paragraph.

Instead, you write just a sentence or two about something significant that happened that day. For example:

 * Went to the dentist. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
* Got an A on my science report. Yay!
* Just had the best chocolate cake ever. So glad I got the recipe.

Keeping a record like this gives you something to look back on. It can be fun to look through your “quick journal” and see what was going on in your life a week, month, or year ago.

2. A Gratitude Journal.

It can be too easy to ignore the good, positive things in our lives and focus on the negative. And that can negatively impact your overall mood, general outlook, and even your productivity.

Want to start focusing more on the positive than the negative? Start a gratitude journal.

Considering how little time and effort it takes, gratitude journaling can have some amazing benefits. In one study [http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good/], participants were asked to spend time every day focusing on gratitude. After just a few weeks, many of them felt more optimistic, were able to sleep better at night, and even had lower blood pressure.

Keeping a gratitude journal is easy. At the end of every day, write down one to three things you’re grateful for. The only “rule” is that you pick things that are different from what you've already written in your gratitude journal.

After a few days, you’ll be amazed by how many good, positive things there are in your life that you can be grateful for.

3. A Project Journal.

Reaching a big goal (finishing a complicated report, losing 50 pounds, getting that promotion) can be exhilarating. You feel like you're on top of the world, and can't wait to tackle the next big goal on your list.

But there's a problem with “big wins” like this. They don't happen very often. So what do you do in the meantime, when you're goal is to lose 50 pounds but, so far, you've only lost 2. Or you want to write a novel but, so far, have only eked out 500 words.

When you're trying to reach a goal that might take weeks, or even months, it can be hard to stay motivated and not give up. Even if you *can't* give up (because it's a project for work or school) a lack of motivation can make doing the work more difficult. And make you more prone to procrastination.

Luckily, there's a solution. Teresa Amabile (a professor at Harvard, and co-author of *The Progress Principle*) observed 238 professionals. And she found that one of the key things that kept people motivated, whether at work in general or when working on specific projects, was making progress. Even if the progress was small, it was enough to keep them motivated.

Unfortunately, most of us don't notice our “small wins,” so we don’t benefit from “the progress principle” as much as we could.

Here’s the fix. Start keeping a project journal. Every day, spend a few minutes writing about the progress you've made on the project, no matter how big or small. Try to write down at least one “small win.” For example:

* I lost another pound.
* I came up with a great title for my novel.
* I spent 10 minutes cleaning out the garage.

Keeping track of your small wins will not only keep you motivated, but it will make you less likely to fall prey to the procrastination monster.

4. A “Morning Page” Journal

Maybe it starts before you get out of bed in the morning. You might be in the middle of a yawn when your mind is suddenly flooded with:

* All of the stuff you have to do that day.
* All the little things that bugging or annoying you.
* All the bigger things you’re worried about.

All of that mental noise can be exhausting. And it can make it difficult to face the rest of your day with energy and enthusiasm.

That's where morning pages come in. Popularized by Julia Cameron in her book *The Artists Way,* doing morning pages is a freewriting exercise where you write whatever pops into your head stream-of-consciousness style. You don't worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or even writing in complete sentences. You just write.

Cameron suggests writing three full pages every morning. But even writing for just five minutes can help to drastically clear your head, and get you ready to tackle the rest of your day.



Maybe you’ve thought about journaling, but decided you didn’t have the time. But if you can set aside just five minutes a day, you can start a journal.

If you've never kept a journal before, journaling every day might be a hard habit to stick with at first. But, before long, spending five minutes with your journal will become a daily ritual that you truly look forward to.

3 Ways to Beat Procrastination with the Zeigarnik

By Dee Jones

Life would be so much easier if we only had to do things we actually wanted to do.

But it just doesn’t work that way. We all have things we’d like to avoid doing but can’t for one reason or another. And, for me, one of those things is washing dishes.

I hate washing dishes.

And, no, “hate” isn’t too strong a word. In fact, it might not be strong enough.

Every morning, I think about the dishes I’ll have to wash at some point, and a sense of dread falls over me. After all, who doesn’t dread doing things they know they’re going to hate.

Still those dishes have to be washed. And I know that the sooner I get it over with the better.

So I eventually drag myself into the kitchen and start cleaning, usually with a promise that I’ll only do one thing (like unstuck the dishwasher). Or maybe that I can quit after just 10 minutes.

But as soon as I get started, the dread fades away. It’s not that I suddenly enjoy washing the dishes. But once I’m doing it, it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And rather than stopping after the dishwasher is un-stacked or those 10 minutes have passed, I usually keep going until the kitchen is clean, and I’m free to do other, less painful things.

You’ve probably experienced the same thing when dealing with some dreaded chore, task or project. The thought of doing it was so overwhelming or unpleasant that you put it off for as long as possible. But, once you actually got started, it didn’t seem so bad. In fact, you probably didn't want to stop until you were finished.

That experience actually has a name. It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect.

What Is the Zeigarnik Effect?

“Just get started.”

This is popular productivity advice. The theory is that getting started is the hardest part of doing any task or project. Once you get over that initial hump, the project won’t seem nearly as bad as you thought it would be. Not only that, but you’ll suddenly be filled with the desire to keep working on the project until you’re finished.

It’s sound advice. And there’s actual, scientific proof to back it up.

A few years back, researchers did a study in which participants were asked to complete puzzles. Now, these weren’t the fun, relaxing puzzles you’d find in puzzle books. These puzzles were hard, the kind of hard that makes you grind your teeth in frustration.

Before participants could finish their puzzles, the researchers told them they could stop.

As you might expect, some participants were relieved to be let off the hook. They threw their incomplete puzzles to the side and didn’t look back. 

But here’s the interesting part. More than 80% of the participants *didn’t* stop. Yes, the puzzles were challenging and teeth-grinding. But the majority of participants chose to keep working on their puzzles until they completed them.

This study proved the basic principal behind the Zeigarnik Effect.

Once we start something, even something unpleasant, we’ll usually want to finish it.

Say you’re procrastinating on a project. According to the Zeigarnik Effect, if you can just get started on it, even if you take one small, tiny step, you’re more likely to want to want to finish the project. And your desire to finish will make you less likely to procrastinate.

So if you have a difficult or unpleasant project on your plate, here are three ways you can use the Zeigarnik Effect to stop procrastinating and get that project done.

How to Use the Zeigarnik Effect to Overcome Procrastination

Just Get Started with One Small Step

You’re more likely to procrastinate on a project that feels big and overwhelming.

Just thinking about a big project, and how much work it will take to get it done, can paralyze you. And it’s hard to “just get started” on something when you can’t even move.

So forget don’t think about the project as a whole. Instead, focus on just one small piece of it.

Choose a task so small and easy that you’ll feel little resistance to doing it. If you have to write an essay or blog post, your “small step” could be brainstorming 10 or 15 possible topics or titles. Or maybe finding one article about your topic.

Doing one small thing related to a project, even if it only takes 5 or 10 minutes, counts as “just getting started.” And that tiny step could be enough to make the Zeigarnik Effect kick into gear.

Start By Figuring Things Out

Not knowing what to do can also cause procrastination.

Have you ever been given a task or project that you’ve never done before. You didn’t have the first clue how to go about getting it done, or even where to start.

Like being overwhelmed, no one wants to feel clueless. So, to avoid that feeling, you put off starting the project…until the last minute, when you had to scramble to figure the project out and get it done.

If a sense of cluelessness is keeping you from getting started on a project, make your first small step figuring out what you need to do.

Spend 5 or 10 minutes freewriting about what you already know about doing this kind of project (however little that might be). Do a mind map to find the gaps in your knowledge. Or start listing ways you could get more information about the project. (Like finding a good how-to article, or talking to someone who’s done a similar project.)

Thinking about how to do a project counts as “just getting started.” And the more you know about doing a project, the less you’ll procrastinate.

Schedule the Small Step

You tell yourself you’re going to start working on your project today. But you keep putting it off, promising yourself you’ll get started later.

And, before you know it, you’re in bed thinking about how you still haven’t started that project.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this problem.

Once you’ve picked a tiny step for getting started on a project, pick a specific time when you’ll actually do it.

Once you pick a time, set an alarm so you won’t forget. Yes, you might remember just fine without the alarm. But set it anyway to make sure you don’t.

Choose a time when you’ll have at least 30 minutes free. That way, if you decide to keep going after you take that first small step, you can.



The next time you find yourself procrastinating on something, follow this simple strategy:

1. Choose one small, easy step you can take to”just get started” on the project.
2. Choose a specific time to complete that tiny task.
3. Set an alarm to make sure you won’t forget.

As psychological theories go, the Zeigarnik Effect is pretty simple. But this simple technique could prove to be the most powerful tool in your anti-procrastination toolbox.

3 Reasons You Should Keep a Journal

By Dee Jones


I’ve been keeping a journal for as long as I can remember. But, for a long time, I didn’t actually realize that’s what I was doing.

A lot of that was because of my misconceptions when it came to what a journal actually was. As a child and young teen, I thought keeping a journal meant writing about your day, your crush, or how your sister borrowed your favorite shirt without even asking.

But I didn’t write about stuff like that. I wrote about the various subjects that caught my interest, like mythology and medieval history. I wrote about projects I was working on, books I was reading, and the movies I had seen. My binders and notebooks were also stuffed with drawing, poems, and unfinished short stories.

Eventually, I realized that all of that all of the above qualified as journaling. But it took a little longer to realize how much all of that had benefited me. In fact, I’m still discovering new ways that journaling helped me back then, and continues to help me now.

If you’ve thought about starting a journal, but just haven’t gotten around to it, here are 5 reasons you should start keeping a journal right now.

Reason #1: Journaling Helps to Clear Your Head

Your mind is a busy place. It’s filled with things you need to remember, things you need to do, things that are annoying you, deadlines that are on the horizon, projects you haven’t even started yet...

Basically, there’s a lot going on up there.

There problem with all of that mental noise is that it can make it hard to focus on the things you actually need to do right now. Think about it. How often have you tried to concentrate on one thing only to be distracted but the dozen or so other thoughts that keep popping in and out of your head?

Journaling is an easy way to get rid of some of the mental clutter that keeps distracting you.

Grab a notebook and pen and spend 10 minutes just writing down whatever pops into your head. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation. You don’t even have to worry about staying on one topic. Just write down the thoughts that drift through your mind as fast as you can.

It’s a simple exercise. And, after doing it, you’ll be surprised by how much more clear and quiet your head feels.

Reason #2: Journaling Helps You Reach Your Goals

One of my favorite sayings is “think on paper,” and that’s exactly what journaling helps you do.

As soon as a new project lands on my plate, I grab a pen and notebook and start writing about it.

Journaling about a project helps you figure out exactly what you want to do. And getting a really clear, concrete “picture” of a project, even a big one, will make it feel less overwhelming.

Journaling can also help you figure out what you need to do to reach your goal, another step that can make a project feel less intimidating.

Journaling doesn’t just help you get started on a new project. When I’m working on something, I sometimes get stuck. Trying to work out why I’m stuck in my head usually results in my brain running around in circles. I might figure things out, but it will take a while. 

But if I write about being stuck, and the possible causes, I tend to figure things out fast, often in as little as 5 or 10 minutes. And, once I know what the problem is, I can take steps to fix it or work around it. And, just like that, I’m back on track.

Reason #3: Journaling Makes You a Better Writer.

You don’t want to be a writer, you say? Well, writers aren’t the only ones who have to do a lot of writing now days. Students need to write for school. Many employees need to write for work. And, if you spend any time online, you probably write e-mails, blog posts, or forum comments. And if the thought of writing certain things fills you with dread, journaling will help you with that.

Many people find writing difficult because they don’t do a lot of it. They only write when they have to. (They have an essay due, or need to write a report for work.) Because writing isn’t something they do very often, writing becomes an “event.” And not a pleasant or enjoyable one.

But if you write in a journal on a regular basis, you won’t look at writing as a special event. It’s just something you do, like brushing your teeth or checking your email. And it’s hard to dread something you do as a matter of habit.

Journaling also improves the quality of your writing.

Most of us journal in a natural, conversational style. Maybe not at first but, journal long enough, and you’ll find that the words just start to flow. It’s actually similar to the way you probably talk to your friends. And when you can write the way you talk, it makes writing a whole lot easier. 

On top of that, a conversational style is what most readers prefer. It won’t be long before that natural, flowing style works its way from your journal into your other writing. In fact, don’t be surprised if you start to get compliments on how good a writer you are.


If you don’t already keep a journal, why not give it a try? You don’t have to write a personal essay every night. Just try writing in a notebook for 10 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. And, before long, you’ll be experiencing the benefits of journaling for yourself.



Do you keep a journal? How do you think journaling has benefitted you? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Forming a Habit? Don’t Break the Chain!

By Dee Jones

Did you know Jerry Seinfeld was a productivity hacker?

Or, at least, he popularized a productivity hack that’s both simple and effective.

When Seinfeld was a young comedian, he set one goal for himself. Write every day.

Now we know how these things sometimes go. We tell ourselves we’re going to do something every day. But, for some reason, it just doesn’t end up happening.

Well Seinfeld had a trick that helped him stick to his daily goal.

He got himself a yearly calendar (the kind where every day of the year is on one page) and hung it on his wall. And day he spent time writing, he marked that day on the calendar with a big, red X.

As Seinfeld explained, after a week or two of doing this, you’ll have a chain of X’s. And once you have a nice chain going, you won’t want to break it.

It really is pretty simple. Seeing that chain will fill you with a sense of satisfaction. You set a daily goal and actually managed to stick to it! And the proof is right there on your calendar.

Looking at your chain, seeing it grow every day, will make you feel so good you won’t want to break it. And that will motivate you to keep reaching your daily goal.  

If you’re looking to form a new daily habit, here’s how you can use Seinfeld’s productivity hack to do it.

Seinfeld’s Productivity Hack, Step-by-Step

As with many of the best productivity hacks, this one is pretty straightforward. 

Step 1: Choose the Habit You Want to Form. 

Pick a task you want to turn into a daily habit, like:

• Flossing your teeth.
• Doing 10 stomach crunches.
• Writing in your journal.
• Taking a multi-vitamin.
• Practicing the piano for half an hour.

Step 2: Get a Calendar.

Try to get hold of a “year-at-a-glance” calendar like the one Seinfeld used. But, if you can’t, you can always use a simple wall calendar, at least for now.

You might be tempted to use a digital calendar on your computer or portable phone. But a physical wall calendar, one you don’t have to make a special effort to open up and look at, works better with this hack.

So hang a physical calendar in a highly visible place. Now, any time you walk into your kitchen or look up from your desk, you can see your chain and appreciate how it’s growing. And this will help to keep you motivated.

Step 3: Decide How You’ll Mark the Calendar.

If you want to follow Seinfeld’s lead, use a red marker to mark your calendar with bold, red X’s. Or, if you prefer, you can use some other color. Just make sure the color is bright and bold. You want to be able to see it from across the room.

An alternative to X’s is check-marks. If you’ve ever kept a to-do list, you know how satisfying it is to check off a box next to a completed a task. And using check-marks to check off days on your calendar can be just as satisfying.

Or maybe you were one of those kids who loved getting gold stars in school. In that case, buy yourself a supply of gold, tinfoil stars, and use them to mark the days on your calendar.

What If You Miss a Day?

The only drawback of this system is that you might miss a day. In fact, chances are good that you will miss a day at some point, and your chain will be broken.

The problem with this is that, once your chain is broken, it can be easy to shrug your shoulders and give up. “Oh, well,” you might say to yourself. “I tried but I blew it. It was fun while it lasted but, now, what’s the point?”

But, instead of giving up, get back on track by “gamifying” the system.

Count how many days you managed to go without breaking the chain. Then set a goal to beat your record. So if you managed to go 39 days without breaking the chain, you’re new goal can be to go at least 40 days without breaking the next chain.

If you’re like most of us, you have a competitive streak. Even people who wouldn’t describe themselves as competitive probably like to win. It’s human nature. And it’s something you can use to your advantage.

By creating a record or “high score” that you can beat, you’re giving yourself a chance to win. And your desire to “win” will motivate you not to break the next chain.

Using Seinfeld’s “don’t break the chain” technique is a great way to form a new habit. It’s simple, easy, and it works.

3 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset

by Dee Jones

Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?

Well, how you answer that question can determine how successful you are in school, at work, and in your relationships.

According to research on the nature of success, people with a growth mindset tend to be:

• More productive.
• More motivated.
• Higher achievers.
• More content with their lives.

And here’s the good news. While you might have a fixed mindset right now, there are things you can start doing today that will help you to develop a growth mindset.

The Growth Mindset vs. the Fixed Mindset

In her bestselling book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, renowned psychologist and Stanford University professor Carol Dweck describes the two different mindsets.

Those with a fixed mindset believe your basic qualities are fixed. You only get a certain amount of intelligence or talent, and no amount of study or practice can truly change those things.

On the other hand, those with a growth mindset believe your basic qualities can grow and develop. Whatever intelligence or talent you have right now is just a starting point. You can get better at anything—be it cooking, writing, or solving math problems—if you study or practice.

According to Dweck, your mindset can have a huge impact on how successful you are in all areas of your life. She has spent decades studying successful people. And she found that mindset, rather than intelligence or innate talent, is often what sets the successful apart from the unsuccessful.

So developing a growth mindset definitely has its advantages. And here’s how you do it.

3 Ways to Develop the Growth Mindset

1. Make the Choice

The first step to changing your mindset is believing that you can.

As Dweck puts it, mindset is a choice. You can consciously decide whether you’ll view anything with a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

So start right now. If the first cake you make in two years turns out to be a disaster, don’t see it as proof that you don’t have “the baking gene.” See it as proof that you haven’t had much experience making cakes. And remind yourself that you can get better at baking with practice.

2. Change Your Self talk

Do you have what Dweck calls a fixed mindset voice?

If you do, this voice will start whispering in your ear the minute you try to do something you’re unsure about. And, on some level, you’ll believe what that voice is saying to you.

Say you decide to write a short story for the first time in 10 years.

In response, your fixed-mindset voice might say something like this:

“Stop! What if the story you write sucks? It’ll prove that you don’t have the talent to be a good writer. Is that what you want? No, it’s safer to just forget about it.”

It’s so easy to give in to that voice. Just think of all the times you’ve talked yourself out of doing something you really wanted to do.

Luckily, you can counteract the fixed-mindset voice. How?

With growth mindset self-talk. For example:

“If the story I write sucks, it’ll be because I haven’t written one in so long. And if I don’t start writing again, I’ll never get any better at it. Besides, even writing a bad story is practice, and practice will help me improve.”

The more you use growth mindset self talk, the less power that fixed mindset voice will have over you.

3. Act Like You Already Have a Growth Mindset

Feeling sometimes follows action. If you act confident, you will start to feel confident. If you smile, your mood will start to improve.

And acting like you already have a growth mindset will help you develop a growth mindset.

You do this by taking what Dweck calls “growth mindset action.”

The next time you’re about to do something you’re unsure about, keep the following tips in mind:

• Approach the task enthusiastically, seeing it as a challenge that will help you learn and grow.
• If things don’t go well, it's not proof that you’re somehow lacking. It's a sign that you need more practice or experience.
• Decide going in that you’re going to learn from any mistakes you make. If you experience a setback, you won't give up. You'll try again, using what you learned on your "failed attempt" to make improvements on your next attempt.

Look for opportunities to take “growth mindset action” in every area of your life. The more you do, the faster your growth mindset will develop.

 

If you want to change your mindset, just follow these three simple steps:

• Make a conscious decision to view the world with a growth mindset.
• Use growth mindset self talk to challenge fixed mindset thoughts.
• Practice your new mindset by taking “growth mindset action.” 

It might take a conscious effort at first. But, before long, seeing things with a growth mindset will be second nature.

To learn more about the power of the growth mindset, you can visit the Mindset website .

5 Reasons You Should Write By Hand

by Dee Jones



Going paperless. Many see it as the way to finally be free of paper clutter, the bane of homes and offices everywhere. 

And why not? There’s nothing you can do with pen and paper that you can’t do on your computer or portable device, including:
   

• Create a to-do list.
• Take notes.
• Keep a journal.
• Write memos, essays and short stories.
• Send messages via email and text messaging.

Yes, you can do just about any writing task on a computer. And typing is so much faster than writing by hand, isn’t it?

But as fast and convenient as computer programs can be, countless studies have proven that, in some ways, writing by hand is superior to typing.
   
So don’t go paperless just yet. First, consider some of the benefits of writing by hand.

1. You’re more likely to remember things you write down.

How many times have you typed something into a computer app and realized, just a few minutes later, that you didn’t remember what you just typed? But when you write something down, it seems much easier to recall it later.

The more ways you take in a piece of information, the more likely you are to remember it. So something will really stick in your brain if you see it, say it, hear it, and read it.

When you write down something you want to remember, you move your fingers to shape the letters. The act of writing gives your brain yet another way to absorb the information.

2. Writing by hand can improve your writing skills.

You probably have to do at least some writing every day.

You write for school or for work. And, if you have a computer, you write email messages, forum posts, and blog comments. 

With all the writing we do, it’s surprising how many people are insecure about their writing skills.

One easy way to improve your writing abilities is to do more of your writing by hand.

In one study, researchers had a group of kids write essays using a computer. Another group was told to write essays by hand.

Surprisingly, the group that did the work by hand wrote their essays faster. Also, the quality of the writing in the hand-written essays was better than the quality of the writing in the typed essays. 

This seems to hold true beyond that study. Students who do more writing assignments by hand develop stronger writing skills than students who mostly type.

3. Writing by hand gives your brain a workout.

As they get older, many people are searching for ways to keep their minds sharp. And writing by hand is an easy way to do just that.

Just as lifting weights exercises your body, writing by hand exercises your brain. And it does so in ways typing doesn’t.

So if you want to sharpen your mind, try to write something by hand every day. Start a journal and write in for 5 minutes every evening. Or you can draft email messages by hand before typing them into a computer, which has the added bonus of improving the quality of your email messages.

4. You learn better when you write by hand.

Many believe that, once you reach a certain age, your brains stop growing.

Fortunately, research has proven otherwise. No matter your age, your brain will continue to grow and develop if you have new experiences and learn new things.

And writing by hand has is one of the most effective learning tools around at your disposal.

In one study, researchers observed the brain activity of a group of children as they interacted with different words. When the children studied a word, their brains were certainly active. But when they wrote the word down, their brain activity increased dramatically.

Other studies have shown that writing things down helps you retain more new information, and acquire new skills faster.

5. Handwritten to-do lists are more motivating.

There are countless to-do list applications available for computers and portable devices. And some of them are very good. But many people find hand-written to-do lists much more motivating.

There’s something so satisfying about completing a task, picking up a pen, and putting a check through the box next to that task. In fact, it’s so satisfying that you’ll want to complete more tasks, check off more boxes, and experience that jolt of satisfaction again and again.

Somehow, clicking a button to check a box in a computer app doesn’t give you the same rush.


Computers are a great invention. And no one is saying you should give up your favorite word processor, to-do list app or note-taking program. But, considering all the benefits of writing by hand, you shouldn’t stop using pen and paper either. In fact, you should look for more opportunities in your daily life to write by hand.

You brain will thank you for it.


Have you discovered the benefits of doing a particular writing task by hand? Or do you think paperless is the way to go? Leave a comment below and let us know.

How to Use Freewriting to Solve Problems

by Dee Jones

 

Do you have a problem that you can’t seem to solve? Or maybe there’s a decision you can’t seem to make. Have you been struggling with this issue for days (if not weeks), with no end in sight?

What if you could solve that problem in just 10 minutes? And all you have to do is grab a piece of paper and start writing.

You probably already know freewriting. Students writing essays and research papers use freewriting as a prewriting technique. And writers often freewrite to overcome (or prevent) writer’s block.

But you don’t have to be a student or a writer to benefit from freewriting. In fact, you can use it to quickly and easily solve your problems, both personal and professional.

 

Freewriting as a Problem-Solving Tool 

I’ve always known that freewriting was powerful. I use it to plan my writing projects, and keep my writing muscles in shape. And whenever I’ve had something to think through, it’s been second nature to me to grab my notebook and write about it.

And I’m not alone. Scott Young also uses writing to solve problems and make decisions. I do things a little differently than he does, but the results seem to be the same. And I love the example he uses to illustrate why writing can be such a great way to problem-solve.

Calculate 9024 x 2045 = ? in your head.

Can you do it? I know I can’t. But I’m sure if you wrote the problem down on paper you could solve it. 

He argues that it’s the same with personal problems. Trying to work the problem out in your head isn’t nearly as effective as working it out on paper.

How to Use Freewriting as a Problem-Solving Tool

Here’s how I often freewrite to solve a problem or make a decision.  

 

Step 1: Grab a Notebook and a Piece of Paper

What you write your freewrites on or in doesn’t actually matter. You can use some scrap pieces of printer paper if you want. Or that cheap notebook you got for ten cents during the back-to-school sales. In fact, if you can’t bring yourself to “mess up” a really nice notebook with messy or disjointed writing, a cheap notebook that you aren’t afraid to make a mess in would probably be best. 

Why not do this on the computer, as Scott Young and many others do?

For me, freewriting works best when I write by hand. But if you’d rather work on a computer, go for it. But I encourage you to give writing by hand a try once or twice. You might be surprised by how well it works for you.

Step 2: Set a Timer

Many suggest that you freewrite about your problem until you come up with a solution. And that might be the approach that most appeals to you. But if that sounds a little intimidating, give yourself a time limit instead.

Set a timer for ten minutes, and then write until the ten minutes are up. If you don’t have a solution after the first ten minutes, you can always reset the timer and do another “freewriting sprint.” Or, if you don’t feel like writing anymore, you can stop for now and try again later.

Step 3: Turn the Problem into a Question

When you ask yourself a concrete question, your subconscious will get to work on finding an answer. So take your problem and turn it into a question.

• How can I pay to go on this trip?
• Is having an income property really worth it?
• Should I start a vegetable garden in the backyard?
• How can we save more?  

Step 4: Start Writing…and Allow Yourself to Be Messy

After you write down your questions, just start writing about the problem. What is the problem, exactly? Why are you finding it so hard to make this decision? What’s making this situation so complicated?  

Once you've explored the problem a little, start jotting down the ideas and possible solutions that pop into your head.

When doing your freewrite, don’t worry about being neat, using proper grammar and punctuation, or saying things the “right” way. In fact, sentence fragments, misspelled words, missing commas…anything goes during a freewrite.

Remember, you aren’t trying to write something perfect here. No one else ever has to see what you freewrite, and you aren’t going to get “marked down” for making mistakes. The point of a freewrite isn’t actually what you write, or how it looks. It’s the benefit you get from the act of writing.

Also, don’t pause to think and ponder. After all, trying to work things out in your head hasn’t worked so far, right? No, just keep writing, and transferring your thoughts and ideas to the page.  

   

Step 5: Take a Break

You’ve been writing about your problem for half an hour (either with or without a timer), and you still haven’t come up with a concrete solution. So, what should you do?

If you want to, you can keep going. Or you can put the freewriting aside and come back to it later.

Sometimes, taking a break can be beneficial. If you haven’t solved the problem, your subconscious will keep working on it even after you stop writing. So, when you come back to your freewrite the next day, you might find that you have a lot of thoughts and ideas that you didn’t have the first time around. Your subconscious might even have come up with the solution, and you won’t realize it until you start writing.

If you’re problem is complex, or the decision you have to make is a particularly hard one, you might have to do a few freewriting sessions before you come up with a solution. But it will still be faster and easier than if you’d only tried to work things out in your head.

Step 6: Summarize Your Solution

Once you have a solution to your problem, really cement it by writing it down. Explain what your solution is, what you’re going to do, and how you’re going to do it.

Even if you don’t come up with a complete solution, even a partial solution is better than none. If nothing else, freewriting will give you a lot of options that you probably hadn’t thought of before.

Just writing about your problem can make it seem less daunting. You might even feel less stressed about the situation…which will make dealing with it a lot easier.

If you’ve been struggling with a problem for a while, finally figuring out what to do about it can feel like a huge weight being lifted off of your shoulders. So the next time you have a problem to solve, or a decision to make, grab a notebook and start writing. And don’t be surprised if a problem that’s been nagging at you for weeks is solved after a 10 or 15 minutes of freewrite.

Have you tried to use freewriting as a problem-solving technique? Or maybe there’s another problem-solving technique that you’ve had great success with. Leave a comment below and tell us about it.