Just ten minutes on the subject of…

When I am struggling to get something moving, when the idea is stuck. That’s when it’s a good idea to open my favourite typing space (could be Word, could be Evernote, depends on my mood) and just start to type. I make sure that the typing is informal, almost like a conversation with myself.

Using the space on the page in front of me, I can unravel the questions that are going round in my head, that are stopping me from getting on with the work. Let me give you an example:

Recently, I have been working on an idea for a new programme of work in the day job. It’s a big idea, and one where I have wanted to draw other people in and get their ideas to contribute to the whole. This is being done on the basis that nothing fantastic happens only with the efforts of one person. It’s the team – the remarkable may begin with one person, but it needs others to shape and refine it. So, from the stuckness of fear I ventured forwards with a timer, ten minutes to collect my thoughts…

And that is how to tap the unconscious. This gets beyond the block that we have, what Steven Pressfield calls Resistance. There is no pressure to create anything that must be shared, no great expectations of what will be produced. Instead, there is the opportunity to get the mind moving, get thoughts flowing and see what comes out. The results may startle you. Once I have finished, I often go through the writing looking for points to move to action.

For the last month I have been working with this technique – I have 30 or so projects or programmes of work on the go at any time. These are scattered across my day job, freelancing, creative projects, home projects etc. Each day I have taken one from the list that corresponds to the date and written for 10 minutes on that topic. The results have really propelled me forwards. It’s a technique I have adapted from a book on Journalling by Kathleen Adams which is full of ideas. Well worth a read.  You can find out more about the book here and here.