Have you ever looked at your to-do list and thought “I really don’t want to do any of that.” And you know that it will help you further your business, But you just can’t bring yourself to actually do the work? Yeah, I’m guilty of that.
I know I need to write blogs regularly about internet marketing for this site so you can have fresh and exciting things to read when you visit. I’ll get five ideas while I’m figuring out something like setting up LinkedIn ads. But how to get it out of my head, through my fingers, and into this blog.
Voices In Your Head
So what really stops me from writing? I know that I can write 500 words in fifteen minutes if I’m inspired. One of my most popular rants on lodestone-cs.com was after I’d gotten really annoyed at two large companies. Another popular post took three days to write and polish.
I think the voices in my head stop me the most. You know those delightful thoughts….
“Why would anyone read what you wrote.”
“You’re no expert in that.”
Yeah, lovely thoughts.
Time to Stop the Bad Thoughts
But here’s the thing. You have to find a way to silence those thoughts. You really do have important things to say. And while you may or may not be an expert….your viewpoint could be just the thing to help someone else. How many times have you read three or four different things on the same subject, and it was one that really opened up your mind. You could be the key for someone else. And isn’t that why we do this? To help others?
Also, to a 1st grader, a 3rd grader is a genius.
You don’t have to know everything. You just need to know more than your target audience. And I hope that’s a key for you. You don’t want to target people who already know what you do. You want to target those who don’t.
I mean, would you argue physics with Dr. Stephen Hawking? (well, I probably would but I don’t have a lick of sense sometimes when I get a bee in my bonnet).
So what do you do?
Here’s what I do. Figure out something that works for you.
- Set a timer and say you’re going to write for 15-20 minutes. Write an outline. Write thoughts. You can always edit.”I
- Thank the voices and then say you appreciate the thought. And then go back to planning your blog.
- Pretend that you have a dual-cassette tape deck in your head (this is for we older people). Pretend that one STOP button is on the left side of your forehead and a PLAY button is on the right hand side. Press the STOP button to turn off the negative tape. Then press PLAY to start the positive tape that says “I’m so interested in this. I know it’s going to help others.” Then start writing.
- Breathe in and say “I calm my mind” (in your head…I can’t speak when I have lungs full of air that I’m holding onto). Then breathe out and say “I smile”. And then smile. Then go write.
The bottom line is no matter how you reset your brain, you then need to start writing.
But I’m Waiting for Inspiration
Inspiration happens when you’re actually in the middle of what’s happening. Don’t let the blank page syndrome get you. You know what you want to write about, so start writing something. Anything.
In college, when I’d have a term paper to write, I’d type in “A brilliant and witty opening sentence followed by some awesome thoughts.” and then would start writing my main points. I forgot to delete it once and my Philosophy prof wrote “We’ll see about that.”
As I always say to my daughter (who is now away at University in another state and I miss her quite a bit)…..You got this.