I write a lot of content and have done for many years. Most of the time, I have plenty to say, but every now and then, I find myself staring at the screen, wondering what on earth to write.

If you find yourself in that position, here are some tips to push through and get those words down on the page.

A surefire way to hinder the writing process is to put too much pressure on yourself. You want brilliance. You want perfection. You want every word and sentence to be just right. But it’s unrealistic to expect that (especially from a first draft).

The first draft is only a starting point. Nobody will see it apart from you, so it doesn’t matter if it’s awful. You don’t need to write anything brilliant. Just get something on the page - you can go back and improve it later.

Sometimes the problem isn’t putting too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes it’s the opposite – there isn’t enough pressure. There’s no deadline. No accountability. Nobody is relying on you to write.

That’s why so many people talk about writing rather than doing it. They say they want to start a blog or they need to update their website copy or they have a great idea for a book. But they never do anything about it because there’s no urgency. It’s not a priority. And it’s too easy to put it off and push it to the bottom of the to-do list.

There’s an easy solution to this. Make writing a priority. Set yourself deadlines, schedule time to write, and create some accountability. Tell someone you are going to write an article about X, or launch a newsletter about Y and get them to check in with you. Or announce it on your socials so you feel as though people are waiting for it (even if they aren’t).

Maybe you find writing a challenge because you have other things on your mind.
If you’ve got a big meeting coming up and you’re feeling anxious, you’ll struggle to concentrate. And if you’re thinking about all the other jobs you need to do this week, you won’t be able to focus.

So empty your mind of other tasks before you start. Write down all the tasks you need to do later. Jot down your thoughts about anything that is bothering you. Do a brain dump of anything that’s on your mind. Then put it to one side.

If you write all these things down on paper, your brain will relax because it doesn’t have to remember them. It can switch off from those things for now and come back to them later.

If your phone rings just as you sit down to write, you’re going to get distracted. If you see notifications popping up as you’re writing, you’re going to get distracted. If you do your writing in a space where people constantly need your attention, you’re going to get distracted.

So before you write, turn your phone to silent and put it in another room or out of reach. Close down your email and any social media tabs you have open on your desktop. Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Tell people not to bother you for the next hour. In other words, get rid of all distractions so you can focus completely on writing.

It’s harder to write if you’re staring at a blank page with no idea what to write. And it’s harder to come up with ideas when you’re under pressure.

A good way to avoid this is to note down ideas and thoughts when they come to you so you have them when it’s time to write.

Put a memo in your phone, send yourself an email or voice note. Carry a notebook with you or make notes in the back of your diary. Use a spreadsheet or app. Whatever works for you. But whenever you have an idea or you’re feeling creative, jot it down. That way, you’ll have ideas, sentences, and even paragraphs of text to work with when you come to write.

If you’re really struggling to get going (and you have the time), go and do something else. Do something that de-stresses you or relaxes you (and that doesn’t involve your phone or laptop). It could be meditating, going for a walk, exercising, drawing, playing guitar, knitting, having a bath, doing a sudoku puzzle, or even doing a bit of cleaning or ironing.

Quite often, when we switch our mind to another task, our brain works on a problem in the background.

I find going for a run helps me process things and figure out how to approach a piece of writing. So sometimes when I feel like the ideas have dried up, I get my trainers on. Find something that works for you.

This one might sound odd, but if you’re finding it hard to write the thing you want or need to write, write about something else for fifteen minutes.

Think of a place you love and write a story about it. Or think about a stranger you saw recently in a coffee shop and write a story about them. Or pick a word at random and write a poem about it. Or just write about something that’s happening in your life – what you had for lunch or what you’re doing at the weekend or something that really pissed you off recently.

It doesn’t matter what you write about, just loosen up your creativity – think of it like warming up before a gym workout.

If nothing else works, just start writing. It doesn’t matter how awful it is, nobody will see it, so just write.

You could start by writing a list of bullet points, questions, or ideas for things you want to cover.

You could use a dictation app to record your thoughts and then use the transcription as a starting point.

Or you could even start by writing something silly like: “Once upon a time, I sat down to write a blog post about <insert topic>. I started by telling the reader…”

Eventually, you’ll get into the flow, and you can go back and delete or rewrite the first few paragraphs.

It doesn’t matter what process you use to write. It’s about finding a process that works for you.

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