As a writer, I have experienced burnout a lot of time which leads to writer's block for me. It is not easy to write sometimes and at other times, it feels like ideas rushing into your mind and you quickly take out your writing materials to start scribbling out everything through typing or writing down with a pen before you begin to edit and do all the necessary stuff. As a writer, I do advise that one types everything out of their head first, whether errors or not, pour them out before you start to think of editing, rephrasing some words and the touch of it.
Every day we write and many times, we go through what is called writer's block; a situation where everything is blank, you seem not to have any idea coming and all you do is stare at your phone or computer without a word coming out or your hands seized from lack of penning something down. This is always a result of being burned out. I have been in that situation many times and some strategies have helped me find my way through it which to me are very simple and easier to do.
It's normal to feel stressed because we can never eliminate stress from our daily lives just as a user said in her article which we all believe. We go through our daily routine from one thing to the other and in the end, we experience stress that seems to sap our energy from us. At times, as a writer, we want to write, we want to get some things jotted down but everything feels blank in our heads, many times, I would scream out loud in frustration until there was a way out of it.
Burnout is that state where you feel exhausted emotionally, physically and mentally which is caused when you have overworked yourself which then leads to stress. This is a situation where an individual feels too overwhelmed and drained especially when you are not able to meet some constant demands. When you are experiencing this, just know you are already burned out and every other task cannot be performed effectively until you take time to give yourself the proper care and seek help if necessary.
One strategy I have found effective in this regard is taking a shower to cool yourself. Of course, taking a shower or bath is one way to combat prolonged stress and people believe that inspiration comes around while you are in the bathroom. This has happened to me a lot of times and if it's possible to be with your writing materials at that moment, you would be amazed at the lot of magic it does when you fill out pages of ideas through the strategy of taking a shower or a bath. I don't joke with this at all because it works. Don't stress yourself too much when you are experiencing writer's block, just do this!
Another effective strategy is to take a break. Don't worry, you cannot get it all done at once, you also need a break to rest. Rest is so important that it energises an individual to be productive again. Giving yourself a few minutes or even hours away is surely necessary and will not be bad at all. Step away from writing, drop that pen, take a walk around your house, visit nature and be refreshed mentally. At this point, you will realise how powerful nature is to do the magic for you. I have been there before and it is why I don't underestimate nature in this regard. Practice mindfulness, pursue what you love — a hobby or engage in activities that recharge you and help you relax.
Trust me, you wouldn't want to ignore this beautiful strategy — change your environment! You know, the power that comes with changing your environment is so much that you won't want to leave such a place. If you find yourself demotivated or stressed at a particular place, why not change the environment? While I was at the University and living in this neighbourhood, I mostly lost inspiration and became demotivated and whenever I travelled home, everything felt different. I find my muse in a different location and there, I discovered the secret to writing especially when you are experiencing writer's block. You can visit a coffee shop, take a walk to somewhere secluded where noises won't distract you or move to a library as a student.
If you are a student reading this, the best location is always in the library which is devoid of noise and distractions. This was the best place for me when I was experiencing this situation while in school.
There are other strategies like practising free writing, in this case, just write whatever comes out of your head, it may be ranting, some sort of imagination etc, all that matters is that you have written something out. So also, you can seek inspiration from watching movies — another perfect strategy to try out, listen to music with great lyrics and meanings, read books because in there lies a great multitude of inspirations to tap from. Lastly, connect with other writers. If you are experiencing writer's block, just read articles from different authors online and you will have lots of ideas running through your mind.
Whenever I don't have anything to write and I want to write, I do not stress myself but come here, read a few articles and viola, I have a lot to write based on the other author's experience which might seem similar to mine and that's how I overcome such situation.
Don't feel too frustrated when you are burned out and go through writer's block, when you follow these strategies, they will help you cope with writer's block.
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Thanks for your time reading. Looking forward to your interaction.
