Worksheet #18 – Mindlessness for Writers

You can find lots of help for writers who want to embrace mindfulness: living in the moment, practicing meditation, embracing self-care, focusing on self-awareness, seeking calm. You can declutter to streamline your life, and you can investigate hygge to make your home more cozy.

But all of this requires attention. What do you do when you’re so into your WIP that you want to empty your head of it–and anything else banging around in there? Here are some suggestions:

Take a walk

Plant flowers or weed

Hot shower or bubble bath

Shoot hoops

Drive around town

Ride a bike

Meditate

Chop onions

Go to a playground and swing

Walk a dog, play with a dog, do any activity with a dog

Put together a puzzle

Get a manicure, pedicure

Go to the gym

Listen to music

I am sure you can come up with more.

Here’s the flip side to these activities that require little to no thought: they also work when you are stuck in a WIP and need a mindless activity to allow your brain to focus on a problem. Your leisurely walk outdoors can become a plotting walk. Your session chopping onions can build up adrenaline to knock off a bad guy. You can visualize a puzzle as pieces of your mystery. A manicure or pedicure will immobilize you so you can’t do anything but think about what’s got you stuck.

What do you do when you need a mental break?

What do you do when you need to clear your brain to focus on what needs to happen next in  your WIP?

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