Academic Writing Amplified 59: Planning Re-Entry into Writing
There are times, like at the end of a semester, when you might put your writing aside. How do you pick it back up again with the least amount of stress and the most creative potential?
Your workload ebbs and flows, and there are times (like the end of a semester) when you may put your writing aside; in fact, I recommend it. So how do you pick it back up again? If you’re thinking you’ll get all your grades in, finish your semester tasks, then jump right into it again, I’m asking you to reconsider! In order to build your creative potential back up and get back into writing in a way that will feel like soaring rather than slogging, you need to do a few things.
First Things First: Rest and Restore
Don’t shake this one off. It’s vitally important, not just to your health, but to the quality of your writing. We all want to create more, write more, get more done and it might seem like the best way to do that is to spend more time, more energy, do more. Not so! A life coach of mine introduced me to the “create-restore cycle”. Put simply, if you want to create more, you have to rest more. These two factors need to be in balance in order for you to produce the best creations.
So, in order to be ready to pick that writing practice back up and produce your best work, you need to rest and restore. What you do will look different for each person. Sleep, go for walks, read a book, take a long bath; whatever fills your cup and gives you energy, do it! And not just a little bit, do as much of it as you can. Employ whatever support structures you have at your disposal to set up true rest for yourself.
“The secret key to create more is to spend more time restoring.” -Cathy Mazak
Ease In SlowlyAfter your restful break, when you’re ready to start writing again, don’t jump in to lengthy writing sessions. Ease yourself back in slowly. On the first day, simply open your document. Look it over, get reacquainted with your project, start getting your thoughts moving again on where you’ll go next. The second day, plan to write for maybe an hour, on the third day, a bit more and so on.
Make a Semester PlanFinally, make sure you put some time on your calendar to do some planning. Take a look at the semester coming up and see where things might be likely to get busy. Try to map out your writing times, include some writing sprints or a retreat if you can. Be prepared with a plan, and getting back into a writing practice (and keeping it going) will be so much easier.
“Embrace the ebb and flow of the semester.” -Cathy Mazak
Pulled in a thousand directions and can’t seem to carve out time to write? Download my 10 Ways to Make Time to Write cheat sheet for ideas to implement today!
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This episode was first published at cathymazak.com/episode59.