My favorite way to get "unstuck"
And the relief that follows
My high school English teacher regularly asked us to write a Virginia Woolf style stream of consciousness. Ms. Petersen told us to keep our pen moving across the page, dumping out random musings and non sequiturs alongside useful content.
She taught us the practice as a tool to help us silence our inner critic, to disconnect from the editor’s voice that critiqued each insight we had before we had a chance to articulate it.
What started as a homework assignment for high schoolers, has become a practice that serves me well in my professional life.
The Most Dangerous Writing App is one of my favorite ways to access that same sense of flow. It’s the perfect way to start a new project or overcome an impasse.
The free website functions like a low-tech Google doc with one catch: if you stop typing, your text begins to fade. If you don’t start typing immediately, your text disappears completely.
If I’m at the beginning of a project, I’ll use it to freewrite and explore. Mid-project, I’ll often start by writing, “What am I trying to say?” By the end of the five minutes, I always have a better idea of what I'm trying to communicate.
In addition to helping with writing projects, it’s been an excellent brainstorming buddy to get unstuck, move through big feelings, or generate ideas.
When I start to second guess myself or delete a passage, the text fades, ephemeral. The app forces me to be less precious about each individual word and sentence, to focus on themes and the bigger picture.
This shift in focus feels medicinal at the beginning of an idea, so I don’t get distracted by the minutiae. If I’m in the middle of a project, the accountability to just keep typing becomes a necessity for me to zoom out.
After my five minutes, I feel a surge of relief, of accomplishment. I copy/paste my text into an actual Google Doc to pull out what’s useful and delete the rest. Rather than staring at a blank canvas or a messy mid-point, I’m ready to edit and expand.
A therapist once told me of journaling, “What needs to come out usually does.” I find that level of certainty a comfort.
If we keep writing, we’ll likely find what we’re looking for.
With love,
Lelia
PS Today is my Get Shit Done Day in collaboration with my beloved partners at Salon22. We’ll get together in Salon22’s beautiful co-working space this afternoon 1-3pm (2407 Bienville St.)
Have tedious tasks you just can’t seem to finish? To-do list items that you keep procrastinating on? Join me for a grown-up study date to get shit done. I’ll provide strategic support, body doubling, and accountability so you can get those items off your list!
Sign up to join here
