This happens to me often:

I suffer from an extremely restless mind with no straight thoughts. This clubbed with pangs of anxiety that lurks all day and very sweetly pulls the productivity out of it.

If you are a writer or someone whose bread and butter is dependent on creating ‘exceptional’ content each day, you’ll nod with me in affirmation.

Writer’s block is a phenomenon that haunts most of us in the writing fraternity. For me, it has ruined many assignments (with a point of no return), pushed deadlines and has made me create a dedicated folder aptly named ‘to be visited later’.

But what’s behind this syndrome, does it hold some truth or is just a fallacy? And the answer is- it sure does exist! Many research papers have explored the possibility (including the one below)

Before I go ahead and share my secret sauce on ‘how I make love with ‘writer’s block’, let’s list the possibilities that trigger it in at the first place.

1. Stress
2. Physical Illness
3. Distractions
4. Lack of Inspiration
5. Depression
6. & Others

For me, it usually begins with extreme anxiety triggered by stress. At times, there may be no definite reasons for it to pop its head.And at other times it could be because of an incomplete task that I have been fretting for long which makes me cave in. I’ve also realised the fact that too many distractions (drawbacks of a remote employee) also take its toll on my writing sometimes.

So here I am, baring my ways of making love to the writer’s block aka your guide to ‘Simple Things To Do When You Hit Writer’s Block’.

Listen To Some Soulful Music

Whatever be your genre, listening to some soulful music can really calm those erratic nerves. Create a list of your favourite tracks on Spotify (or any other platform) and go back to them in case of such distress. My magic potion consists of ‘sounds of sea’, I mean in actuality. The sound of sea instantly takes me to my beach holidays, which triggers a sense of relief and instant calm.

Try it here

Listen To Someone

With that, I mean is to listen to someone you value, but in a more business-like manner.How about taking time out and listening to your favourite list of podcasts that you’ve been meaning to listen but couldn’t? Apart from enhancing your knowledge about topics of your choice, it can also help you to come up with exciting ideas for your new article!

Write For Yourself

It may so happen that everyday writing has become some mundane that you aren’t really able to ‘think outside the box’. Writing for yourself is the best way to break from writer’s block in such situations. For example, this post of mine was written to break away exclusively from my writer’s block while writing this article.

Take Second Opinion

Quite often, my writer’s block is triggered when I am unable to conceptualize an idea in full. That’s when I reach out to my friends and take a fresh perspective on things. Believe it or not my best articles are an outcome of this simple trick.

Go Back To Reading Something Refreshing And Exciting

As a part of my job, I have to often stick to keywords and the trauma associated with it. It clearly leaves me high and dry in the ‘creative liberty’ department. That’s when I go back to reading things that either add a lot of value to what I’m doing or are simply refreshing in their own sweet way. It really helps me break away from mundane and writer’s block alike.