Write. Write down exactly what you are thinking. It will probably be hard at first, especially if you are not used to blogging, creating copy, or writing essays. That's okay: start by just taking a pen and putting words down on paper. Do not worry about grammar or structure. Switch from point to point as they come to you. The purpose is to get each idea down on paper. Structure can come later: read it again and rewrite it.
I have discovered, and I want to prove this but I do not yet know how, that when a person writes down an idea, the mind no longer stresses itself to remember that idea. This makes sense: why waste time and space indexing new information if it can just be looked up? Instead, your mind just remembers where to look.
Moreover, because they are out of your mind, these ideas will not rise to your conscious thoughts every few minutes to worry you. That project you have due next Monday won't stress you out every hour. Write it down. Write down everything you worry about that project. I might not finish in time. The package might never show up. Ken is so unreliable. Tim hasn't answered my email yet, should I email him? I haven't written the first page yet, but I have to write 20. Maybe I can write an outline first. Can I outsource this part?
The idea that writing an idea down reduces stress is one of the cornerstones of Dave Allen's Getting Things Done. He calls the unwritten items that nag at you "open loops". One important follow-on idea that that the ideas must be written down in a "trusted system": if you aren't absolutely confident that you will be able to find it when you go looking (or, better, that it will be brought to your attention when needed whether or not you remember to look at that moment), you won't stop worrying.
I discovered that environment where you write is important to give the initial kick to start writing. For example plain paper (or moleskine ;) works great but notepad is very bad due to the typography and risk of easily loosing content with bad undo/redo support.
Last month I found a free app for windows, ZenWriter. http://www.beenokle.com/zenwriter.html (I'm not affiliated with them). It's tremendously nice and clean full-screen app with good typography.
As soon as it pops up it gives some nice urge to start writing and makes it tempting not to stop until you have something down that you are happy with. Writing process seems like it induces a pure connection to your inner mind.
Comments
Guaranteed Stress Reliever for Busy People.
Write. Write down exactly what you are thinking. It will probably be hard at first, especially if you are not used to blogging, creating copy, or writing essays. That's okay: start by just taking a pen and putting words down on paper. Do not worry about grammar or structure. Switch from point to point as they come to you. The purpose is to get each idea down on paper. Structure can come later: read it again and rewrite it.
I have discovered, and I want to prove this but I do not yet know how, that when a person writes down an idea, the mind no longer stresses itself to remember that idea. This makes sense: why waste time and space indexing new information if it can just be looked up? Instead, your mind just remembers where to look.
Moreover, because they are out of your mind, these ideas will not rise to your conscious thoughts every few minutes to worry you. That project you have due next Monday won't stress you out every hour. Write it down. Write down everything you worry about that project. I might not finish in time. The package might never show up. Ken is so unreliable. Tim hasn't answered my email yet, should I email him? I haven't written the first page yet, but I have to write 20. Maybe I can write an outline first. Can I outsource this part?
Write it down, wr....
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/guaranteed-stress-reliever-f...
The idea that writing an idea down reduces stress is one of the cornerstones of Dave Allen's Getting Things Done. He calls the unwritten items that nag at you "open loops". One important follow-on idea that that the ideas must be written down in a "trusted system": if you aren't absolutely confident that you will be able to find it when you go looking (or, better, that it will be brought to your attention when needed whether or not you remember to look at that moment), you won't stop worrying.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
I discovered that environment where you write is important to give the initial kick to start writing. For example plain paper (or moleskine ;) works great but notepad is very bad due to the typography and risk of easily loosing content with bad undo/redo support.
Last month I found a free app for windows, ZenWriter. http://www.beenokle.com/zenwriter.html (I'm not affiliated with them). It's tremendously nice and clean full-screen app with good typography.
As soon as it pops up it gives some nice urge to start writing and makes it tempting not to stop until you have something down that you are happy with. Writing process seems like it induces a pure connection to your inner mind.