The new year is often a time for reflection and contemplation. Every January, I revisit my core values, stare at the sky, and think about what I might want to accomplish in the year ahead.
And last year, for my first post of 2024, I rounded up some tips I’ve posted over the years around maximizing your writing productivity and getting back on track.
This year, with the hills nearby me still smoldering, I’m going to do the exact opposite and post a roundup of advice on slowing down and embracing fallow periods.
It’s okay not to write. It doesn’t mean you’re not, at heart, a writer.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in our ambitions and dreams we lose sight of what’s in front of us and what might need attending to. Sometimes our minds and bodies will tell us to slow down.
It’s totally normal for writers to have bursts of productivity and stretches of relative quiet. If this is where you find yourself, here are some posts that might help:
- Every artist needs Raccoon Phases
- Breaks, permission, and writing
- Your mind needs time to wander
- You don’t have to write every day
- Prioritize yourself
- Unlocking creativity through meditation
- Writing will be there when you need it
Happy un-productivity!
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Art: A Lion in the Snow by Géza Vastagh
You would be a good therapist, Nathan.
Ha thank you, perhaps I have absorbed some things by consuming so much of it.
That made me smile, abc.
I tried to get back to work today but it was hard to focus, and I think that’s okay. Even just a little bit helped, an attempt at normalcy.