Write Your Way Through It

photo credit: Markus Rödder

If you feel stuck in some predicament, and don’t like to think about how to work your way out of it, it can be easier for you to write your way out of it.  Writing or typing your way out of an issue is something you can use to release some tension you have, and you will also end up with a copy you can check later, if you want to use it as a blueprint for later actions.  There are other ways to also work through your issues, like talking to yourself, or talking to someone else, or reading a guide, and each have their advantages.  Here I talk about the writing option.

It Reduces Your Stress Level

One big benefit of writing your way through a dilemma is that your writing takes your mind off of stress or hardship from the dilemma.  This is a short-term benefit, and you can keep it going as long as you keep writing.  Your focus on the writing takes away some of your focus on the issue at hand, leaving you more relaxed and able to think about it.  Also, the writing will come out smoothly here, because issues make us have no sort of writer’s block.

The Problem Will Become Smaller

Another benefit is that you might write a couple of paragraphs about your problem, and then look back at the paragraphs, realizing what your mind is thinking, which is often not as problem-focused as you might think.  Some of the stuff you will write will be off-topic or not seem as entrenched in a problem as you might have felt, leaving you seeing that your thoughts may have had you trapped.

You Can See Cycles In Your Thoughts

If you have three or four thoughts repeatedly cycling in your head during a tough time, writing your thoughts down on paper will show you this.  You can then see that you are just thinking the same item every 30 seconds, and can break out of that cycle.  The main issue with problem cycles is loss of time, as you might work through the issue without writing, but you can lose an hour of time in a disappointed state, and time is your biggest tool.

Structure Is Built By Writing

Writing gives some structure to your problem.  While it is a jumble in your head, it looks clear on paper.  If you handed two paragraphs of your writing during a tough time to someone else, they could figure out your main problems very quickly.  We tend to be better able to handle items that have structure, which is why all teachers build structure in their student’s minds, in relation to their topic, before getting into further detail.

Your Notebook Can Become Your Problem Solver

Also, since you should have a notebook that you use for various purposes, your issues should be part of what goes in there.  One page might be used for a problem like described here, with the next page containing a to-do list, and the next page maybe containing unrelated doodles.  Variety is good.

Next time you have an unresolved issue that has you stuck, take out your notebook and turn it into unresolved writing.  It is likely to become more resolved in the process.

Tagged as: cycles, issues, notebook, problems, structure, Writing