Live Recording: Learn How To Write More Efficiently

Hi unique learners,

This live recorded track might contain background noise/clicks.

Are you looking to enhance your writing efficiency and boost your productivity? Join us for an enlightening live event led by Dr. Vermeer, an expert in writing and productivity.

Event Highlights:
- Understanding Writing Blocks: Identify and overcome common obstacles that hinder your writing process. - Evidence-Based Techniques: Learn proven strategies to enhance your writing speed and clarity. - Effective Planning: Master the art of outlining and structuring your work for maximum impact. - Time Management: Discover tools and tips to manage your writing time efficiently.

Interactive Exercises: Engage in hands-on activities designed to put theory into practice immediately.

Transcript

And welcome to this talk about how to write more efficiently,

Where I will talk a little bit about tips,

Which are evidence based on how to be more productive.

And first I want to start with writing blocks,

It's very important that we identify and overcome obstacles that hinder our writing process.

My name is Yvette,

In my daily job I work with clients who struggle with for example with procrastination,

Who have a writer's block,

Who experience perfectionism.

And sometimes writing is an emotional regulation issue,

So please listen to my other talks and meditations about emotional regulation,

Available on Insight Timer.

Other times it is an issue of not knowing what to do.

Insufficient knowledge about a topic can impede the writing process indeed,

Hear me.

Because when we struggle,

We struggle to generate content,

And perhaps it's memory overloading,

Or perhaps we're trying to multitask,

Or we get distracted by notifications.

And did you know,

That for example if you get distracted by notifications on your phone,

This can get you out of a flow state for at least 20 minutes.

Other reasons for having writing blocks can be low self-efficiency,

Are you having a lack of confidence,

Or the fear of evaluation,

Concerns about one's writing,

And how you will be judged by others.

I sometimes have clients,

When I'm a writing coach,

Who are afraid to send me their drafts,

But I cannot help them if they don't send me anything.

Then we will have to get back to the talking stage.

And if you have a rude supervisor or someone who is overlooking your writing process,

Who just criticizes your work,

Of course you don't want to hand your work in.

So can you now think of what your writing blocks are?

But there might also be neurological and biological factors.

Brain functions,

Like certain neurological conditions,

Like an attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder,

Can affect one's ability to focus and write efficiently.

I work with a lot of people who have ADHD,

ADD.

And other things that might greaten your writer block is sleep and health.

Poor sleep and overall health can impair cognitive function and creativity,

Leading to writing blocks.

So please also consider brain function,

Sleep and health.

And some of the following tips might help,

But my advice is to try at least one tip I give you three times before brushing them off.

And if you really want to stick to a routine,

Try to stick to that routine for 21 days,

Because then you really get the hang of it.

So I'm going to talk about evidence-based techniques.

And proven strategies to enhance your writing speed and clarity.

And the first one is,

Have a routine.

Consistency is key and be mindful of small steps and how they can really help you.

Baumeister and Tierney in 2011,

They found that consistency is really important.

Writing at the same time each day can help create a habit and make it easier to enter the flow state.

So consistent routines reduce decision fatigue and enhance productivity.

When I was doing my PhD,

I would start really early in the morning with my writing.

And in the afternoon,

I would do more like research tasks,

Meetings,

But I of course had the luxury to do that.

Not everyone has that luxury.

Then one of my favorite tips is breaking writing into smaller tasks,

So chunking.

Miller in 1956,

They found that breaking down projects into smaller manageable tasks can reduce overwhelm and make the process more approachable.

And this facilitates flow.

And while you're breaking things into smaller tasks,

I like to be more mindful.

My tip is to pause intentionally.

Breathe for three times before you start that next 30-minute task,

Or when you start to read a paragraph for just five minutes.

Maybe you can place your hands on your heart.

These are all small habits you can do to create a great routine.

The next tip is to minimize distractions.

Your environment is really important when you want to write more efficiently.

So create a distraction-free writing environment to enhance focus.

I cannot pronounce this name,

But it was in 1990,

And studies show that minimizing interruption can help maintain a flow state.

And I've shared before that there was also this study,

Excuse me,

I cannot find which one it was again,

But when you get a notification on your phone how that can take you out of your flow state,

Take you out of your focus,

And that it takes at least 20,

For some,

50 minutes to come back into that state again.

So I,

For example,

Have some apps that block certain apps,

Or block email notifications.

I work with,

Let me give you an example,

I've worked with a woman before,

She had children,

It was the summer holidays,

They were at home,

She had to work,

She had to write her thesis on the side,

And guess what?

She had major writing blocks.

And the moment when she rearranged things,

And she went into the office to write,

Suddenly she was like giving me whole chapters.

And they sound simple,

But sometimes we have to figure things out,

And it is not always that easy.

Especially when child care is involved.

My other tip is to set time limits.

I've shared this before,

For example break your task into 30 minute tasks,

And Parkinson found in 1955 that setting time limits for writing tasks can create a sense of urgency and help maintain focus,

Which is conductive to entering a flow state.

But with time limits,

You also know there will be an end.

So if something isn't working,

It's fine,

There will be an end,

And you can go into your next task.

I've already talked a little bit about overall health,

How it really impacts writer block.

Well,

If you engage in regular physical activity,

It has been shown to enhance cognitive function and creativity,

Making it easier to enter and sustain a flow state.

Arrete and Hageman in 2008 found this.

And implementing all these techniques can help you write more efficiently and enter a flow state,

Enhancing both productivity and quality to your writing.

I will go into one more tip for now.

And that's effective planning.

And that's effective planning.

Can you master the art of outlining and structuring your work for maximal impact?

So why plan?

According to some research about writing a research paper,

They found that 10% is orientation,

20% is planning,

50% is conducting research,

And 20% is writing.

In my line of work,

I noticed that 80% is writing,

20% is research,

And 0% is orienting and planning.

Do you do that before you start writing?

So here are some tips.

Orient on what you need to write.

Are there requirements?

Is there a handbook?

Is there a guideline?

For example,

If you want to publish in an academic journal,

My first tip is to always check the journal guidelines.

They are very critical about this.

Are there other examples available from this journal?

Go find these examples.

Because if you want to publish your article,

My advice is to always find three examples of previously published articles in that journal.

And I call them inspiration articles.

You don't need to copy and paste,

But it might serve as inspiration.

Then with the orient,

Orienting and planning,

Is there help available?

Do you have a supervisor that can help you?

Can you hire a writing coach?

Can you make a peer writing group?

Do you have friends who can serve as a helpful critic?

And how much time do you need for the overall writing project?

And what some people don't ask themselves is,

What is the purpose of what I'm writing?

Can you ask yourself,

Am I writing a summary,

A critical stance,

An essay?

Because some people just go and write and then they're like,

What am I doing?

And what I often do when I'm providing feedback is,

With each paragraph,

I'm writing a summary.

And some really don't like this.

I ask,

What are you doing here?

What are you trying to do?

What are you really trying to say?

And my final tip around planning your work is,

Think about what your reader needs and wants.

Who is your audience?

Do you have to write formally or informal?

Is there a referencing type or a system in place?

And only then will you start making an outline.

So for example,

If you need to write an academic article,

You can make the chapter division,

Right?

Some of us do this.

But did you know that you can also write an outline for what you're going to write in bullet points for clarity and structure?

For example,

Paragraph one,

I will talk about the issue of climate change.

My first sentence is,

What is climate change?

My second sentence is,

Issues with climate change.

And then I have a concluding sentence.

We need to prevent climate change because it's bad.

Paragraph two,

Blah,

Blah,

Blah.

If you do this,

You will see immediately what your work is about.

But you didn't start fully,

So you can easily adjust your structure.

And you can see whether or not you are making topic sentences,

Concluding sentences,

If you are explaining relationships,

Advantages,

Disadvantages.

Because with most of the text I am reading,

I'm like,

Are you just informing me?

Or are you critiquing?

Where is the drama?

So to determine the goal and purpose of what you're going to write,

Know the most important questions.

Answer these questions,

Might also help to look forward and work on these answers and check your coherence.

And yeah,

Time management can really help.

And I've been sharing this in between the lines of the tips.

By now,

You've noticed that I'm just referring back to dividing,

Dividing,

Dividing your time and make it smaller.

So divide a task in 30 minutes or one paragraph in 30 minutes.

And then the next 30 minutes,

You will find your three inspiration articles.

And the next 30 minutes,

You will read an abstract of the chosen ones.

And those are tips,

Very practical.

They do work,

They do take effort,

They do take time.

And in between,

Check your emotions,

Pause intentionally,

Have breaks.

Be really mindful of,

Perhaps try to set an alarm for three sets of breathing rounds in between.

Now,

I've also have been overdoing it.

So I'm not going to read all of them,

But I'm going to try to make it a little bit more have been overdoing it,

Setting alarms for everything.

Okay,

Now I should meditate.

Now I should breathe for three times.

And now I should do this and the trick.

Then I will finish my whole PhD in a day.

It didn't work like that.

I also needed self-compassion,

Gratitude and have a good friend to complain about.

And let it go and relax,

Relax,

Relax,

Relax.

Sometimes we are also asking too much of ourselves,

But that's a whole different topic.

So please consider your writing blocks.

If one of these tips you can try out for at least three times.

If you can form any sort of peer writing group for support,

Not even just writing support,

But also mental health support.

And can you set a routine for 21 days?

Feel free to listen back to this.

Come back to these tips and try out again.

Thank you for listening,

For investing time in you.

Can you give yourself a hug?

Take a deep breath in and let go.