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Spring Cleaning the Writing Mind
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Have you ever stepped away from your desk, finished a writing project, and felt like you’ve just put the cart before the horse? Like you need to start all over again, not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because your mind needs to be retrained and rewired to think differently about how it creates? Are your ideas stale and flat, having lost the zip that made them exciting to begin with? Spring cleaning might be exactly what you need.
With the mental health of writers, we must tend to our brains as carefully as we would tend to our bodies or our children’s welfare. Self-Care is Important for Writers. When you don’t take care of your brain, when you don’t clean up your mental workspace or organize your thoughts and ideas, bad things can happen—even if you have the best intentions. Even if you do everything right. Spring cleaning isn’t just for the house. It should be for your mind, too! These tips will help you give your brain the cleaning it needs!
Even Brains Need Clearing Out
We’ve been shut-ins for a while now, time to dust off those cobwebs, fling open the eye windows and let blossom a new world view. Writers’ minds, like their workspaces, need organizing and the occasional cleanup. We fill our brains with everything we find lying about as we traverse the world. A lot of it comes in handy down the line. The rest lingers and gets in the way when we’re reaching for something we need. So, what can you do? Just as your house is likely to be more pleasant if you give it some TLC every once in a while, so too will your brain. But what’s that look like?
The brain is an untended attic of ideas and anxiety. We need to manage that space efficiently. For me, writing my thoughts and inspirations regularly has been incredibly helpful in keeping track of what I’m working on, what I’ve accomplished, and where I might be stuck. It keeps me accountable for my own work ethic and serves as a reminder that there are other things going on in my life besides just my writing project.
If you haven’t already started doing it, take five minutes today to write your three biggest accomplishments from last week and your three most important tasks for next week. You can also use these lists for your daily word count or just jotting down notes about story ideas you have when they come up.
A Good Cry
Write all your thoughts on any subject for five minutes without stopping. This can be about anything but try not to think too hard about what you’re writing. If a word doesn’t come naturally, then don’t force it. Just move on to another thought. Sometimes a stream session is like a good cry. You can feel the emotion tumbling like stone-rounding currents towards the roaring falls of your fingers.
You need to get it all out. Go fully into the ‘now’ of the words. If we aren’t willing to go there, how are we ever going to write characters who do? Cry or write, they both release tension and stress. Crying cleanses us emotionally while writing cleanses us mentally. So, take a deep breath and let those emotions flow through you onto paper!
Fling the Fluff
You don’t need everything you write. There are a lot of words in our heads, but very few of them are important and they’re not all going to make it into your story or essay. Learn how to let go—to discard what doesn’t serve you, what others don’t need, and what isn’t relevant. It’s something an excellent editor (like a good therapist) should be able to help you with.
Look at your writing and ask yourself if there are any unnecessary details to cut without hurting your piece. If so, find those places where you can remove fluff or fat, damaging nothing else. Then look at each sentence on its own merits: Does it really add anything? Are there any extra words that aren’t necessary? And finally, do you really need every single word? Don’t hold on to things just because they sound nice or feel right. If they don’t fit into your work, get rid of them!
Take stock of all the characters and ideas you have floating around in that beautiful brain of yours. Toss out what doesn’t work. Be ruthless here but try not to toss out anything that might be useful later on if you can help it. Rearrange what remains. Rearranging is key here. Move things around until they feel right, or you’re sure they shouldn’t go elsewhere.
Spring Clean
Physical space has an enormous impact on our mental health. If your workspace is untidy, disorganized, or visually chaotic, it can cause you a lot of stress and confusion. It’s not just about having your desk cleared off or shelves reorganized—even one minor detail that feels out of place can throw off your sense of well-being. The next time you find yourself overwhelmed by a project or just bored with writing entirely, set aside some time to clean up your physical space and notice how much better you feel. You might even start enjoying your writing again.
Throw away physical clutter. If you have too much stuff lying around on your desk or anywhere else that could easily distract you from writing, clear them out—now! Having less stuff will make it easier for you to focus and get things done. Like petting the dog.
Yes, Go Pet the Dog
If you’ve got pets, go spend some time with them. Animals have always brought out creativity in people and there’s no better way to get back into writing mode than spending some quality time with furry friends! Take a walk or just sit outside and watch them play for a while—you’ll marvel at how relaxed your mind becomes after just a few minutes of petting. Plus, who doesn’t love snuggling up to a purring kitty? Psychos, that’s who.
I’m not saying that going to take care of your dog is going to make you write an award-winning novel (although it might), but it can help clear your head and help kick-start new ideas. Plus, if you’re like me, sometimes just looking at my cat makes me feel better about myself… and I don’t even know why… but it does. It’s science. (Do your own research.)
Pets don’t bother with mind clutter. They keep playtime, food, and the unbreakable love they have for you. Nothing else matters. Be more like pets.
Add bright new thoughts
Like fresh flowers and seasonal fruit on the kitchen counter, bright new thoughts can help turn the tide in the mental battle between winter and spring. The only question is: where to get them? There are several places to find ideas for your next piece of writing—the most obvious being that story you’ve been working on for months or years now. But there are other sources of inspiration out there, too—you just have to know where to look.
Set aside time each day (or at least once a week) where you read something from an author who writes in a style that is the complete opposite of yours. Read poetry if you normally write non-fiction or read up on romance if all your work has been science fiction/fantasy related for years now. So much new inspiration comes from reading authors whose works are antithetical to yours!
Go back and reread one of your favorite books or stories but change some minor detail about it. This could be as simple as changing a character’s name, or it could mean altering what happens in pivotal scenes throughout the story. The point here is to see what happens when you alter even just one tiny detail and then let your imagination run wild with what might happen next!
Exercise Clears Mental Fog
If you’ve been playing along, you know the score is now mental cobwebs: 0, writers: 1.
Now that your brain has cleared out some of those mental cobwebs, it’s time for you to give your body a little TLC as well. Take a few minutes every day for some simple stretches and breathing exercises. Note how refreshed and energized you feel after just five minutes of stretching and deep breathing! Plus, these activities are significant for helping you get in touch with your body—which can be an important part of achieving mental health.
Studies show that exercise can improve your memory, creativity, and decision-making abilities. Just 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week can boost your mental sharpness. Aerobic exercise seems to be better than strength training for brain health, though both forms of physical activity will help you think more clearly.
Start with brief bouts of light activity and work up to more intense workouts if you’re able; it could take six weeks or more before you feel significant benefits from working out. Try not to skip workouts because you don’t have time — see it as part of your self-care routine. Exercise is good for all aspects of your mental health.
Clear your mind by taking a walk through the woods or around your neighborhood. Take notice of how things look different from last year, or even last week. This is called shifting gears, and it will help you become more observant of details in everyday life that you may have previously overlooked.
Set the Pattern
The most successful writers are the ones who understand that mental health is just as important as the physical health. This means making mental well-being a continued focus throughout the year, even when you’re busy working on your next project. Establish an organized routine, keep tabs on your priorities, and remember that your inspiration—your muse—lives in you.
Work isn’t everything; a healthy writer needs more than ample time spent in contemplation and reflection, too. It might sound simple, but it’s not always easy. Try not to let guilt get in your way, either; after all, everyone deserves some me time now and then. Keep this in mind and next spring won’t seem so far away.
-R.E.