Try Freewriting

THE PRINCIPLE

Writing quickly about a topic or question reveals information that may have been hidden

Freewriting is writing whatever comes to your mind for a set period of time. Begin by writing a concise description of the challenge or problem you would like to explore. Then set a timer for five minutes and start writing whatever comes to mind about the issue.

When the first five minutes are up, take a short break (just a minute or two) and review what you have written. Circle the three words or phrases that seem most interesting or important. If you’re not sure, let your intuition guide you. Then decide which of the three actually is the most important and write that at the top of a new sheet of paper.

Set the timer and repeat the process – write whatever comes to mind about the word or phrase you chose.

When the second five-minute period is up, do the same thing one more time: circle the three most meaningful or interesting or important words or phrases, pick one, and do a final five minutes of writing. Again circle the three most important phrases or sentences and then give some thought to how they illuminate the original challenge or topic.

Often you will find that this process reveals new ways of looking at your original topic, or new ideas for how to handle it.

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Let’s look at an example, in brief form. I had one of my coaching clients do the exercise, and his topic was ‘How to overcome procrastination’. I won’t include his full exercise here, but the three phrases he circled from his first five-minute session were:

  • Fear of certain technology-related tasks
  • Reluctance to give up anything I’m interested in
  • Stuck on a few key things

As the topic for his second five minutes, he chose the last one. After another five minutes of speed writing, the three things he circled were:

  • Getting my office and files, etc. cleaned up and organised
  • Reaching my fitness goals
  • I feel like I’m always taking 3 steps forward and 2.75 steps back

For his final session, he again chose the last phrase. What was interesting about his freewriting was that it was quite emotional. Here are the three things he circled from that session:

  • This wakes up some kind of childish frustration of having no power
  • I have control over how I spend my time
  • I want to stop sapping my own power!

The insight he got from the process was that with his procrastination, he is actually perpetuating something negative from his childhood. This made him quite angry – and determined to stop doing this.

It’s not unusual for freewriting to reveal the deeper issues relating to a challenge that you are facing. When you are ready to give it a try, remember these four guidelines:

  1. Keep writing! If you get stuck, just write the challenge over and over until something new pops into your mind.
  2. Don’t censor yourself. You will not be showing this to anybody else.
  3. If you feel you’re getting close to something useful but need more time, keep repeating the exercise until you get there.
  4. If five minutes per exercise doesn’t seem enough, try working with ten-minute periods.

You may discover the key to behaviours that are holding you back – and how to change them so you can surge forward.

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