So right now I’m in the middle of designing and writing the copy for my new website, which will go up later this week. And, if left to my own devices, I would spend all of my time over the next 96 hours obsessing over it.
And not get any other work done.
But, alas, I am one of only two people working for my company, and there’s other work to get done.
So instead of actually working on that other work (including writing this post and another guest blog posts for MomEO), I did what any highly productive CEO would do.
I went and complained on twitter.
And my wonderful friend Alison Kramer (@nummiesbras) replied to my complaints in a flash of brilliance:
Finally! Inspiration!
And that leads us to the point of this blog post.
You see, I complain about two problems with writing.
The first is that I feel the need to be inspired.
To have a flash, a possession come over me that demands I write an epic diatribe full of insight and pronouncements on life or business or reality.
Obviously not a sustainable business model.
I can’t base the blog of a real business, one that needs continuous traffic and new content, off of random and unpredictable inspiration.
And, as we’ve all said before, every post does not need to be epic.
The second complaint is that I don’t have time to write.
Now this excuse is becoming more and lame. I’ve hired Ken Moorhead (@kenmoorhead) as my COO, which means that all of those back end things of my business are being handled by someone much more suited for that than I.
And seriously, some of the time I’m futzing around on social media or answering emails could be dedicated to writing.
But writing, or any creative endeavor, doesn’t just need time. It needs space.
When my mindset is in the middle of a project, when I’m stressed out about a conflict with a loved one, when the apartment is a mess … I can’t create.
I have no mental space. No spiritual space. No void created for the chaos of my mind to find a nexus, to pull together disparate pieces of information and ideas into a message. Into a truth to be spoken.
So, instead, I whine.
That’s freaking useful & productive, eh?!
Ah, but it was, wasn’t it?
I whined. And now, I am writing. About said whining.
And, that’s the nexus of this post.
Write from the now.
From how you feel, where you are, what’s going on, in this moment.
Because there is always inspiration in this moment.
That’s the only place where inspiration lives. In the now.
So if you have a blog post to write, or a video to create, and don’t feel like it, or have writer’s block, or are obsessed with your website or your house being a mess or the fight you just had with your friend or how cute your cat is … write about that.
And yeah, you may want to relate it somewhat to your business. Or what was on your writing calendar for that day.
Or not.
I invite you to let inspiration, let the moment lead you to what to create. Don’t force it inside a predetermined framework. Don’t think your way into it.
Because, the thing is, you already know.
Just get out of your own freaking way, and write.
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I'm Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, a writer, teacher, and coach.