Writing Toxins: Optimising A Fully Functioning Mind

Image from Flickr under a Creative Commons Licence. Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/-cavin-/

Like all writers, I have days where I just can’t get work done. I have goals, deadlines and a schedule I try and follow, but it can be easier to plan than to write. If I have failed to nurture my mental energy, I just want to fall asleep on my keyboard, achieving nothing. One of the biggest source of this problem comes from the mind – body connection we all have. Brains need fuel. The most critical components are oxygen and sleep.

We have heard it all before… but it is true. You can’t think if you’re:

tired,
dehydrated,
living on junk food,
drunk,
drugged (including the damage done by smoking which starves the body of O2),
getting by on caffeine,
or haven’t moved from your chair for a long stretch.

Sitting at a desk for hours can be as toxic as living on fast food. It is not just your eyes that need a break from the computer screen. You need to get up and move around periodically so that oxygen gets pushed through your body tissues and is able to refresh and power your brain.

Image and great information available from http://www.signs-of-stress.com/symptoms-of-stress.html

The other great killer is stress. It will do harm to your body and your creative mind. Any time we are out of balance, we risk damaging our physical health and our creative minds. I see writers who work all day, rush home to care for families and then stay up late at night writing.

I understand time constraints, however, when you push yourself to do too much on a continual basis, you will run dry both physically and mentally. Ideas will not come; ability to see mistakes when editing will go astray and you will start to feel like a failure.

So take a deep breath; be realistic and work out how to take care of yourself properly. If you aren’t taking care of you, then you won’t be caring for your writing. The body and mind go hand in hand. Love them both.

If you are having a hard time as a writer, check out Phoenix Rising: Conquering the Stresses of the Writer’s Life. The ebook is available from Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9NJ9FA

Chapters Include:

Measuring the Value of Your Work in a Digital Age
Healing Creative Injuries
Creative Dark Matter: Clear Out What’s Holding You Down
Bomb Proofing Your Writer’s Ego
Handling Criticism
Moving Ahead in Small Steps: Why Revolutions Rarely Work
Fat Free, Guilt Free Blogging Goals
Escaping Mental Quicksand: Your “Time of Readiness”
Is Your Writing Life Stuck Under Your Mouse?
Balancing the Blogging Load
Writers and Depression: Debunking the Stereotypes
Writers Should Be Bathed in Blue: Boosting Your Productivity
Which Wins? Creative Pleasure or Word Count?
Petwrification: A Health Warning for All Writers

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Filed under: Writing Resources Tagged: author, blogging, goals, health, motivation, oxygen, problem solving, resource, sleep, success, thinking, toxin, writer, writing