"Not writing" is still writing.

Here’s something I’m learning as I attempt to write more often…

There’s a lot of “not writing” that happens in the early stages of writing.

While that’s probably obvious to more seasoned writers, it’s something I’m just now realizing has been a road block for me.

It takes time to formulate thoughts, reason through ideas, articulate concepts and put them down on a page. As a result, that page stays blank for a long time (or gets littered with useless fragments).

It’s really easy to perceive those early phases as wasted time. I mean, there’s no measurable or tangible output, right? I often have to remind myself, it’s not wasted time. Writing is a process, and the early phases usually require unrecorded thinking. The time spent thinking, though, leads to progress in writing later. If I let myself get discouraged by the lack words on the page, I’ll procrastinate writing further.

Instead, go through that phase—put in the time thinking. Don’t measure progress by the number of words. Otherwise, the page will never get filled.