Posted by Procrastination was top of mind for me when I started this writing journey. I wrote several posts on combating the habit (here and here). But there’s another method where you don’t immediately tackle something that actually does produce great results. It’s called “slow thinking”.
How To Do Slow Thinking
My mother introduced me to the term. It’s when you have something you need to do – say update your resume – and don’t get started right away, but you’re not procrastinating.
Instead you slow think it. You plant the seed of the idea in your mind and over the next few days let the pieces slowly come to you. Think of it like keeping what you need to in the peripheral vision of your mind’s eye and letting inspiration bubble up naturally.
When To Use Slow Thinking
It’s an especially helpful technique when I don’t know how to start or hit a writer’s block. The end result is something much better than had I forced myself to bang it out in one sitting (although there are times when banging it out is what’s needed).
When Inspiration Strikes
When I slow think, I get ideas out of the blue like “oh here’s a great way to phrase that” or “here’s how I should start it”. The pieces of the puzzle start effortlessly appearing and I just collect those pieces until I have enough to start writing.
My slow thinking ideas come to me in the middle of the night. Literally waking me up. Or early in the morning when I open my eyes. I capture those pieces of gold – those building blocks – in notepad on my phone. Reading them back, I’m always amazed at what I came up with. Stephen King said it best:
“It’s yours, you’ll recognize it as yours…and yet it will also be like reading the work of someone else, a soul-twin, perhaps”
From Stephen King “On Writing”
If you’ve been procrastinating on something or hit a writer’s block, try slow thinking your way to action.