Different environments influence my writing outcome. Just like I am sure you are aware how they affect yours. Have you ever taken a analysis look at your surroundings in order to increase your flow? I have. Allow me to walk you through some of my processing.
After completing this process I became keenly aware of what I needed, where, and when. And because of this, the words came easier, faster, and needed less revisions – my production tripled. I was enjoying my writing process a whole lot more.
In Northern Virginia there seems to be a McDonald’s every half a mile. One of them, the second closest from where I was living at the time, seemed to fuel my ideas and the first drafts flowed fast for anything on the topic of marketing. And only marketing.
To figure out why this was happening, I thought I would do a test. The test was to visit three other Mickey Dee’s several times to see what was affecting this. My question was, “What was this particular space giving me that my writing flowed so well on just marketing? And why just marketing? And would other McDonald’s fuel some other topic?”
Here is a partial list of the results from my test:
- The window, in the only booth I would sit in, faced some bushes with small birds flying in and out of.
- The light was just right between 2 and 4 pm. The only time I went there.
- The soda bar was free access for unlimited refills.
- The smells were different in some way, even though the underlining smell was grease.
- When the counter line grew longer I couldn’t write; I people watched instead. This particular location I could see the people without feeling like I was staring. The other locations always seemed to have long lines and a lot of people talking behind the counter. This one there was hardly any chatter behind the counter.
- The air circulation was fresher.
- The temperature was comfortable. No cold drafts except on drafty cold winter days and then I would move one booth over.
- The tables were always cleaner, floors too.
I found I could not write on the topic of marketing anywhere else.
Later, when I spent a year traveling, my writing flow was lost until I created a checklist for my environmental needs.
Here are a few things from this list:
- lighting
- temperature comfortable
- the right smells
- cleanliness
- unlimited refills
- sound level between 3 and not above 5
Whenever I came close to that McDonald’s environmental list my ideas and words flowed. When I found a place that met the majority of the items on my checklist, I stayed and wrote. When they didn’t I moved on.
Later, when I stopped travelling and settled into a permanent place the energy wasn’t my own yet. I used my checklists to create different writing areas to fuel my writing and change the energy fast.
- My chair in the living room, after I added a cuddly blanket, feed my personal journaling and reading.
- At my desk my writing was blocked if I faced my writing table top yet it wasn’t when I turned my back to use the computer. After my review I tried removing all the paper from my desk and polished it. Then I could write. So I learned to make this one of my regular morning rituals – I removed everything that wasn’t want I wanted to focus on next and polished. Then finished in half the time.
My checklist has evolved since then and reads more like this one:
- Living room chair – personal development, reading and taking notes.
- Writing desk area (once prep’d) – planning, strategizing new ideas, and outlining
- Computer desk – After writing drafts by hand
- Starbucks – very specific, already determined, topics. I would take a few index cards with my focused topic and my laptop and nothing more.
- Library – rough notes, first drafts and outlining.
- Car (stopped of course) – quick idea jotting notes
- Shower – idea generation, brainstorming.
- A waiting room of any kind – a personal development exploration exercise, further clarity on a particular idea
- McDonald’s (new one) – marketing topic ideas and first drafts.
- …and my list goes on.
Share your ideas on what you have done to fuel your writing?
