Writer’s block
In March I went on a lovely vacation to Japan with my family. I am half-Japanese and my mother’s side of the family lives in Japan. My mother’s conversion to Christ and marriage to my father wasn’t well received from her family, so I didn’t have the opportunity to know my extended family during childhood. My extended family was open to spending some time together, so I was thrilled to be given this opportunity. I had great plans of writing my NPO exploration essay during the vacation, but despite my best intentions, I had zero motivation to write while I was gone. I loved every minute of the vacation, but upon returning home, I immediately felt the consequences of procrastination with high levels of stress from both school and work.
I started reading Your Brain at Work by Dr. David Rock at the height of stress that I’ve experienced in the last several months.[1] I was trying to get my NPO exploration essay out the door, while experiencing an overwhelming workload at my job.
I kept sitting down at my computer and struggled to get the words on paper. Not only was I suffering from writer’s block, but I just couldn’t seem to make the connections between the research I had done. I read dozens of journal articles on Bible translation and Scripture usage, but couldn’t find the ‘so what?’ from it all.
I took a break and started diving into Dr. Rock’s work.
Your Brain at Work covers 4 main points:
- Problems and decisions
- Stay cool under pressure
- Collaborate with others
- Facilitate change
As #1 is the most relevant to me in my current positions and season of life, this will be the focus of my blog post.
Dr. Rock explains that we only have a few hours a day of rational, prefrontal cortex thinking. Prefrontal cortex thinking biologically uses increased amounts of glucose and is a very limited resource. If our prefrontal cortex has the capacity of a cubic foot, then the rest of our brain power is more like the milky way galaxy.[2] We can borrow from Daniel Kahneman and call this milky way brain power system 1 thinking while the prefrontal cortex thinking can be likened to system 2 thinking.[3]
Since system 2 thinking is very limited, Dr. Rock recommends that we utilize system 1 thinking for problem solving. According to Dr. Rock, when we slow down on system 2 thinking, the brain’s arousal is dampened and our system 1 thinking is able to notice small spikes in dopamine much better than we’re in an aroused state. It is similar to being able to hear a pin drop in a quiet room but not being able to hear the doorbell ringing when the music is playing too loud. Our ability to have insights and solves problems come when we can quiet down our brains and detect weak associations (like a pin drop). Our brains have an incredible ability to engage in system 1 thinking, but we often can’t notice the fruit of the insights when we’re operating in such a loud environment. Hence, the key is quieting down the environment so we can capitalize on subconscious problem solving.
Dr. Rock gives a simple example of this through the interpretation of this statement: Time flies like an arrow. [b] The first and normal interpretation is that time moves swiftly in one direction. There are other ways to interpret this, but we first have to suppress our focused thinking to allow for other interpretations:
- Check the speed of flies the way you would time an arrow.
- Check the speed of flies only if they are similar to an arrow.
- Check the speed of flies the way the way an arrow would.
- Time flies (a type of of fly) are fond of arrows.
These interpretations are difficult to come to with systems 2 thinking, but we actually have to suppress our prefrontal cortex to come to these other possibilities.
In considering this, I decided to give it a try on my NPO. I closed my laptop and laid down. I closed my eyes and just let my mind wander around my NPO topic. I can say that it was effective in getting through the writer’s block, and left me feeling a sense of victory despite the initial procrastination in Japan.
References
[1] Rock, David. Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. 1st ed. New York: Harper Business, 2009, 10:07.
[2] Rock, David. “Your Brain at Work.” November 12, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeJSXfXep4M.
[3] Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011)
About the Author
Christy Liner
9 responses to “Writer’s block”
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Hi, Christy, even though you felt that way, I believe that you have spent a valuable time with your families in Japan. There is nothing more valuable than that. I would also like visit some of my families in Micronesia that I have not seen in so many years. I am sure you will be on your “A-game” in no time. Thanks for your post, it is informative.
Hi Christy, I agree with Noel that your time was well spent in Japan. It also seems you have done a lot of the leg work ahead of time on the NPO so that once you gave your brain permission to regroup you were able to begin to synthesize all of it. Can you see a different way you might have approached to getting the essay completed?
I think there is something valuable about quieting (or dampening) your mind so that you can perceive weak connections. We have a ‘milky way’ worth of system 1 brain power, but we usually don’t tap into that for things like writing a paper!
Hi Christy! I felt you on the writers block. Sometimes it feels like there is no expiration date when you are in the thick of it. As you spoke of System 1 and 2 thinking, I was curious to know how often do you find yourself now into leaning into System 2 thinking?
Christy,
I am so glad you managed to rest your mind and get past the writer’s block. I’m also glad that you had a good time in Japan. You discussed the time flies like and arrow and how we need to slow down and examine other interpretations. I wonder is this applicable when doing Bible translation. Do the translators need to slow down and ask themselves cultural context questions, how would this people group understand that verse? Or maybe do translators ever lose sight and focus only on getting to the end product?
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. This is what my kids would often say.
Hey Christy! Glad you had a great vacation and time with extended family. That is awesome you were able to do that.
I enjoyed your post – especially that part of calming our minds so we can use our inner wisdom to solve problem. The pin and doorbell analogy was spot on
I asked Ryan almost the same question, but will ask you. I want to learn from both of you! What techniques do you employ to calm your mind and become more self aware?
Hi Chris – mostly the practical things like deep breathing and closing my eyes.
I wonder if the Spirit is always speaking through system 1 and we just can’t hear very well. Quieting our minds will allow us to hear the voice of God as well as solve problems!
Hi Christy,
Your last paragraph describes what I would define as contemplative prayer as you allow your mind to wander in controlled wandering. People who struggle with contemplative prayer are often encouraged to pick a word. In this case you chose your NPO.
Since that exercise worked for you, how often do you think you’ll use it to continue in your research? And, what about other times when you feel stuck or in a rut? Would it be helpful for those times as well?
I mean … writers block is real (as you well know), so sometimes controlled wandering is very helpful.
Christy, I enjoyed reading about your applications of mindfulness. I’m now inspired to try this myself in the future with my own writer’s blocks. Thanks!