Writing sprints > writing slogs. How I finally started making progress.

[BenShow]

For months, I couldn't write. I'd block out "writing time" on my calendar, sit down with grand ambitions, and then... stare at the wall. Check email. Stare some more. Write one sentence. Give up.

Then a friend introduced me to writing sprints, and it changed everything.

How it works:

• Get a timer (phone, watch, whatever).
• Set it for 25 minutes (or 15, or 45—whatever works).
• Write as fast as you can for that entire time. No editing, no backspacing, no checking sources. Just words on the page.
• When the timer goes off, stop. Take a 5-minute break. Then do another sprint.

The magic is that 25 minutes is short enough that it doesn't feel overwhelming. Anyone can write for 25 minutes. And because there's no editing allowed, the perfectionist voice in your head shuts up.

I've been doing 4-5 sprints a day for two weeks and I've written more than in the previous two months. It's not all good, but it's there. You can't edit a blank page.

For dissertation writers: try this. Seriously. Just for one day. See what happens

 

[Neiza]

This is literally the Pomodoro Technique but for writing! I've been using it for years and it's the only way I get anything done. 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, repeat 4 times then take a longer break.

The key for me was accepting that the first draft will be garbage. Like, embarrassingly bad. But that's fine! Garbage in, edit later. The sprints force you to just dump words on the page without judgment.

Glad you found something that works, Ben!