Still Waters

Settle down with a notebook and pen — yes, the old-fashioned kind that you hold in your hand! — and freewrite in response to any of the prompts below. Gaze deep into the reflection pool of your own hopes, fears, and fantasies about what it means to be a productive writer. You may be surprised at what bubbles up!

Take some quiet time to examine your relationship with productivity itself. What messages did you absorb early in life about work, efficiency, and worth? How do those beliefs serve or limit your writing practice now?

Consider what "productive writing" means to you personally, beyond external measures of success. When you feel most satisfied with your writing work, what conditions made that possible? What would need to change for you to feel more aligned between your productivity ideals and your actual writing life?

Reflect honestly: Are you trying to be productive in ways that work against your natural patterns? What would it look like to design a writing practice that honored both your ambitions and your humanity?

Settle in for some honest reflection about how you spend your time and energy. If someone observed your actual schedule for a month, what would they conclude you prioritize most highly? How does that align with what you say you care about?

Think about the gap between your intended writing life and your lived writing life. What obstacles are real and external, and what obstacles might be internal patterns you could shift? When you imagine having "enough time" for writing, what does that scenario actually look like day-to-day?

Consider this question: If you only had two hours per week for writing, how would you use them? What does that reveal about what aspects of your writing matter most to you?

Create space to explore your natural rhythms and energy patterns. When do you feel most mentally sharp? When does creative thinking flow most easily? How do different types of writing tasks affect your energy levels?

Think about the relationship between your writing practice and your overall well-being. Does your current approach to productivity energize you or drain you over time? What would need to shift for your writing practice to feel more sustainable?

Reflect on this: What would it look like to treat yourself with the same consideration you'd show a colleague? How might that change your expectations and self-talk around productivity?

Journal about the systems and routines that currently support or hinder your writing. Which aspects of your approach feel effortless and natural? Which feel like constant struggles against your own nature?

Consider the difference between systems that control your writing life and systems that serve your writing life. What would a writing practice look like that felt like support rather than pressure?

Think about the habits you most want to develop around writing. What small, sustainable changes might move you toward those habits? What would you need to let go of to make room for what you most want to cultivate?

We’d love to hear how these writing prompts landed with you and whether they stirred any revelations. Please email us at writespace@helensword.com to share your thoughts.