#i can be unbelievably productive when i tell myself it simply doesn't matter

[whentherewerebicycles]

recently said to one of my kiddos (who has been Struggling Mightily this semester with some of her ongoing projects) that i think that getting 'good’ at writing is 10% about actually doing the work and 90% about finding increasingly inventive ways to trick yourself into thinking you’re not actually writing and/or that what you’re writing doesn’t really matter so you don’t have to stress about it being good

#this may not be true for everyone but #for me at least #TRUER WORDS??? #i can be unbelievably productive when i tell myself it simply doesn't matter #or when i manage to trick myself into thinking there are zero stakes and/or that i'm just 'taking notes' or something #the obstacles are all just like my brain flinging up various perfectionism-related hurdles every few feet along the track #the way through is just to wander off the track and say 'oh i think i'll just dally for a while over here in the grass' #as i sneakily direct my ~wandering~ in the direction i need to go #anyway i am currently trying to apply this philosophy to fiction writing #by telling myself that i plan to abandon my current project oh.. tomorrow or maybe the next day #it's all going in the garbage so i might as well tinker with it just a little.. no stakes.. nothing to see here