36 | The Writer • January 2020
Go for a walk (or stare at a screensaver)
We’ve all heard the advice to take a
walk when you get stuck. Researchers
at the University of Kansas and the
University of Utah sent several dozen
adults out into nature for four days of
backpacking without cell phones or
computers. When those hikers came
back, their performance on a creative
problem-solving task improved by half.
But most of us don’t have time for
four days of leisurely hiking. Luckily,
there are a couple of shortcuts.
It turns out you can improve brain
function with only a brief walk outside:
researchers in the United Kingdom
found improvements after less than 10
minutes of strolling through greenspace.
And it’s possible it’s the combination
of gentle exercise and views of nature
that does the trick. The U.K. study
found positive effects when the walker
traveled through parks, lawns, and play-
ing fields but not when the path wound
by urban buildings with many other
pedestrians. Try starting with a nature
walk before you sit down to try to write.
No green space nearby? Unable towhen you sit down at the keyboard, are your
writing dreams destined to collapse? Are
short attention spans the inevitable price of
living in the modern world, or can you regain
your ability to concentrate and create?
Good news: You can actually hack your own
brain to regain your focus. Here are several
techniques for you to try. One or more of
them may be just the ticket to banish the
squirrels for good.walk? No worries: Another scientific
study found that simply looking at
pleasant photos of nature (the study
used pictures of cute penguins) can
increase both happiness levels and the
ability to perform on tests of creativity
and problem-solving. Just relaxing
while eyeing a scenic screensaver
might be enough to get your brain into
the right mode to create.Stop writing right this minute!
It’s counterintuitive, but forcing your-
self to stop writing might be the most
powerful tool in your arsenal – partic-
ularly if you haven’t been successful at
settling down to write in a long time.
Here’s a regimen to try:Week 1: Each day (or as often as
you plan to write), sit down and
work on your story, novel, article,
or poem for five minutes. Set a
timer. When the timer goes off,
stop.
Keep this up for about a week,
or longer if needed, until the five-
minute goal feels easy.
(Note: Most distractible folks
can write for five minutes. Know-
ing there’s a timer going can help.
But if you have serious trouble,
start with two minutes. Just plan
to increase your time more slowly
in the subsequent weeks.)Week 2: Each day, sit down and
write for 10 minutes. And then
cease. Stop cold. Even if you’re in
the middle of a thought – STOP.
(OK, you can finish the sentence.
But only that!)Week 3: Increase to 15 minutes.
And so on.Whenever you have any trouble
with the increase, go back to the previ-
ous week’s level for another week.
If you are finding the time limit easy
or twitching to continue writing, this is
key: don’t cheat and write for longer
(even if it’s driving you crazy). You runIf
your