One of the most frustrating symptoms of my ADHD is when I’m writing a blog and my mind just stops. My mind goes blank. That train of thought has left the station without informing me of its destination, and I’m left staring at a blank screen wondering what the hell I’m going to write to finish this blog. Sound familiar? (By the way this is a symptom of ADHD, especially during menopause or even perimenopause, so feel free to check out this video to learn more.)
(Note: Fun fact. I started this blog last week and then *points to above graphic* So yeah, here we go…how to write when your mind goes blank.)
The question is, what do you do when this happens?
Probably the easiest thing is simply to finish writing the blog later. In my case, I have my blogs come up on my “to do” app on a regular schedule, so I figured I’d just finish this “later”. If you don’t have a reminder system in place, then this could mean that the blog doesn’t get written for a while, or at all, so if you’re going to just write it later, then hopefully you’ll make a note of it somewhere and not rely on remembering.
If you’re sitting at the computer and your mind goes blank, then this is a great time to strategize. Are you still feeling the overall blog, just not sure where to go next with it? Is it a matter of rereading what you’ve written and determining your next steps? Do you just need to set a timer, say for 15-20 minutes to go clear your mind with something not related to your blog (or ideally working on the computer)?
If this has happened to you, first off know that you’re not alone, and give yourself some grace. I suspect either I got sidetracked by a chore or something I needed to do and stepped away from the computer. There’s a good chance I didn’t come back to the computer until the next day (given how my workspace is setup), and so that’s probably why I let the blog roll over to the next week. But I’ve also been writing and had my mind go blank. Usually a quick break or even just laughing it off helps to get me back on track. When it doesn’t, then it’s time to set a reminder and come back to the blog with a fresh set of eyes. Regardless of how you plan on finishing it, the important thing is to do just that. Make a plan to come back to your blog and finish it.
What do you do when your mind goes blank or you get distracted when you’re writing a blog? Let me know in the comments.