Home Remedies for acidity and GERD (Indian diet plan for Acidity)

Last Updated onMay 15, 2020|RD, Payal Banka (Registered Dietitian)45 Comments

Home remedies for acidity and GERD. Festival times are the best times to catch up with friends
and family by sharing food and quality time. It is but natural to overeat. Initially, food is
enjoyable but then the after-effects of overeating are unbearable.

Image : Copyright: tharakorn / 123RF Stock Photo

You may end up with bloating, indigestion, or burning sensation in your chest and upper
stomach. The symptoms are so overlapping that you get confused about whether you are
experiencing acid reflux or gastrointestinal reflux (GERD).

So before we jump to Home remedies for acidity and GERD, let us first see what is the difference
between acid reflux or acidity and GERD?

Difference between Acidity and GERD

 Acid reflux or Acidity is when stomach acid reverses to the esophagus, through the
junction where your esophagus and stomach connect.

 GERD is an abnormal amount of acid reflux from the stomach. It can result in
heartburn with a hoarse voice, chest pain, and asthma in extreme cases. GERD may lead to
ulcers, bleeding in your esophageal lining or tissue scarring.
Symptoms of acid reflux or acidity and GERD:

Acid Reflux (Acidity) Symptoms

 Stomach upset: Bloating, nausea, gas, uncomfortable feeling.

 Heartburn.
 Burning feeling in your oral cavity.
 Food regurgitation in the throat.
 Excessive belching with a sour taste in your mouth.
GERD Symptoms

 Heartburn.
 Chest pain.
 Nausea.
 Regurgitation of food in the throat.
 Difficulty swallowing.

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  Coughing or wheezing.
 Poor appetite or unexpected weight loss.
What is the main cause of acidity?        

 High-fat foods:
Fried and fatty foods weaken the oesophageal sphincter, causing more stomach acid to back up
into the esophagus. Such foods delay stomach emptying, giving a feeling of bloating. Few
examples of high-fat foods are:

Fried foods, full-fat dairy products like butter, cheese, sour cream, desserts, and creamy salad
dressing.

 Citrus fruits:
High acid-containing fruits like oranges, grapefruit, lime, pineapple, etc. if taken in large
quantities worsen the symptoms of GERD. These fruits further lower the pH level in the
stomach causing more acid reflux. It is advisable to consume the right quantity of fruits at the
right time.

 Garlic, onions, and spices:

Spicy foods sometimes trigger heartburn in many people. Onions and garlic have gas-causing
properties. Also, the spices if taken in excess trigger burning sensation in the esophagus. This
may not happen to all. But, people specifically reactive to onions, garlic, and spices should be
cautious while having these foods.

 Coffee:
The caffeine in the coffee aggravates the acid reflux. Thus, avoid black or strong coffee or don’t
have coffee on an empty stomach.

 Obesity:
Obesity is associated with high-fat deposition near the waist. This can cause to loosen or weaken
the oesophageal sphincter leading to excess acid reflux.

 Sedentary lifestyle:
Less activity or no activity leads to food being stagnant in the intestines and stomach. More time
the food is in the stomach, there are higher chances of reflux.

 Pregnancy:
During pregnancy, the fetus may sometimes push the stomach towards the esophagus and in
turn, the sphincter relaxes. This causes the reflux.

Reasons for acidity:

 Eating large meals

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  Lying down right after a meal
 Snacking before bedtime
 Smoking
 Taking over the counter drugs regularly like aspirin, ibuprofen, muscle relaxants or
hypertension medications
Home remedies for acidity and GERD
These Home remedies for acidity and GERD works best to reduce acidity. These are the foods
that can be included in the diet to reduce acidity.

 Coconut Water: Coconut water is high in potassium. It helps neutralize the stomach

acid thus reducing acidity symptoms. A glass of coconut water for a few days will give a
good result.

 Banana: Bananas contain potassium. It acts as a buffer against acid reflux. Consume

one banana every day to prevent discomfort.

 Basil Leaves: Eat a few basil leaves or boil 3-4 basil leaves in a cup of water and let it
simmer for a few minutes. Sip on it frequently.

 Fennel: You can also chew fennel seeds post meals to prevent acidity. It can also be
taken in the form of fennel tea. It is useful in relieving digestive problems.

 Buttermilk: The probiotics in combination with lactic acid in the buttermilk relieves

the acidity. For best results add cumin seed powder to relieve gas issues.

 Cinnamon: Drinking cinnamon tea by boiling cinnamon in water, improves digestion

and absorption, thus relieving acid reflux.

 Cumin Seeds: Cumin seeds aid digestion and also are an acid neutralizer. Consume
crushed roasted cumin seeds for better results.

 Ginger: Ginger has anti-inflammatory property which helps to reverse the minor

damage caused by acid on the stomach cells. According to Ayurveda ginger is also beneficial
for digestion. Chew a slice of fresh ginger or drink fresh ginger boiled in a cup of water.

 Cold Milk: Milk is rich in calcium, which neutralizes the acid in the stomach. A glass of
cold milk will give symptomatic relief.

 Cloves: Cloves prevent flatulence in the stomach. Use clove in pulse preparation which
is more likely to cause flatulence.
Tips to reduce acidity?

 Avoid fried and fatty foods, chocolate, garlic onions, coffee, spicy foods, etc.
 Avoid large gaps between meals
 Eat small meals
 Eat 2 – 3 hours before sleeping

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  Avoid consuming water with the meals to avoid bloating
 If the symptoms are severe take medical help
Sample Diet Plan to reduce Acidity and GERD :
Empty Stomach: ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder with 1 cup warm water + 1/2 Apple

Breakfast: 1 Bowl Oats with milk

Mid-Morning: 1 glass coconut water

Lunch:1 bowl salad + 2 – 3 chapatis + 1 cup vegetables + 1 cup Dal

Mid Afternoon:1 glass buttermilk

Evening snack:1 fruit (Banana)

Mid-Evening:1 glass buttermilk (if required)

Dinner: 1 cup vegetable soup + 1 cup Brown rice + 1 cup Dal + 1 cup curd

Bed Time: 1 cup cold Milk

How can I relieve acid reflux?

A simple lifestyle change is enough to relieve the symptoms of acids reflux and GERD. These
are:

 Avoid eating before sleeping

 Don’t lie down soon after eating
 Avoid trigger foods that aggravate symptoms
 Avoid alcohol and smoking
 Try to maintain ideal body weight
 Maintain good posture while sitting post meals
 Put blocks measuring 4 – 6 inches under the head of your bed to raise the bed
 Avoid tight clothes or tight belts
EndNote:
Smart eating and appropriate lifestyle changes help us relieve the symptoms of acid reflux and
GERD. Differentiating between acid reflux and GERD is the key to its treatment. Removing the
root cause of heartburn is more important than only treating the symptoms. I hope these home
remedies for acidity and GERD.

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 About RD, Payal Banka (Registered Dietitian)
RD, Payal Banka (Registered Dietitian)

Payal(पायल) is a Registered Dietitian with 15 years of experience. She is a Professional Blogger,

Author, and a Youtuber. She is an MBA in Health care and Hospital management. Payal believes
in healthy living. Here at Dietburrp, you will find her talking about health, weight loss, fitness,
parenting, healthy cooking and how to keep yourself motivated to be healthy.

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How to Put Your Thoughts Into Words: 3 Proven Strategies

by Henneke | 108 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)
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Has it happened to you, too?

In your mind, you’ve composed your next article. Perhaps while walking your dog or on your
commute.

You feel excited, because you know exactly what you want to write, and you think your readers
will love it. Yay!

Brimming with enthusiasm, you arrive home. But it’s your turn to cook, and when, after dinner,
you finally sit down to write …

You can’t put your thoughts into words anymore. Where have your words gone?

You had such a bright idea, but now you feel lost. How did that happen? Was your idea
rubbish? Where did it go?

Want to write faster and better? Get my best writing tips here > > >

Writing isn’t like assembling a flat-pack bookcase

A flat-pack comes with instructions on how to turn a collection of parts into a bookcase. While it
may seem like chaos at first, the outcome is pretty certain—as long as you follow the instructions
step by step.

But writing?

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Not only do you need to collect the “parts” yourself, you also have to find your own method of
assembling those parts into a shiny piece of content. And what’s more, creativity means stepping
into the unknown: The outcome may be a little uncertain or completely shrouded in mist.

Writing is laborious:

1. Writing is thinking; and thinking is tough.

2. Writing is communication; and communicating with clarity is hard work.
3. Writing is a creative process; and creativity seems a fickle beast.
Many writing coaches may advise you to follow a specific process—as if an IKEA method for
writing exists. But what might work for your writing coach, might not work for you and me.
We’re all different.

So how can you get rid of writing frustrations? And how can you turn yourself into a productive
writer? How can you put fleeting thoughts into solid writing?

Well, it depends. Are you a carpenter, a knitter, or a free spirit?

Shall I explain?

1. The Carpenter’s Method

Like many writing coaches, Jack Hart recommends the Carpenter’s Method in his book “A
Writer’s Coach.” He quotes one of his workshop participants:

Years ago I used to futz with every sentence, but then an editor told me something that really
made sense. He said that when a carpenter builds a piece of furniture he doesn’t first make one
side, perfect that, and then construct another side and perfect that. He must build the entire
frame and then go back and put the finishing touches on each section. Even when I am on
deadline, I think of what I write first as an imperfect frame that will be improved later.

This is probably the easiest way to produce content relatively fast:

1. Choose an idea
2. Outline your post
3. Write a rough draft
4. Revise your content
5. Edit sentence by sentence

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Steven Pressfield applies this same method when writing fiction. He calls it the “clothesline
method.” On his clothesline, he hangs a series of scenes and sequences to decide what’ll happen
in his book.

Some people find this process too structured; they’re afraid it might kill their creativity. But an
outline is not a straightjacket.

Your outline might be a short list of questions you want to answer, a list of steps your readers
must take to solve a problem, or a detailed list of arguments why readers should hire you.

As a writer, you’re in charge. You can make your outline as detailed or brief as you like. You can
follow it meticulously or remain open for new ideas. It’s often a matter of personal preference
and how familiar you are with the piece of content you want to write.

For instance, when writing sales copy, I plan meticulously. But for tutorial-style articles (like
this one) I’m more open for fresh ideas and my outlines are brief. For a book, I outline what goes
in each chapter, but I might write the chapters themselves more loosely.

2. Freewriting

With freewriting, you start writing without quite knowing where your content will end up.
You write as fast as possible to uncover new ideas.

The process usually works as follows:

1. Write down your ideas as fast as possible

2. Find the essence of your content
3. Revise your content to build on your key idea
4. Edit sentence by sentence
In his book “Accidental Genius,” Mark Levy recommends freewriting as a method to boost
creativity:

[Freewriting] pushes the brain to think longer, deeper, and more unconventionally than it
normally would. By giving yourself a handful of liberating freewriting rules to follow, you
back your mind into a corner where it can’t help but come up with new thoughts. You could
call freewriting a form of forced creativity.

And in his book “Writing Without Teachers,” Peter Elbow recommends freewriting as a way to

overcome writer’s block:

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Practiced regularly, [freewriting] undoes the ingrained habit of editing at the same time you
are trying to produce. It will make writing less blocked because words will come more easily.
You will use up more paper, but chew up fewer pencils.

As Elbow suggest, freewriting also helps discover your voice and write with more energy:

In your natural way of producing words there is a sound, a texture, a rhythm—a voice—which
is the main source of power in your writing. I don’t know how it works, but this voice is the
force that will make a reader listen to you, the energy that drives the meaning through his
thick skull.

I use freewriting when writing more personal posts. I often have an inkling of what I want to
write about, but the post often turns out completely different from what I had in mind.

3. The Knitter’s Method

While the carpenter works from the big framework towards the nitty-gritty, the free spirit just
starts and sees where her piece of content will end up. The free spirit often does a lot of revising
to create focus and flow.

Both carpenters and free spirits tend to leave editing last. They first get the content right before
polishing each word.

The knitter is different. He makes each part of the content perfect before moving on.

As Mark McGuinness writes:

One of the sacred cows of the creative thinking industry is that we should separate idea
generation, execution, and evaluation, so that they don’t interfere with each other. But my
experience as a writer and coach suggests that this isn’t how many creative professionals
work.

When I’m writing, I’m reading, evaluating, and tweaking as I go. I’ll write a few sentences
then pause and go back to read them through. Sometimes it’s immediately obvious I haven’t
quite captured the thought or image, so I’ll make a few changes before I go on. If I get stuck, I’ll
stop and read through the whole piece, trying to pick up the thread of inspiration where I lost
it. Once I see where I got tangled up, it’s a relief to untangle it and get going again.

Experienced writers may thrive on the Knitting Method. But for beginning writers the risk is
spending a lot time knitting perfect paragraphs that may later need to be cut. The process may
feel more organic and creative, but can take longer, too.

When I feel stuck writing, I might turn to knitting. Instead of finishing a first draft, I polish what
I’ve already written. While editing, I might get an idea on how to write the remaining parts.

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So what’s the best way to write?

No perfect writing strategy exists.

And most of us mix strategies depending on what we write, how the writing goes, and perhaps
even depending on our mood. Sometimes you may find yourself mixing all methods for writing
one piece of content.

What’s important is to pay attention to what works for you. When do you get in a flow? What
triggered this flow? Can you repeat it next time?

Writing requires both planning and an open mind

There is a fine line between good planning and overplanning. You never want the planning to
inhibit the natural evolution of your work.
~ Twyla Tharp (The Creative Habit)

We all need a process to keep producing and to pull us through when we feel stuck.

But we also need room for surprise.

When we’re open minded, we discover unexpected nuggets of wisdom, fresh ideas, stories, or
metaphors.

So find your own balance between planning and openness.

Because that’s how you find your flow, quieten your inner critic, and discover the joy of
writing….

Re-frame your mind and turn your thoughts into action in 3 simple steps

Do you sometimes feel like you’d love to achieve certain things in your life and career, but you
keep going around in circles, never really moving forward?

Today I’m going to tell you HOW you can re-program your mind, and actually achieve amazing
things, by following 3 simple steps.

But first I want to ask you a question:

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Have you ever heard of the saying ‘your thoughts become your reality’, and felt like it sounded
quite airy-fairy and without substance?

I’ll let you in on a secret – that’s exactly what I thought, until I began to understand what it
really meant.

I’d consider myself a realist. But I have come to realise that there are rational, practical reasons
why your thoughts actually become your life.

This amazing story of Wilma Rudolph for example, literally gave me goose bumps while reading
it. Wilma was born prematurely and shortly after birth, struck down by polio, a crippling disease
which causes paralysis. The doctors said it was a miracle that she was alive, but that she would
never be able to walk. Wilma however did not believe what the doctors said.

Not only did Wilma learn to walk, she began to play sports, and at age 13, running became a
passion. At age 14, she outran all her friends, and at age 15, she was unbeatable. Wilma went on
to win 3 gold medals at the 1960 Olympics, and as a results she became the fastest woman in the
world.

This is the power your thoughts can have over your body, your actions and your life.

I believe there are a number of practical reasons why our thoughts literally BECOME our life,
and I can warmly recommend Robin Sharma’s ‘The Little Black Book’ on this topic.

First of all, most of what we communicate with the outside world is done by facial expressions,
tone of voice and body posture, not by actual words. If you’re meeting a new person and have a
frown on your face, or an attitude of pessimism and negativity, it doesn’t matter WHAT you say,
that person will not warm towards you, and the outcome will be unpleasant for you both.

The other reason why thoughts become your reality has to do with focus. As human beings, we
are constantly bombarded with literally millions of new impressions every minute. When you
think of this, it’s a miracle we actually get anything done. The human mind however has an
amazing ability to focus on whatever it finds interesting and relevant.

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This means that if you are in a particular mindset of say ‘I really want to look for new career
inspiration’, then your ears will now prick up when something happens in your surroundings
which could be useful. This happens subconsciously, without you noticing it most of the time.

It could be something your hear on TV, or something you read out of the corner of your eye
while scrolling down your news feed. The point is, if you’re NOT in this state of mind, but
instead something like ‘I’m so annoyed with my boss, I wish he’d just leave me alone’ or ‘I can’t
wait to get home from work and crash in front of my TV’ – then guess what….

You will miss out on all the opportunities where your pre-programmed mind could have led you,
to things and places that could potentially change your life for the better.

The point is this:

Whatever your thoughts and beliefs about the world, you will notice the supporting evidence
and ignore the rest.

Here’s more food for thought (pun intended:)

Did you know that humans have between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day? The exact number
is still debated, but scientists argue that between 80- 90% are repetitive.

Stop and think about that for a second.

If such a large proportion of thoughts are repetitive, then whatever main thoughts we carry
around all day are extremely important.

In other words, positive as well as negative thinking is self-perpetuating, and as a result literally
has the power to determine your life.

Why does this matter?

You will never go beyond your thinking. You will never become something MORE or BETTER,
as long as the thoughts in your head are limited to the status quo.

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In order to achieve interesting and extraordinary things in your life, you must have the thoughts
and the dreams first, and you have to really work on the positive ones making up the majority.

Action follows thought. You literally become what you think about.

When I realised this I took a moment to sit down and reflect.

I urge you to to the same.

Take a quiet moment on a Sunday morning for yourself, and note what recurring, self-limiting
thoughts you are carrying around all day and every day.

Then follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Reframe your limiting beliefs and set an inspirational goal

If your thought for example is ‘I hate my job and it’s making me miserable’, then reframe it like
this:

I’ve made decisions along the way, to the best of my abilities.

This has led me to this job I’ve got now, which is making me unhappy.

I am now making a new decision to make active steps towards changing my job.

Your new focus has now gone from negative to positive, and you’ve set yourself a new goal,
which is to change your job.

2. Break down your goal into 5 milestones, each containing action points

Think about all the steps you need to take in order to make your goal reality, and set yourself a
realistic deadline.

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Your first milestone could be to get your first interview. Then set yourself 3 practical tasks for
the coming week, such as

‘make contact with 2 recruiters’, ‘find and read one article on revamping your CV’, or ‘reach out
to a friend who has just made a career move’.

3. Start visualising your new life. Don’t skip this step, believe me 🙂

Take 5 min in the morning before you go to work, where you actively visualise what it feels like
to have your new, amazing job. Play out the scenes in your head. Where is your new office, what
conversations are you having with your colleagues, and how do you feel when you’ve arrived
home after a full day’s work. Really immerse yourself in this scenario.

Shakti Gawain’s book Creative Visualization really helped me develop some incredible
techniques to make visualization fun, easy and most importantly, useful.

Visualising is no mumbo jumbo, it’s a super useful way to create and maintain focus and
motivation on your new goal. Without this, you risk falling off track, get distracted and lose
interest.

That’s it.

So remember, what you choose to focus on in your life will expand, so in the interest of your
happiness and sense of purpose, work at changing the majority of your thoughts into positive
thoughts.

Then take action on them, realistically and step by step, so you can create a more inspired and
extraordinary life for yourself.

I wish you the best of luck.

If you feel you need some extra help and a kick up your butt, I’d be more than happy to discuss
whether coaching is right for you.

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How to Write Faster: 12 Unusual Productivity Hacks

by Henneke | 100 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

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How to write faster - 12 Unusual Productivity Hacks

Howard feels fed up with writing.

He started working on his blog post yesterday afternoon, and wrestled with his first draft until
almost midnight.

Today, he’s revising his post. He wants to create something less woolly and more interesting. He
wants his content to flow with a pleasant rhythm. He wants to write content his readers will
truly enjoy.

But man, creating that post seems to take ages.

Why can’t he speed up?

Howard wonders whether he’s missing a trick. He tries to write faster. But the harder he tries,
the slower he seems to go. And that’s when he gets so frustrated with himself he hardly can write
anymore. His inner critic has a field day, telling him he’s too slow; he lacks talent and he’ll never
get good enough.

What should Howard do?

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Good writing takes time. That’s true. But that doesn’t mean you can’t speed up. When you adopt
the right habits and mindset, you can write surprisingly fast.

In the past years, I’ve read many books about productivity and writing, and I’ve learned a few
crazy and counter-intuitive tricks to massively shorten the time it takes me to write good
content.

Want to write faster and better? Get my best writing tips here > > >

1. Write while groggy

Write while groggy to boost creativityI used to think I had to be bright and breezy to be able to
write.

Or failing that, I’d write late at night when time was finally running out to meet a deadline. ⠀

But I’ve discovered, I’m better at writing first drafts when still half-asleep. First thing in the
morning. (I think it’s because my inner critic likes a lie in.) ⠀

Research suggests we’re more creative when we’re at our groggiest. So if you’re a nightowl, try
writing as soon as you get up. And if you’re an early bird, you might want to try a late writing
session.

There’s also some indication that a modest amount of alcohol unlocks our creativity because
we’re more likely to break out of thought patterns. So, “Write drunk, edit sober” might be good
advice. And if you don’t like to drink, being slightly sleep-drunk might work, too.

2. Set a timer

Use a timer to speed up writingSetting a timer to write seemed, at first, a crazy idea to me. ⠀

When I’m in a good writing flow, why would I want to stop? ⠀

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However, I’ve found that stopping while in a flow, makes getting back to writing a lot easier
because I still know what to write next.

Using a timer also helps beat procrastination. When I see the time ticking away, I’m more aware
I’m wasting time, so I find tactics to keep writing. I might write gibberish. But I keep working
instead of checking email or Twitter.⠀

The Pomodoro technique suggests 25 minutes of dedicated work, followed by 5 minutes’ break.
It’s a good way to keep your energy level up, avoid sitting too long, and stay focused. ⠀

Before I used a timer, I needed deadlines to get work done. It’s taken me some practice, but now
I can write even when a deadline isn’t near. I can focus on doing the work, and writing has
become less stressful, more enjoyable. I get more writing done in less time. ⠀

3. Make writing a choice

To write faster, make writing a choice rather than a choreHow often do you tell yourself “I
should write” or “I have to write more regularly?” ⠀

I used to do it all the time, but it increased my resistance to writing, and then made me feel
guilty if I didn’t write. ⠀

I’ve learned to change my self-talk, and to make writing a choice rather than a chore: “I want to
write” or “I choose to write.” ⠀

In his book “The Now Habit,” Neil Fiore suggests that the self-talk of procrastinators often
reinforces the idea that a task is unpleasant, and that we don’t have control: We have to do it or
else …⠀

Changing our self-talk puts us back in control. We make clear choices. We act as grown ups.
Whether you have to call your mother-in-law, should clean up the attic, or must write more, try
changing to “I choose to …” or “I want to …” It’s surprisingly effective.

4. Make a specific commitment

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Make a specific commitment to get more writing doneDo you ever wonder where your day has
gone?

And get frustrated because yet again, you’ve not written that all-important sales email or not
started writing your next blog post?

I always thought getting something done had to do with willpower and setting the right goals.⠀

But I’ve learned that one simple trick can be amazingly powerful. This trick is described in the
“British Journal of Health Psychology.” Researchers found that understanding the benefits of
exercise doesn’t increase the amount of exercise we do.⠀

What makes us stick to an exercise regime is the simple act of writing down when exactly we’re
going to exercise next week.⠀

The research shows that without a specific plan only 35% of people exercised at least once a
week. But a whopping 91% of people who had written down their plan exercised at least once a
week.

So, I sit down every evening and I make a specific writing commitment for the next day. I decide
which project I’ll work on, for how long, and by what time I’ll get started.

An extra advantage of this approach is that my brain start thinking about my writing project
(even when I don’t realize it), so starting to write the next day becomes easier.

5. Chop up the writing process

Chop up the writing processDoes writing feel like an insurmountable, big task?

You don’t have to do everything all at once.

Start with considering the different parts of your content. A blog post contains a headline,
subheads, opening, main body, and final paragraph. And sales copy usually contains a value
proposition (headline + subhead), a list with bullet points, detailed copy, testimonials, and
perhaps a list with questions and answers.

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Next, cut the writing process into steps: idea generation, research, outlining, writing a crappy
first draft, revising, editing, and formatting.

When each writing step is as small as possible, writing your next sales page or blog post becomes
a breeze.

6. Take advantage of percolation

Allow your content to percolate to create faster & betterAs you’ve cut your writing project in
doable tasks, you can also spread the work over more days.

When you aren’t writing, your brain still continues thinking about your content. It’s called the
diffuse mode of thinking—when you let your mind wander freely.

The diffuse mode of thinking helps you make new connections and get fresh ideas. So spreading
your writing over more days, allows you to boost your creativity and make your content even
better.

7. Get in the mood to write

Get in the mood to start fasterStruggling to get started? Procrastinating?

Try a short writing ritual to get in the right mood. Rituals work because they can boost your
motivation and confidence. To me, it feels like a ritual kicks my brain into writing gear.

My ritual is to:

Switch my computer on

Open the document I want to work on

Make a cup of tea

Set my timer for 25 minutes

Start typing—even if it’s just gibberish at first

Don’t make your ritual too complicated as it might take up too much time.

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8. Avoid rabbit holes

Avoid rabbit holes because they are time sucksWe’ve all done it.

You’re writing, and writing, and writing. And you feel like you’re in a good flow.

Then, at once, you miss a piece of information. You open up Evernote, and search for some data
you think you’ve saved. Or you open your Kindle app, and search for the book that for sure must
have a useful quote. About half an hour later, you’re still reading, and when you try to get back
into your writing flow, you feel stuck. You’ve completely lost your train of thought.

Next time you miss a piece of information, write down “TK.” That’s editor’s jargon for “to come.”
Keep writing your draft, and add the missing information later. Avoid going down rabbit holes
because they’re time sucks.

9. Build a bridge to tomorrow

Build bridges to tomorrowBuilding bridges is one of my favorite tips from the book “The
Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp.

Twyla Tharp is a choreographer who has created more than 130 dances. Tharp is so productive
because she has built a solid creative habit. This is what she suggests about building bridges:

Ernest Hemingway had the nifty trick of always calling it a day at a point when he knew what
came next. He built himself a bridge to the next day. I cannot think of a better creative
organizational tool. (…) I try to do a variation of the bridge. I always quit for the day before
everyone’s totally exhausted. I stop when there’s still energy left in the room and I know where
we would have gone if we hadn’t stopped. Knowing what comes next is like crocheting: The end
of one day knits into the next, and you wind up with a garment that’s flexible but strong.

How I build bridges when writing:

Each evening, I decide what I want to write the next day

I outline one day, start writing the next so I have a starting point

I review headline options before going to bed, and when I wake up the next morning, an even
better headline usually pops up in my mind

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Don’t deplete your creative energy, so you can look forward to re-starting your work the next
day.

10. Rescue lousy drafts

Rescue lousy drafts to produce more contentOne of the biggest productivity killers is to leave
writing projects unfinished.

Before you abandon a topic, and start another article, consider why you were excited to write
about this topic. Why would your readers be interested in it?

Try to rekindle that excitement you felt when you started your project, and then look for what’s
good in your copy. Don’t get bogged down by what’s not working. Instead, develop your article
based on what’s working already.

11. Slow down

Go at 90% and beat distractionsIn his book “Accidental Genius,” Mark Levy describes how
Robert Kriegel, a mental coach, trains Olympic athletes.

During a practice run he found his sprinters were tense and tight. Rather than asking them to up
their efforts, he requested they run the next practice round at 90%.

The result?

Everyone ran faster the second time!

When writing first drafts, I follow the 90% rule. It helps me adopt a zen mindset, to ignore my
inner critic. I focus on writing without cramping up. I write much faster—despite taking it
slowly.

12. Practice your writing muscles

Make writing a habit so it becomes automaticTo nurture a healthy writing habit, start by setting
your goal so ridiculously low that it’s easy to stick with it.

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Stephen Guise wrote his book “Mini-Habits” by setting himself a target of writing just 50 words
a day. He argues that writing 50 words a day is such a stupidly low target, that he could even do
it when he was busy, felt tired, or had a thumping headache.

Jeffrey McDonnell, an assistant professor, devotes the first hour of the day to academic writing.
He calls it his 1-hour work day. I try to follow a similar practice as much as I can.

A healthy writing habit helps you keep writing—even when it feels tough.

Want to write faster tomorrow?

Here’s what to do today:

Download a timer app—I use Focusbooster

Choose the project you want to work on

Make sure you have an initial idea about what the project entails

Decide how long you’ll write tomorrow—don’t be overly ambitious; set a doable goal

Note down at what time, or before what time, you’ll start writing

A Crazy Girl’s Guide to Outsmarting

Writer’s Block
by Henneke | 77 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

Imagine waking up full of excitement.

The sun is shining, and you have a great idea for your next article.

If you write your article quickly, you can go out and enjoy the spring
weather. Yay!

You brew a cup of your favorite tea. You switch on your computer. You
open up a new document in Microsoft Word.

And then …
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Your excitement evaporates quickly.

The words don’t want to flow. You can’t even type a first sentence.

Why is writing so hard?

Why does writing sometimes feel like the most exhausting,
excruciating, nerve-racking, and backbreaking job on earth?

For three and a half years, I’ve written at least one blog post a week,
often two or three when including my guest posts. I’ve published three
short books, created two in-depth courses, and I’ve done client work,
too.

So you might think writing is easy for me.

But that’s far from the truth.

Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and
sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re
managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position. ~ Stephen King

I’d like to say I love writing

But the truth is … sometimes I hate writing.

Early in my writing career, perfectionism held me back.

I couldn’t start writing because I couldn’t accept writing crappy drafts.

Why write something, you delete later on?

Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to
start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on

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paper. What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty
first draft is to quiet the voices in my head. ~ Anne Lamott
I still detest writing first drafts.

To get my blog posts written, I often fool myself. I have fun with ideas.
I outline. I tell myself I’m only playing. But secretly, I’m working on a
post.

I collect ideas. I research. I think. I brainstorm. I plan. I write crappy

content. I edit. I polish. I format.

The trick is to know when you’ve done enough thinking and playing,
and when you’re ready to produce a first draft.

The perfect antidote to writer’s block?

Self-knowledge.

When you know what’s stopping you from writing, you can find a way
to outsmart procrastination.

 Running out of ideas? Hop on Skype with some clients and

discuss their struggles. Goof around in forums to see what people
are asking. Survey your readers.
 Do you seriously need to do more research? Or are you shirking
away from writing?
 Perfectionist? Learn to calm down that nagging voice in your
head and embrace the power of shitty first drafts. Understand
that writing is a process. Chop up the process into doable chunks.
 Exhausted? Creative burn-out? It’s time for self-
compassion. Take a long shower. Go on a run. Spoil yourself with
a few hours of no commitments. Read a book. Take a break.

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  Afraid to be ridiculed? Of not being good enough? Stop
comparing your writing with bestselling novelists and popular
bloggers who’ve been writing for ten, twenty, thirty years. We all
have to start somewhere.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good
taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff,
it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s
not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer.
And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people
never get past this phase, they quit. (…) And if you are just starting
out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the
most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on
a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by
going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and
your work will be as good as your ambitions. ~ Ira Glass

And the craziest idea to boost writing productivity?

Don’t try to work harder.

Instead, take more breaks.

Just like your body needs rest, your brain needs refueling, too.

Even a 5-minute break can re-energize your thinking, ignite your

creativity, and motivate your writing.

So be kind to yourself.

I combat [writer’s block] through gentleness toward the self.

Anything you fight, after all, fights you back. So I don’t fight Writer’s
Block. I just try to coerce, persuade, encourage, bribe, and trick
myself into returning to work. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
PS Thank you to Jeremy Weber who inspired this post.

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Turning Thought Into Action
People often say that our thoughts become things and that our mind is literally
one of the most powerful tools and resources, which we have available. And
once we understand how to access its power, it”s from that point on that we truly
begin living.

Take a moment to think about that.

You’ve just got to look around you to see how so many of the things we take for
granted, started from an idea. A thought. One that was born out of the mind of an
individual or collective minds of a group, and realised through the actions taken
to make it a reality. The device that you’re reading this post on, the social media
tools and applications you use on a daily basis, and the clothes you enjoy
wearing inside your wardrobe.

What I’ve learnt over the years, is that while thinking (and thinking BIG!) is
great and the starting point of all success, nothing is learnt or experienced until
massive action is taken. Taking action can be incredibly rewarding as it allows
us to begin a journey of self-discovery and learning – something which simply
can’t be taught in a formal classroom.

A baby for example, doesn’t learn from a guide how to walk, but by doing: from
standing up and falling down continuously, to finally walking on its own. In fact,
it takes most babies around a 1,000 hours of practice from the moment it can
stand to walking unassisted.

As we ‘grow up’ however, we tend to come up with reasons pretty quickly as to

why we can’t do something rather than focusing on what we can do. Maybe it’s
the fear of stepping out of our comfort zone and into unknown territory? Or that
we’ve developed such strong beliefs about what we can and can’t do as a result
of what society tells us?

But unless you’re ready to get comfortable with the discomfort of the
unknown and stop living someone else’s life, you won’t begin to realise
what you’re capable of. 
If I didn’t take action on my thoughts of becoming a qualified coach, I would not
have signed up with The Coaching Academy and met some of the most
awesomely inspirational individuals. If I didn’t take action to land my first job in

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the City despite having to resit my second year of university, I would’ve
accepted the belief that it was because my grades were simply not good enough.
And if I didn’t take action in making this site a reality, you wouldn’t be reading
this today!

When you look at some of the most successful figures in our society, you’ll
notice that massive action has always been accompanied by an unshakeable
belief that their ideal outcome was possible (note: not certain or guaranteed, but
possible).
Take Sir Richard Branson for example. Can you imagine what his shareholders
and engineers were thinking when he told them that Virgin would be the first
private company to offer space tourism?! Fast forward nearly nine years later
into 2013, and by the end of this year, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo will be
taking its first passengers into space.

So many businesses, individuals and governments expect spectacular results

from very little belief in the outcome, that the actions undertaken are tiny. Logic
dictates that if you put in half the effort, you should only expect to reap half the
rewards.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.”  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
With this in mind, there are a couple things you can use to help you focus on
relentlessly reducing the time between having a great thought and putting it into
action:

1. Reframe limiting beliefs into the positive. We have around 60,000

thoughts a day, many of which come and go so quickly that we’re not
aware of them. And how many of these prevent us from fulfilling our
potential? This is something only you can answer. Some of you may
say “I’m too old to …” but how about telling yourself that “There’s no
better time than now?” Or if you’re thinking, “I hate my job. I’m just
not happy these days,” how about telling yourself “I’m responsible for
exactly where I am today as the result of my thoughts. I therefore have
the power to change my situation for the better.”
2. Have action points written down that are visible. Begin each week
by writing down 3-5 actions that you will take over the next seven days
(e.g. sending out those emails you said you were going to do weeks
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 ago). It’s important for them to be both achievable and a contributing
factor in moving you forward. I’ve a whiteboard on the front of my
fridge, so what I like to do every Sunday evening is to take a black
marker, and do this exact activity to kick off the new week. And given
its location, what’s written down remains visible at all times!
3. Be a Possibilitarian. Nice new word for you right here! This word
describes someone who looks for the possibilities in everything, no
matter how difficult things seem or actually are.
4. Remember past successes. Reflecting back on your previous
achievements will help remind you of the resources you have within
you to overcome any obstacles and challenges you may face, and to
begin putting your thoughts into action. Be bold. As Jim Rohn
states: “The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.”
Have you followed through with the things you said you were going to do,
weeks or even months ago? How long will you wait until something you
“should” do become something you “must” do? What is stopping you?

There’s no better time than today to start. If you’re someone who’s waiting for
the time to be just right before you begin anything, guess what? You’ll be
waiting a very long time! Reduce the list of things you’re putting off until later,
because later often becomes never.

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