Freewriting: what is it and how to use it?

Recently, freewriting has been gaining momentum - free letter method. It opens up great opportunities for personal development and for the implementation of daily activities. This article will tell you what is behind this foreign word and how to use this method.

If you have not missed English lessons at school, then you probably immediately realized that we are talking about free writing.

Freewriting technique is familiar, perhaps, to each of us. Who has never drawn in the margins of their textbook or notebook? But such images, even if they do not mean anything concrete, are elements of freewriting. But if we did it almost unconsciously, then other people understood what they were doing, drawing their own manuscripts.

Remember the classics. Both Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol not only accompanied their creations with "pictures" in the fields, there they expressed their thoughts, which arose in them during the writing of this or that work. Some people generally think Nikolai Vasilievich and Alexander Sergeevich were the forefathers of freewriting.

So what is its meaning? The rules are simple, like everything ingenious - take a sheet of paper (we create a new document on the computer), pen (pencil, keyboard) and we begin to write everything that comes to mind.

For the whole task you have only 5, maximum - 10 minutes. And believe me, after this time, not only creative people will find the answers to the tormenting questions. This is a great way to find an interesting topic for a future article or even a book. But in exactly the same way, you can solve other issues - business problems or personal problems... It's kind of like a brainstorming session.

The benefits of such activities are much more than harm.... But there is also a danger. Your stream of thoughts, which you did not hesitate to put on paper, can not only help you, but also scare you. Especially if you are a delicate person. So we ask the faint of heart to move away from the screens, for everyone else - to be continued.

You can use this method in a variety of life situations. If your goal coincides with one of the following, then take a pen, paper and go.

So, freewriting is fine if you need to:

• generate a great idea;
• isolate from various ideas the most suitable one for solving a particular problem;
• find an answer to a question that has long tormented you;
• determine future plans;
• understand what is bothering you;
• clear your head of unnecessary thoughts and emotions;
• make a list of priorities;
• to separate the wheat from the chaff, that is, to understand what is really important to you and what is secondary or does not matter at all;
• look at the situation through the eyes of another person;
• to understand why something is not working out for you (to lose weight, make a lot of money, fulfill the standard of a master of sports, start a family);
• decide on plans for the near (distant) future;
• Well, and the most banal, perhaps, - you just need to learn how to write quickly.

We have decided on the condition of the task, now we will proceed to its implementation. As mentioned earlier, the main thing is not to think about anything.

American Mark Levy assures that it was freewriting that helped him from an average bookseller to become the president of a successful company that develops unique marketing strategies.

book author "Genius to order" will assure that it is quite easy to achieve a turnover of one billion dollars a year. Just start thinking and writing freely, and then the way to solve problems will be found by itself.

To do this, Mark Levy advises the following:

• you need to write quickly and at the same time not interrupt;
• set clear time frames for the exercise;
• write whatever you think;
• do not strain and do not demonstrate superpowers - super-efforts are not needed here, rather the process of fetching the necessary information from the farthest nooks of oneself is important;
• develop what you managed to get out, continuing to write down your thoughts;
• change the wording of the question you want to answer, in other words, redirect your attention to find the solution you need.

Freewriting specialists have divided this method into several sub-methods. Thus, by changing the conditions of the problem of your particular freewriting session, you will sooner or later achieve your goal. And for this you can use the following techniques.

We need to get rid of unnecessary, sometimes intrusive thoughts... When you write down everything that has boiled on paper (thoughts, feelings, perhaps even resentment), it will become easier for you to deal with your daily affairs. Therefore, it is recommended to do this exercise in the morning, to "cleanse" yourself of unnecessary reflections for the whole day.

In order not to waste time on choosing words, make a small phrasebook for yourself. Enter in it abbreviations of the most frequently used words, images of a particular image or, possibly, an action.

Don't ask others for answers to your questions. Look for them in the depths of yourself. They are definitely there. Can't find it right away, reformulate the question. Sooner or later, you will read on a sheet of paper the exact wording of your further action plan.

Change the questions you ask yourself. Even in one particular case, there are more of them than it seems at first glance. For example, the questions "What is happening in my life?" and "How do I feel?" at first glance they are similar. But believe me, by starting to answer them with the help of freewriting, you will get completely different answers. From here new questions will start to flow, such as "What do I want?" and "What do I need for this?", "What do I already have for this, and what is missing?" etc.

Don't be lazy. And sooner or later you will definitely get to the point.

Make a list of the things you have planned for the day. Then, throughout the day, check your list against what you actually accomplished.

Maybe next time, before proceeding with the implementation of this or that case, you still form a reasonable idea about what you need for this and whether you need it at all, but with the help of full-fledged freewriting.

The most important thing and complex, as in any other business - start it... Even if you have nothing to say to your white paper, just write it down: "I have nothing to write about." Do this until other thoughts come to you. Change the topics you want to discuss with yourself using freewriting. Ask yourself additional questions.

Another version of this exercise is hazardous to health, but sometimes very productive. By the way, the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway described it in a phrase that later became an aphorism.

Find the most convenient freewriting tool for you. Pen, pencil, sheet of paper, notebook, notebook, notebook, tablet and so on - the choice is completely yours.

Prepare it for work so that it does not appear at the right moment that the pencil is broken, the pen does not write, and the laptop is not charged. By the way, you can also use a voice recorder: say everything that has boiled over, and then re-listen to what you have entrusted to your electronic friend, some people actually find it easier to speak than to write.

However, writing words on paper is still considered a more efficient activity. Set a time for your classes - 5, 10, 15 minutes. The main thing is that no one and nothing bothers you. Unplug your phone, unplug your TV, lock yourself in the bathroom eventually. Stay alone with yourself and your thoughts.

Write whatever comes to mind. If, nevertheless, you entered into a stupor, and your thoughts do not want to go out in any way, try to force them to do it. with the help of such essay themes.

• Write a short essay on the topic: "Once I wanted to do this, but did not, because ...".
• Give five answers to the question, what are you most worried about right now?
• List point by point what you dream about (dreamed before)?
• Describe in detail how you feel at the doctor's appointment.
• List 20 things that are in front of your eyes at the moment.
• Then make a list of the sounds that surround you.
• Briefly describe how you made some important decision for yourself.
• Write down 10 reasons why you need to learn English or another language.
• List 10 things you are ashamed of or might be ashamed of.
• List 10 things for which you will not mind giving your last penny.
• Describe your apartment on behalf of your beloved cat, even if you have not yet made a furry friend for yourself, or, in principle, do not plan to do so.
• Come up with instructions on how to teach this very cat to dance the waltz.
• Imagine that aliens descended on earth in droves, tell us how your life will change.
• Write a short but preferably heartwarming story about an empty refrigerator.
• Recall what made you angry lately and describe your condition and everything that you think about this, starting with the words "When the trees were big ...".

Share everything with your piece of paper - both joys and sorrows. Do not be shy about your thoughts and desires (even the most secret and not the most decent ones), all this will remain between you (the writer and a piece of paper). And then, soon, the number of pleasant minutes in your life will significantly exceed the number of sad ones. You will understand what you really want, find the answer to the question of how to achieve this and finally reach the peak of perfection. Where it is located and how it looks is up to you.

Take for your motto the words of the author of the cult book "Alchemist" Paulo Coelho: "If you want to be successful, you must respect one rule: never lie to yourself."... And, in the end, paper, as you know, will endure everything.