Inneresting #251 - What's your writing style?

In Cal Newport's book Deep Work, he classifies four types of ways that people focus in for their most important work. Looking at these different mindsets, this week we're going to offer some tips for finding how to find your flow and focus on your writing.

Monastic Writer

If you feel like you do your best work when shut off from the rest of the world for an extended period of time (and you are able to do so), this style might be for you.

We start with Nir Eyal on embracing solitude and how the way you treat your time alone with yourself determines how easy it is for you to make the mental shift into work mode. Brendan Miller suggests ways to deal with the internal triggers of distraction instead of tactics like getting a flip phone.

But it's not just about prepping yourself for undistracted solitude. How do you arrange your life to allow you to drop off the grid for an extended period? DJ DiDonna interviews people from multiple fields of work, trying to figure out the value of a sabbatical. Mr. Chaos shares tips for actually planning how to take a sabbatical.

Bimodal Writer

Maybe the monastic life feels too severe, or maybe you have other commitments and responsibilities that don't allow you to disappear and write. This work style suggests dividing your time with scheduled stretches of focused work, and leaving the rest of the time open for other work or needs.

Since you're still a part of the world, setting boundaries is essential to this work style. Ryder Carroll’s whole series on establishing boundaries is helpful, but this post on how to protect shared times with important people can help not only maintain relationships, but keep time free for the work that needs to be done. Joe Sanok looks at ways to set better boundaries, and how to get comfortable directly asking for what you need.

Feelings of insecurity can creep up when planning out how much time you set aside for your writing. Is this really worth my time? Is my writing worth it? Am I worth it?

Alina Liao shows how she learned to set aside the belief ingrained in her as a child that self care is selfish, and finding ways to both be there for other people while still being present to care for herself. Adia Gooden separates the idea of self-esteem (feeling good about what you can do) and self-worth (feeling that you inherently deserve to take up space) to make the case that you don't need to earn the right to value yourself and your time.

Rhythmic Writer

This style is all about building some amount of time into every day to make the act a habit. The Todoist blog outlines the benefits of using a Don’t Break the Chain mentality to build up a habit, and offers some practical tips on getting started.

But the binary Did It/Didn't Do It tracking can lead to frustration and abandoning the process. Gio Lodi takes a step back from the daily need to do that one required thing, and suggests some ways to look at progress without giving up after a gap that breaks the chain. The Monthly Method blog fuses the chain with Agile planning to create a hybrid method that trades the big red X for making notes on what you specifically did to earn today's link.

Journalistic Writer

<cary-grant-voice: 'his-girl-friday'> News happens fast, and news writers need to think fast and write fast. Can't just say you're not in the mood, or this doesn't fit your schedule. When the news happens your keyboard is clacking. </cary-grant-voice: 'his-girl-friday'>

How do you keep your mind nimble enough to jump into writing mode at any point you have available time?

J.D. Meier looks at people who seem to be good at multitasking, but are actually very good at switching focus from one task to another. He offers some strategies for emulating what comes more easily to Supertaskers. While targeted mainly at people with ADHD, Paula Engebretson’s guide to managing transitions between tasks can also help neurotypical individuals understand how to pivot and refocus. Robby Macdonnel suggests matching head space with physical space, and committing certain places to certain types of work.

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Previously on Inneresting…

In case you missed it, last issue’s most clicked link, Tolulope Edionwe shares the experience of watching Get Out in two separate theater screenings (one audience predominantly white, the other predominantly black), and how this created two separate experiences of the film.

What else is inneresting?

• Bangarang indeed – James Clarke argues that despite its initial critical drubbing, Hook is a film that can fly, fight, and crow.
• This week from the Quote-Unquote Blog, a look at Heretic, and how a film without any dopplegangers can still feature evil twins.
• Why hasn't anyone locked in Adam Driver for a Ramones biopic?

And that’s what’s inneresting this week!

Inneresting is edited by Chris Csont, with contributions from readers like you and the entire Quote-Unquote team. 

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🗣 Have ideas for future topics (or just want to say hello)? Reach out to Chris via email at inneresting@johnaugust.com, Bluesky @ccsont.bsky.social, or Mastodon @ccsont@mastodon.art.

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