When we put an item in a file folder and that folder in a drawer, little short of an act of man or a higher power will jiggled it out and back onto our desktop. Unless we've purchased our own form of robot technology (like this oh-so-cool run-away alarm clock, most of our "stuff" stays where we "stuff" it.

Our schedules are a little less fixed. We may schedule a task or a block of tasks, only to find that something truly more urgent and important requires us to move things around. Still, the decision of what we do, and when we schedule tasks, is largely a matter of our own making.

But organizing our thoughts can be precarious and difficult. Sometimes, we hold too much in our heads. For example, early in my little ebook on using a tickler file to gain productivity, I pose to readers:

Do you close your eyes at night when you get into bed and instead of counting sheep, find those poor little lambs are being run over by EXPRESS TRAINS of all the tasks your mind is trying to remind you of, even NAG you about, for the coming day? Do you sometimes bolt upright in bed, compelled to give yourself a “Wow-I-coulda-had-a-V8™!” SLAP to your forehead? Where are those handouts I need for the presentation? SLAP! Did I forget to mail the credit card payment? SLAP!

The truth is, the more we do for others, the more we tend to stack our thoughts, precariously balancing all the things we want to remember to accomplish for them, afraid disaster will strike if we let down our mental guard.

Thoughts come to us, unbidden. It helps to write them down, to get the floating ghosts of ideas out of our heads and down onto paper, into a Word document or tucked away in our tickler files. Thoughts come at us from all directions, and sometimes sneak away from us like that run-away alarm clock.

Which brings to me to the subject of what we do when we need our thoughts front and center, but they've escaped…when we can't access our thoughts, because they're disorganized, or because they're hiding…we have (cue horror music) WRITER'S BLOCK.

Today we'll cover some best practices for organizing our resources to help prevent a serious bout of writer's block. Next week, we'll talk about some of the time-management issues that can help us get out of our funk, shake the cobwebs loose and grab a handle on the first few ideas which can link us to the writing process.

Let's review how we can organize our resources to try to prevent writer's block—to help us keep our thoughts, or triggers for our thoughts, accessible:

1) Create an idea file. I subscribe to seventeen magazines and numerous other pieces of mail, newspapers and reading material cross my path on a daily basis. When I see a surprising statistic that might fit well in speech or locate a list of resources on a topic that might work for one of my TV appearances or blog posts, I clip it and put it in the idea folder.

Don't just make use of other people's ideas. If you get a bolt of inspiration on a particular topic, anything from a funny pun for the name of an article to a longer stream of thoughts, even if you have nowhere to use the ideas now, scribble them down and pop the paper into your folder.

Even if I don't have any bouts of writer's block, I try to flip through the folder once a month to start the back-burner idea process. I find that if you review materials like this before sleeping, showering or taking a long solo drive, your brain works on the details without you.

2) Use your computer to capture ideas. Just as with the tangible idea file for print materials, use your web browser's bookmark functions to create a folder for ideas and prompts, with sub-folders for ideas on different topics. For example, I have sub-folders containing blog posts, web sites and news articles on entrepreneurial subjects for use here and for other writing applications, a sub-folder on paper-related issues for my blog, one on time management, one on stress-relief, and so on.

3) Use the power of the web. If you're a traveling fiend and find yourself bouncing between office and home computers, or your desktop and public computers, you may wish to make use of online social bookmarking sites. These not only allow you to keep track of what you'd like to bookmark for future research or use, but they let you share your links with a wider group (heck, the whole world) and let you access via simple search functions what ticklers, nudges and notions others have bookmarked.

I'm a sit-at-my-desk writer, or at most, a pace-around-the-room-and-sit-back-down-at-my-desk writer, so I don’t make as much use out of these social bookmarking sites as I might, but if this is something that interests you, take a peek at any or all of the following, representative group of some of the more popular sites:

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Fark
• Furl
• Reddit
• Stumble Upon

4) Subscribe judiciously so you can read on-topic forums. Networking online can be a boon or a bane, depending on how much of a time-sink you allow it to be. If you're suffering from writer's block and can't even come up with a topic or direction for a blog post or big speech, your looming deadline can literally leave you breathless with anxiety.

Falling into the time trap of surfing forum messages, just like aimlessly surfing the web, can feel cozy and safe, as with a macaroni and cheese when we're depressed about our weight before a big event, or a silly comedy when we've got more serious concerns. The anxiety is held at bay, but unchecked surfing/snacking/viewing robs us of our time (or calorie buffer) and before we know it, we're no further along on our goals, but we've got less time to accomplish them. Be sure to set a timer (on your computer, cell phone and kitchen stove) to limit the amount of time you spend searching for ideas to keep you from drowning in flame-wars and jokes-of-the-day.

5) Send up a flag. Have you ever used tape flags, the kind made by 3M that attorneys and accountants use to call your attention to where you need to sign and initial (in triplicate) a contract or tax forms? I'm a big fan of using these when I read books and spot great ideas that I know would fit seamlessly in some as-yet-unplanned presentation. It may be a quote, a statistic or an anecdote, but it's often hard to find these after the fact. Flagging a handful of pages in your favorite books will make capturing essential ideas much easier when the writing process has begun, or worse, when it hasn't, and you need the perfect inspiration.

6) Schedule creative time on a regular basis. I know – to some people, the idea of scheduling creativity is as foreign as the notion of scheduling romance. And yet, family psychologists and relationship coaches often help fighting couples by having them schedule a weekly date, away from kids, work and the siren call of the computer or television, to help engender a little romantic creativity.

Block out time on your calendar every week for reviewing your idea file, listing the upcoming "creative" obligations (blog posts, promised articles, speeches to present, teleclasses to teach) along with their deadlines. Then back-time the material to make sure you've blocked off enough time for, in reverse order, posting/rehearsing, polishing, editing, writing, drafting, brainstorming, and putting your tushy in the chair.

The more you write, the better able you will be to determine how much time is needed to accomplish all of these tasks when you DON'T have writer's block. Then, you'll be able to use your excess planning time for extra brainstorming or fighting writer's block, rather than using your family/private time cursing the notion that you're a complete fraud.

7) Schedule regular time with an accountability buddy. Every Monday at 11 a.m. my time (and 10 a.m. in her time zone) my accountability buddy and I have one hour blocked off to talk about our upcoming creative (and other) goals and obligations. An accountability or goals buddy is there to help make sure you do what you've set out to do. We all know that we're far worse about honoring obligations to ourselves, but the notion of not having honored our obligations, however impractical, to others, can push us into action.

We'll discuss this further next week, but an accountability buddy can share in the brainstorming process. Just by virtue of looking at the problem or challenge through a different pair of eyes, yielding a new perspective, an accountability buddy's input and ideas can give you the small pouch of pixie dust you need to weave your magic when you sit down to write.

Next week, we'll put together an arsenal of practical and somewhat silly methods for collecting and organizing your thoughts to break through writer's block.

--
Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
Visit http://www.juliebestry.com to save time and money, reduce stress and increase your productivity

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