Writer's Block

As I sat in school this Friday afternoon ready to write my blog, I found myself stranded: I had nothing to write about. I thought and thought of possible reflection topics for about an hour, and no ideas came to mind. I was baffled by my situation. After all, I've written blog posts for over a year and a half and never have I encountered this problem before. Something was different this time, but I didn't know what.

While I closed my eyes and waited for thoughts to come, I remembered that creativity cannot be forced, so I shut my laptop, went home, and continued with my day. I proceeded with my routine for the rest of the weekend; it wasn't until Sunday noon when I discovered what the problem was: my routine itself. You might not know this, but lately, my days have been abnormally occupied. I wake up, go to school, have meetings which take up most of my lunches and then I go home, eat, and go to my ACT classes. After I get back from my ACT classes I have to go to kickboxing and math tutoring before going to sleep. There is no stop.

My days are getting extremely busy, and they're only going to get worse in the next few months. I barely have time to breathe, and my free time is basically made up of meals and showers. I used to take one-hour breaks to do nothing and think, but right now that's just not a reality. My lack of reflection time is the main reason why I've been having such trouble thinking of topics for my blog. I used to believe that keeping myself busy was optimal for increasing productivity, but now I see that that is not entirely true. You don't know when inspiration will hit you, but for it to happen, you must give it time and space.

As of now, my time may be limited, but after this experience I have realized that reflection is something I must include in my daily routine. While I may not be able to devote an hour of my days to reflection, ten mindful minutes are more than enough. Reflecting is about questioning your doings and searching for self-improvement. It lets you grow and develop to become a more efficient person. Living in an incredibly busy world, we might take these moments for granted, but one should never forget the value of doing nothing at all.