This time of year may be considered a restful time, but it can cause your mind to go in any direction. For example, I’ve spent the beginning of my summer catching up on everything I left behind, meaning my mind has hit the road at turbo speed, stopping at every memory along the way.

While I don’t mind the frequent trips down memory lane, I’ve lost any sort of organization my thoughts once had. The term “scattered brained” doesn’t even begin to touch this new found “summer brain”. Any project I’ve carried over from college, including writing, photography, and more, has lost the ideas it needs to flourish. I think it’s safe to say I have completely and unmistakably hit writer’s block.

This isn’t the first time I’ve hit this wall before. Writer’s block frequents my mind, causing the routine of fixing it to be just that; a routine. That being said, it is time I share these tactics with you. Hopefully, I can help my fellow writers, and come up with some ideas of my own along the way.

The process I have created is quite simple. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if other authors have used it already. The technique starts off with two materials, a piece of paper and a pen. While computers are an option, I recommend staying away from anything that can easily delete the thoughts you’ve recorded. Once these two objects have been collected, the writer should find a quiet place with little distractions.

The second step is the fun one. I simply write out whatever I’m thinking. The length of thoughts ranges from a short list to pages of transitions; as long as there has been an effort made the technique won’t fail.

This can be time-consuming, but the result makes everything worth it. Finally, once the pages have been written, I go back through and highlight each idea I come across. Whether this is a story I told that could have a deeper meaning or a grocery list, each idea has value.

This usually gives me quite a few topics, and I can write on at least one topic found. If I am still having difficulties, I free write based on my topic and edit it to what I need.

Hopefully, this is a process that helps you find the idea you are looking for. I have never known this process to fail, no matter how “summer brained” (I’m going to start using that) I have become. It is simple when my thoughts are crazy, making the organization I am missing slowly come back to me as I prioritize the thoughts that come to me.