This is a trick I use when all else is lost. And it works. For real.

When I’m stuck and I’ve tried everything else, and nothing works, I write out my writing problem on a piece of paper and nap. 

Or I do this right before bedtime, hold what I wrote in my head while I fall asleep, and then usually in the morning I’ll have a solution. Or after the nap I’ll have a solution.

Now, I’m not the napping type, to those of you who can’t nap. As in, if I fall asleep in the middle of the day, I’ll sleep for 2-3 hours or more. I can’t cat-nap. But years ago, when I was seeing a chiropractor, I got this special foam pillow from him, and now I nap on the floor, with my head handing back on this thing (it helps straighten your spine or some other good thing like that). And what it does is, after about 30 minutes it stops the flow of blood to my lower head, and I wake up from my head feeling numb. It works like a charm.

Usually I’ll have a solution by then for what I’ve written on a piece of paper.

Try it. 

What are the tricks you use? SHARE, SHARE. 

Illustration by Olga Cherkashina