The index-card approach to writing had me sprawled out on the floor while writing my Ph.D. thesis. I was arranging the index cards with my notes so I could turn them into sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that made sense.

You’re probably not writing a dissertation. You’re probably not even taking notes on index cards. But the index-card approach to writing can help you organize your thoughts.

If you’re organizing your thoughts before you write

To help you write your first draft, jot your main ideas down on index cards. Then rearrange the cards until you hit an order that makes sense. This is essentially what I did with my Ph.D. dissertation, although I already had all of my notes scribbled onto cards.

Prefer an electronic approach to organizing your thoughts? Record your thoughts using mind mapping software. Then you can rearrange by clicking and dragging.

If you’re rewriting a draft

If you’re rewriting a draft, you can print it and then cut it into strips of paper. You can shuffle the paper strips until you find the right order.

Sure, you could cut and paste within a word-processing document. However, as soon as you open that software, you’ll be tempted to tinker with your wording. That’s less of a problem when you’re moving around pieces of paper. It’s best to solve your organizational problem first, as I’ve said in “5 steps for rewriting your investment commentary.” Otherwise, you could spend a lot of time wordsmithing a section that gets thrown out because it doesn’t fit your article’s ultimate structure.

The bottom line of the index-card approach to writing

There’s something about a visual approach to writing that helps many of us conquer organizational challenges. If you’ve read my book or taken any of my classes, you know I’m a big fan of mind mapping, another visual technique.

Try the index-card approach to writing, and let me know what you think!

Do you ever struggle to start your writing projects? I do. Although I’m a demon about completing my projects on time, sometimes writer’s block slows me. When that happens, a tool that I bought at a dollar store in Montreal often comes to my rescue. It’s a kitchen timer.

Set a timer to bust your writer’s block

Even if I don’t feel like writing, I can squeeze out some words with the aid of my timer set for 15 minutes. I bet you can, too.

Here’s what you do:

1. Set your timer for 15 minutes.
2. Write for 15 minutes.
3. If you feel like it, keep going after 15 minutes. If not, put your writing implements away.

In my case, I’m typing this blog post into WordPress as my timer ticks away.

However, you could spend 15 minutes freewriting, which means writing whatever comes into your head without editing or even correcting typos. That’s one extreme.

The other extreme is spending 15 minutes on a structured project for which you know exactly where you’re heading. For example, you might be writing a white paper based on a mind map that you’ve made of your notes.

Since you can write anything, this 15-minute technique can get you going on a writing project where you are stuck because you have no idea of what to write next—or even what to write about. It can also spur you to work on something that you’ve been dreading, even though your next steps are clear.

The beauty of busting your writer’s block with a 15-minute burst

Most people can stand to do just about anything for 15 minutes. Yet 15 minutes is long enough for you to build up momentum at your task. You may also discover the task is not as awful as you thought. Or you may find inspiration during that 15 minutes. You may end up writing for longer than 15 minutes. I completed a draft of this post during a session that I began with my 15-minute timer.

Fifteen minutes may become the start of an extended writing session. If not, at least you’ve made a dent in your writing goal. You can circle back again later.

What others say about working in timed increments

I learned about working in 15-minute increments from the FlyLady website, which recommends it for decluttering your home. The Pomodoro technique is a timer-based time management technique that uses 25-minute blocks followed by short breaks.

Doing research, I discovered that “Trollope achieved his incredible productivity by writing in 15-minute intervals for three hours per day,” according to “Be More Productive: The 15-Minute Routine Anthony Trollope Used to Write 40+ Books.” That post tells us that Trollope churned out 250 words per 15-minute session. Wow!

Timer choices?

You don’t have to use an inelegant kitchen timer like me.

You may prefer a countdown timer on your smartphone or computer. I’ve used the Online Stopwatch website on my PC.

One of my writer friends says she uses a Time Timer, which more visually displays the passage of time and “well known in the ADHD world.”

Looking for more help with writer’s block?

Here are more tips for busting your writer’s block:

• Force yourself to write or wait for inspiration?
• Beating financial writer’s block with author Julia Cameron
• Break your writer’s block with Robert Benson and Eric Maisel

By the way, I also use a one-hour timer to help me focus for longer periods of time. I was inspired to write this blog post when one of my timers went missing. That made me realize how much I rely on them.

Quotes are a great way to add oomph to your writing. This is true whether it’s a short piece, such as a blog post, or a long white paper for your investment or wealth management firm. But what if you’re quoting lousy writers or interviewees who haven’t expressed themselves well?

Quote fix 1. Rewrite the quotes

Rewriting can be controversial.

Sure, no one will protest if you add or delete a comma in a sentence. No one will even notice the difference between the mispunctuated “He said ‘Thank you’ ” and the correct “He said, ‘Thank you.’ ” You can even change “average annualized returns” to “annualized returns,” removing the redundant “average.” I think most people are fine with small tweaks that don’t change the meaning of the person who wrote or spoke the words.

However, purists would say that you should reproduce written materials word for word or note changes, for example, by inserting ellipsis (…) to show where you’ve deleted even one word. “Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author,” says the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

People also agree that you can’t make radical changes and still call something a quote. Here’s a before-and-after example where no one would call the “after” a quote. This example originally appeared in “Seven Ways to Talk Your Financial Execs Out of Jargon and Bad Writing, ” my guest post on MarketingProfs (registration required):

BEFORE:

Proposals from the German/French axis in the last few days have heartened risk markets under the assumption that fiscal union anchored by a smaller number of less debt-laden core countries will finally allow the ECB to cap yields in Italy and Spain and encourage private investors to once again reengage Euroland bond markets. To do so, the ECB would have to affirm its intent via language or stepped up daily purchases of peripheral debt on the order of five billion Euros or more. The next few days or weeks will shed more light on the possibility, but bondholders have imposed a “no trust zone” on policymaker flyovers recently. Any plan that involves an “all-in” commitment from the ECB will require a strong hand indeed.

AFTER:

Prices of riskier investments rose in response to recent proposals by German and French leaders, but we are skeptical that this will continue. Investors seem to believe that the proposals will strengthen the euro zone by capping bond yields. This would make euro-zone bonds more attractive to private investors. However, success would require the European Central Bank (ECB) to use strong language or to boost its daily purchases of the troubled countries’ debt by at least €5 billion. To convince distrustful investors will require strong action. That may be more than the ECB can achieve.

Things get murky in the middle ground between tiny tweaks and massive rewrites. Many of my writer friends say that it’s fine to smooth out quotes when your interviewees express themselves poorly in a live interview. However, reporters have gotten into trouble for taking this too far. Have you noticed how some question-and answer stories now come with disclaimers? For example, the “Talk” column in the magazine section of The New York Times says, “Interview has been condensed and edited.”

Edits are particularly risky when the editors don’t know the topic well. They may unwittingly change the speaker’s meaning.

Edits are less risky when they will be checked for accuracy by the speaker or author. This tends to happen more when a company interviews or uses source materials from an employee.

Quote fix 2. Paraphrase the quotes

Paraphrasing is an underutilized tool, in my opinion. Paraphrasing means taking the words of the speaker or author and summarizing or rewording them without quotation marks, but still attributing them to the source. This is a great way to streamline sentences so they focus on the expert’s main message.

I’ve seen too many writers string together quotes to form an article. These articles are held hostage by their experts’ wording. As a result, they often lack the connective tissue that makes an article flow well.

“If you can say it better as a paraphrase, the quotes are probably not that strong,” as The Associated Press Guide to News Writing notes.

Quote fix 3. Delete the quotes

Some information doesn’t deserve quotation marks and a source. Do you need a sentence along the lines of ” ‘There are 50 states in the United States of America,’ says Jane Doe”?

You can share common knowledge without attributing it to anyone.

What’s YOUR take on fixing quotes?

I’m always interested in what you think about the writing questions that I pose on this blog. Please chime in.

Image courtesy of kibsri/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Note: This post was updated in December 2022.

Many people struggle to write as much as they’d like. This is especially true if the writing isn’t a core part of your job. I found some rules that may help you when I read Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport.

What is “deep work”?

Here’s how the author defines “deep work”:

Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skills, and are hard to replicate.

It’s clear to me that writers will benefit from this kind of concentration. How do you achieve it? One way is to develop rituals that signal to you that it’s time to focus.

I suggest that you create rules to answer the questions that Newport says must be addressed by an effective deep work ritual.

Rule 1. Pick a location for your deep work

Newport asks you to pick a location for your deep work. As he says, “If it’s possible to identify a location used only for depth—for instance, a conference room or quiet library—the positive effect can be even greater.” But you might be able to get away with working in your usual work place if you can set other rules to help you focus.

I think that being in a different location is one reason why I’ve been so successful with blogging on vacation, as I discussed in “No batteries required: My favorite blogging technique.”  When I’m not on vacation, I do most of my blog post writing either on steno pads, which I can use anywhere, or at my PC, which plunks me down in my office.

Rule 2. Pick a length of time for your deep work

“…give yourself a specific time frame to keep the session a discrete challenge and not an open-ended slog,” says Newport.

I have tried a variation on this by committing to work for a minimum of 15 minutes, as I discussed in “15 minutes to busting your writer’s block.” I haven’t tried putting a limit on how long I can work. That simply hasn’t been a problem for me. However, I can see how it would help some people to know that they need not continue working beyond their predetermined limit.

Rule 3. Limit distractions during your deep work

For example, this could mean closing email and blocking social media during your deep work.

Rule 4. Support yourself

Newport says this could mean you “start with a good cup of coffee.” It also means creating an environment that supports your work by keeping necessary supplies handy. Newport says, “…this support needs to be systematized so that you don’t waste mental energy figuring out what you need in the moment.”

I love Newport’s line about “…don’t waste mental energy figuring out what you need in the moment.” I think that’s one of the biggest benefits of any rituals or systems that help you to write.

For me, the support for my blogging means having a handy list of potential blog post topics so I never have to start from scratch.

For some writers, it might mean always starting from the most recent stopping point in your work, as I discussed in “Break your writer’s block with Robert Benson and Eric Maisel.”

What rules help you to do deep work?

If you’re achieving deep work, what rules work for you?