Staring At The Walls. Or, Zen And The Art of Business Writing

The freezing January rain softly mutters at the window of my home office. A solemn repetitive sermon, it wakes the quiet, constant critic inside my head who is only too happy to remind me that things aren’t exactly working out the way I wanted.

It’s such a big effort to find motivation, stay positive, keep the family sane. These days, I’m exhausted before I’ve even had breakfast. My todo list resembles an act of open rebellion, a scatter of flicked v signs and middle fingers tauntingly map the route to an unattainable working nirvana. And the worst thing is, I wrote those directions myself.

Staring At The Walls

When I was in my late teens and early 20s, I used to do this thing where I’d lie at the foot of my bed and just kind of zone out. I think it started during exams, maybe GCSE time. I wasn’t trying to fall asleep or rest. I did it if I was feeling overwhelmed or worried, or if I was preparing to do something or go somewhere and I was a bit nervous. I always thought of it as a kind of ‘filing exercise’ for my brain.

I’d let the thoughts come and go without really thinking about it until they found their place. As I grew older, the opportunities to be still and just think like this evaporated. I miss having the time to ‘stare at the walls’, as it came to be known by my family.

Writing for my business feels similar to this staring at the walls. It filters out my thoughts and helps them fall into place. But it’s hard sometimes to allow myself to do it because so many other things demand my time.

I would imagine I am like a lot of business owners – SO busy, often with jobs that are important but unsatisfying. There are always several things bouncing around my head at once. I find it hard to focus and I’ve come to realise that for me a lack of focus equates to a feeling of drifting. Treading water. Going nowhere.

I’ve drifted a bit over the last couple of years. Had the odd goal but not had the headspace to work out a route to reaching it. Thinking back to when I was younger and used to stare at the walls, I had a lot more clarity about what I wanted to do and how I’d get there.

Headspace and Clarity

When I write for my business, it helps me work out where I’m currently at and where I want to be.

Making the choice to prioritise writing for my business was relatively easy, I’ve made that decision four or five times over the last few years. It was letting go of the things that were stopping me from actually doing it that was hard. That is part of the process too, I think.

It’s not easy to shed the hard scaly skin we develop over time as business owners, and the online world can look so cold and unwelcoming it can be easy to feel small and irrelevant.

But here’s where the act of writing comes in. Writing grounds me and my business. It gives me a voice , my business a personality, and it confirms to readers and clients who I am, what I’m about and what I stand for.

When the content I publish is thoughtful and considered, I find the vulnerability I might initially feel from exposing the person behind my business actually attracts people. It draws in my ideal clients, people and businesses that resonate with my personality and values. It’s freeing and invigorating and attracting the right type of leads and connections has helped my business grow in the way I want it to – with customers that are right for me and who value what an expert business copywriter like me can do for them.

Truthfully, what happens next is anyone’s guess. But I’m confident that if you have a story you believe in it can be virtually willed into existence. Sure, writing comes more easily to some than others. But you’ll find your audience if you’re consistent and good things will happen to your mindset and your bank balance. I promise.

Need help with your business blog? Hire me to write content for your business.