One of the reasons why we sometimes get stuck in our writing is that we see how much there is left to do.

Let’s say you’re writing a 750-word blog post. You would typically write this in sections—an introduction, two or three main points, and a conclusion or call to action. So really, this is a collection of pieces that are somewhere between 100-200 words each.

You would normally outline the piece, then start writing a first draft at the introduction, progressing through until you write the conclusion or call to action.

You can have trouble getting motivated when you see how much there is left to do. One way to break this cycle is to start at the end and work your way backward. Write the conclusion first, then the main points from last to first, then the introduction. If you have outlined the material ahead of time, this shouldn’t be a problem.

When you write backward, so to speak, you interrupt your normal writing pattern and feel a new sense of creative energy. You don’t have a clear sense of how much you have left, and it reduces your tendency to feel distracted.

For example, I usually produce these podcast episodes in batches of one or two weeks at a time. Many times, I will write the last one first, then work backwards until I have the first one finished. It’s a simple way to give yourself a different writing pattern and add a new energy to the process. In other words, going backward can help you go forward.

Daily Question: How could writing backward help you get your new writing piece done faster?