One Take Timmy: A Simple 3-Step Framework I Use To Break Out Of Any Writing Rut

Step 1. Pull up a different “notepad” to write in. I do all of my writing in Apple Notes. Which means I will switch to something like Discord, iMessage, or WhatsApp. The goal here is to write in a different “environment.”
Step 2. Pick a single person who might find value in the idea I’m thinking about. I often have too many ideas. So I waste time looking at all of them, trying to decide which one would be most valuable to the most number of people. Which means I end up writing none of them! To prevent this, I pick an idea and find one person who would find it useful, writing directly to my target reader.
Step 3. Write “hey name,” then type out exactly what I want to say in one long brain dump. Writing the person’s feels like I’m sending them a direct message. Then, I brain dump everything that’s on my mind about the idea with no editing, overthinking, or hitting backspace. Most of the time I write it from my phone. From there, I simply press send. Or I’ll just remove the “hey name” and publish it.

The “One Take Timmy” method works for 3 reasons:

Reason 1: It takes the pressure off of writing “for an audience.” Most people suffer from writer’s block because they’re worried about what a massive group of people will say. But when you’re writing for one person, especially a close friend, that feeling melts away. Your level of conviction to write it goes up.
Reason 2: It unlocks your natural writing voice. The best content doesn’t look like content—it looks like a message in a group chat. Simple words, easy to read, no fluff. Which is why I use messaging apps to write that first draft. I come off far more conversational, which makes it easy to read.
Reason 3: It immediately leads you to the next piece based on that person’s follow-up. Sending that messy brain dump to a target reader always leads to helpful responses: “Could you say more on this part?”, “What about if I’m struggling with ABC?” Now, I’ve got more content ideas to work on, directly from a target reader. And just like that, my writing flywheel starts to spin.