THINK CLEARLY, WRITE CLEARLY

TCWC #1: Activation energy, Freewriting

Think clearly: Activation energy

Activation energy is the amount of effort needed to accomplish something.

The concept comes from chemistry, where it is defined as “the minimum energy required to cause a reaction to occur”. In everyday life, you can see activation energy in play from waking up in the morning to learning a new skill to getting forgiveness.

Getting to the end is like a hill, the hardest part being to get past the initial bump (as Elton John knows).

Usually, getting things done involves many steps, each requiring their own activation energy. To reach your ultimate goal, you have to get past all the bumps along the way.

The concept of activation energy helps to figure out what it takes to get shit done. Looking at each step one at a time helps to uncover bottlenecks and prioritise your efforts.

Remember: “First things first.”

Write clearly: Freewriting

To write clearly, you need to start writing. And all you need to do to start writing is to start typing.

Freewriting helps us do exactly that. Here’s how it works:

  1. Block time (15-20 minutes) from your calendar
  2. Choose a topic to write about
  3. Write without pausing until the clock runs out

Don’t worry about grammar, being Shakespeare, or the quality of your ideas! Everything you write is for your eyes only.

Freewriting increases the flow of new ideas and your ability to write. It is especially helpful when processing new information.

And that’s where we turn next.

Learn it by hand

Push yourself through a 15 minute freewriting session. The topic? “Activation energy in my life”.

Here are a few prompts to get started:

  • “I found out that…”
  • “I learned that…”
  • “When I’m…”
  • “I had never thought that…”
  • “I failed at…”
  • “I succeeded at…”
  • “I wonder if…”

Write in the language you prefer, and use whatever writing setup you want. To show you that anything goes, here is what I wrote.

Remember: all it takes is to start.

Block time from your calendar right now. (Works with Google Calendar)

Until next month!

-Aku

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Think Clearly, Write Clearly helps you to teach yourself to become a better thinker. Once a month, we cover one fundamental mental model and one timeless writing principle.

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Sources

I couldn’t have sent you this newsletter without the work of others.

Activation energy

Freewriting