This Simple Exercise Crushes Writer's Block In Four Minutes

25 Mar 2026 #writing

There’s nothing more intimidating than a blank page.

That was me today. I scrolled Hacker News, minifeed, and LinkedIn. I was looking for a subject to steal, but nothing inspired me.

Yesterday was easier. The most painful lesson from my best job sparked a discussion on dev.to. I just replied to that discussion.

Waiting for the muses, I tried a course called Write 4 a day. The first exercise was to write by hand for four minutes, whatever comes to mind, without judgment.

I had nothing to lose. So I tried it.

This exercise is like a 4-minute version of Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, at anytime. It works: I’m writing these lines.

If you’re blocked, grab pen and write for 4 minutes. That’s all you need to unlock your words.

If after 4 minutes, you’re still blocked: try this trick or any of these prompts.