We encouraged students to sit down and write. And they did and it was great. I think we’ll try that again soon.
I got to put on a few hats for Wellbeing Week. A couple of presentations. A guest speaker at the Thrive Festival in CBGL.
One that was a bit different was running a stall with Grace from SLSS, in the hub, that challenged students to sit down and write.
We didn’t know how it would work out and we were prepared to simply enjoy eating the snacks we had put out on the table whilst watching the world go by.
But as it turns out, a dozen students took us up on the challenge – to sit down, set a timer for 10 minutes on their phone, pick a writing prompt and then just write. Some even decided to do a couple of writing sessions.
We were stoked to engage with these students, find out about which writing prompts appealed most to them and celebrate in their end products. It reinforced to us the value of writing in organising one’s thoughts, something we both know from our own lives (and the literature) but it always nice to see it in action with others.
If you didn’t catch us at the stall, you can still do the process for yourself.
1️⃣ Take out your phone. Find the clock/timer app and set it for 10 minutes.
2️⃣ Get a pen/paper or open a document on your laptop.
3️⃣ Pick a prompt from the one’s below or select a topic that is on your mind.
4️⃣ Start the timer and just write.
5️⃣ Don’t pause and overthink what you write. Just keep writing solidly for the whole 10 minutes. Capture your stream of consciousness.
6️⃣ Afterwards, you might have the basis of a creative idea, the initial processing of a challenge or just the relief of having got some of your swirling thoughts on paper. Keep or discard the writing as you see fit.
Feel free to repeat the process as needed. For example, I do this exercise regularly, and actually did it this morning when I sat down to work but found my mind was busy and chaotic.
And stay tuned for more from us on this topic 😉
Wellbeing focused 🤍
♥ Write about a person, object, place or event for which you are grateful,
♥ Imagine you’ve been given a magic wand, and you can change anything you want to change in the world. What would you want to be different? Why? Describe your ideal world in writing.
♥ Write about your best qualities and how you try to use them in your life.
♥ Write about a goal you have and how you are going to pursue it.
♥ Think of a recent experience of awe or amazement. Once you identify something, describe it in writing with as much detail as possible.
♥ Take a moment to imagine your life in the future. What is the best possible life you can imagine? Consider all of the relevant areas of your life, such as your career, academic work, relationships, hobbies, and health. What would happen in these areas of your life in your best possible future?
♥ Think of a time when you felt a strong bond with someone in your life – a time when you felt especially close and connected to them. Once you’ve thought of a specific example, write about what happened. In particular, consider the ways in which this experience made you feel close and connected to the other person.
Creativity focused 💡
⭐ Set your story or poem at an awkward family gathering.
⭐ Write a story or poem that both starts and ends with the word, “Goodbye.”
⭐ Look at your most recent text. Write a story or poem based on that text.
⭐ Write about your worst fear.
⭐ Write about a time that you were lost (metaphorically or literally).
⭐ Write a story or poem inspired by your favourite TikTok reel.
⭐ Re-write a famous fairy tale from the villain’s perspective.