My Writing Teacher Had a Great Piece of Advice
He used to tell us to go “one inch wide and one mile deep.”
This was in the context of writing an article. The tendency of the human mind when writing is to try to cram all the ideas you’ve ever had into one article.
This has the effect of making an article feel bloated. There’s a lack of focus. And it’s frustrating both to write as well as to read an article that’s all over the place.
The more focused, the more powerful a piece of writing becomes.
And the Same Is True When Writing a Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet
It’s human nature to try to cover a lot of subtopics in one worksheet. But I have noticed that when I focus in on one particular thing, my work become much more powerful.
Here are some ways you can focus-in when writing a worksheet:
1. Choose a specific situation, a particular time and place when you were triggered, instead of writing a worksheet in general.
2. Within the specific situation, there may be several issues that bothered you. Just pick one per worksheet.
3. When writing line 1, write just one simple sentence. This forces you to narrow it down to just one thing.
I Think of Line 1 of a Worksheet as the Thesis Statement
If I have too much stuff in my thesis statement, then the rest of the worksheet goes all over the place. There is a lack of focus.
But when I have chosen just one issue and have expressed it in one short simple sentence, then lines 2, 3, 4. 5 and 6 will all naturally refer back to that one main point.
That’s how I go one inch wide and one mile deep when writing a worksheet.
Here’s An Example
A client recently wanted to do The Work on her business partner. So instead of writing a worksheet on her in general, I asked her to look for a specific situation that triggered her.
She found a time on a conference call where her partner interrupted her while she was presenting something. This brought the worksheet into more focus.
When she wrote Line 1 of her worksheet, she put two concepts there: “I am angered with her because 1) she doesn’t listen to me and 2) she doesn’t empathize with my position.”
I asked her to pick just one.
She picked, “She doesn’t empathize with my position.” Then the whole worksheet flowed cleanly out of that one thesis statement.
I encourage you to give it a try. Try going one inch wide and one mile deep with your next worksheet.
Have a great week,
Todd
“Judge your neighbor, write it down, ask four questions, and turn it around—just one at a time.” Byron Katie, Loving What Is
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