those four episodes of Game of Thrones, gone snowboarding on our phone or got hooked into YouTube videos about ‘what you can do with a water melon that has no water’. Maybe we shouldn’t have – but the idea that there’s no way back, or that there’s no point in switching back to writing now is far more destructive. If you do get side-tracked – and who doesn’t – always allow yourself to switch back. Who is stopping you?
Make it more fun
Let’s close the gap between work and fun a little. Why not introduce some light-hearted creativity to your writing. Try the following:
1 Use speech bubbles to identify some of the ideas that are relevant to your essay. This is a really good way of outlining some of the key debates.Use the speech bubbles below to get going:Essay topic:Argument 1:Argument 2:Argument 3:
2 Host ‘The Psychologists’ Party’ – expenses are minimal, there are zero health risks and your guests will leave whenever you want. Just imagine which psychologists you can invite to talk about the specific topic of your essay. What will they say and, crucially, how will they each respond to what the others have said?Essay topic:Guest list:Conversation highlights:Agreements between guests:Disagreements between guests:
3 Try speed-psyching – this is a little like speed dating with rather less at stake and no need to check where the exits are.Quickly write down the names and or ideas that you think are relevant for your essay. Get your timer out. Each name, or idea, has just 60 seconds to convince you that they have something relevant to say about the topic of the essay. Write down what it is they would say in this situation. Don’t delay, you haven’t got time, just write it down.Name:Their 60-second statement:Name:Their 60-second statement:Name:Their 60-second statement:
How can I get started?
Acknowledge that you feel like being distracted – being swept away from the bits that feel stressful with the work in front of you. Those feelings are fine, but why not carry on with your work anyway?
Possibly probe why you have such negative feelings – often stress, anxiety and guilt – associated with your essay writing. Is there a way you can help yourself approach your writing in a spirit of play rather than of stress?
If it is not simply too depressing, you might calculate how long – in a typical month – you spend on doing things that you slip into in an unthinking way. Social media, video games and TV are all likely candidates, but you can create your own list.
Consider a deal where you will first do your writing and then go for distraction time. Finding the optimal timing for this is tricky, as the more distractible you feel the more you may have to charm your way into writing with the promise of an imminent break – but that break has to be timed too.
You may find that certain environments might reduce some of the prevalent distractions that affect you. Writing with another person silently present, working in a café or library, or online study environment may work for you.
Different times of day can have quite a different energy about them as both we and our environment change quite markedly. I am writing this sentence at 1:57 am. The house and the road outside are very quiet. It’s a different feeling from when I was jotting down some words here at 7:30 am yesterday, and different again from writing for a few minutes on a subsequent train journey with my children at 10 am.
Always allow yourself back. It’s not too late. Don’t try to kid yourself that you’ve blown the day and there is no point in starting now. You haven’t and there is.
Come back to it better prepared
Often it is easy to put off starting – or continuing – with your essay by telling yourself that it is for the best. A particularly effective argument is that you will be better prepared later on. This can be effective in convincing yourself to wait, not least because you might be feeling sub-optimal right now; perhaps you are tired, hazy or distracted – not like that image of ‘the essay writer’ that you have conjured up in your head. You might even be able to persuade yourself that you cannot possibly start that essay without a bit more reading, more time to understand the ideas or a really clear sense of what to write. If you have experienced this – and many of us have – has it ever really worked out? It may be that sometimes it really has, perhaps in quite special circumstances, but most of the time this is just one of the ways we persuade ourselves to escape for now from the task before us. As we do this, we are in danger of building our essay into something extraordinarily demanding, something which requires us to be in increasingly super-human form to tackle.
Most of the time it is better to even complete a few brief moments of work on your essay than to wait for this time when we are alert, primed for action, free of distraction and full of energy. Probably few of us feel like this most of the time, so don’t wait around for this supercharged feeling to descend on you. You don’t need it – you can almost certainly write now. The strange thing is that when we start writing – even though we feel tired and uninformed – we can often feel our way into the issues and ideas and make contact with at least some sort of writing energy. It is even more effective for getting in the zone than watching YouTube clips about 24 pets that can talk like humans.
How can I get started?
Don’t wait to feel perfectly informed, perfectly inspired or perfectly energised – that might never happen. Start now – you can do good work right where you are.
Don’t build an oppressive image of how you or your circumstances have to be in order to effectively tackle your essay – really effective essays are often written in sub-optimal circumstances.
Charm your way into starting work – make it fun, simple, engaging and non-threatening.
Making a start now is usually a much better idea than starting after you have… [fill in your excuse here]. Start now, just as you are. You can read the books, research the area, think around the issues, find your notes, create a detailed plan and do all of this more effectively if you start to engage with your essay now.
Don’t kid yourself that you will come back to ‘it’ if you haven’t done any ‘it’ in the first place. It is far better to do even a few minutes writing before any break than to start with a break and a good intention to start ‘soon’.
Think Why not come back to it later? Listen to yourself
Coming back to it later can work, but usually only if you have been with ‘it’ in the first place. If you do even a few minutes straight away, it is so much easier to come back to. But don’t take my words for it – listen to yourself.
You are wiser than you think. Try having a conversation between the part of you that wants to procrastinate and the wise, caring and encouraging part of yourself. Please note, it is not so helpful to invoke the strict sergeant major/angry parent/red-faced teacher – you have probably already done enough of that. Instead contact the part of you that is perceptive and caring.
Here’s how my inner dialogue is going this morning. Have a look – if that helps – and then write out your own:
Procrastinating Paul: ‘I am a little tired this
