Alternative strategies to face writer’s block
— A guide to finishing your thesis on time

Facebooking during thesis time — Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

We all have been there; wondering why do I have to write a thesis?

Nobody is going to read this text besides the examiner and me. Why do we collectively accept this burden at the end of our academic career?

Some other disturbing thoughts can surface to the background of the mind:

Why do I have to take this last hurdle before I can start working?

I am a decent writer because I have passed all my previous writing assignments. Finally, I have chosen a topic of my interest but can seem to keep myself motivated or write anything decent about it.

Why does everybody succeed at this except me?

First, empty the monkey minds junk by writing these thoughts on a piece of paper.

Burn this paper but be safe with fire, use a pan outside.

Trust me; this feels cathartic.

Then use these tactics to get you started again.

Take a REAL break

Most blogs will tell you to meditate, do breathing exercises, power naps, or walks.

The rationale is getting out of the mind into the body.

A long bath is never a bad idea. — Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Instead, I recommend going to a spa to go into the sauna or a Turkish steam bath.

Try again in the evening with a fully rested body to see if you get something on paper.

Make Changes

Change your surroundings, go to the public library, or go to another faculty of your university.

Or if you always write in a media library, try writing at home after you have cleaned the kitchen or your room.

My grandmother has this proverb:

‘A tidy house corresponds with a sharp mind.’

Also, you could replace the laptop with a desktop, typewriter, or notebook.

If you dislike the written word, use Google Docs audit function. You still have to edit after, but it works great.

Use the microphone of your earbuds or headphones. — Photo by Melanie Pongratz on Unsplash

The Read and Write loop

When the words don’t come to us, it is because of :

perfectionism

lack of structure to fill with ideas

lack of knowledge

If you have wanted to make every sentence a beauty. You will get stuck. Just write trash and fix it during the editing process.

If you tend to write intuitively, learn to write with structure. Academic writing is like a puzzle; you fill in the holes with ideas.

To finish this ‘piece of cake,’ you write a conclusion which summarizes your argumentation and then the introduction about what how you have done it.

Final Thoughts

Just perceive writing a thesis as cycling a Tour de France.

Some days, we have a high pace other days we slow down to catch our breath.

Sometimes inspiration will help go down the mountains.

Other days we have to domesticate the mind into writing one-page per day.

Remember all little steps, lead eventually to the destination, especially when it is far from sight.

Photo by Tom Sam on Unsplash

This text is # 10 of the 30-days creative writing challenge.

If you want to finish the writing of your thesis in 30 days. Contact me at jasper.ruijs.freelancer@gmail.com
['Jasper Ruijs']
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