In my years of school, I’ve found that you don’t have to be a ‘writer’ to have writer’s block. What I mean by that is you don’t have to be writing the great American novel or attempting to construct an award-winning poem.
I’ve found that for most students, writer’s block comes into play when trying to complete an essay or lab report. I’ve never experienced the latter because I’ve never had to write a lab report. This girl is useless at science, but I’m just trying to be relatable so stick with me. Writer’s block affects me not even necessarily for the writing part (though it happens there too), but it loves to rear its ugly head when I’m simply planning my essay.
Once I have writer’s block during essay planning, I tend to put it off. Maybe I’ll plan for a second but then immediately after I’ll turn back to my computer or phone. I’ll find myself hoping that inspiration will strike me at a later date. Of course, you’re probably saying “Ummm that’s not writer’s block that’s procrastination,” and you’d be right (or should I say you’d be write). Obviously, I have a myriad of issues. But perfect, none of us are.
My forms of procrastination involve watching Netflix, going on YouTube, Instagram, you name it. I hasten to say this is probably the case for most of us. What I can say is that procrastination doesn’t lead me to helpful contemplative thinking.
If procrastination involves distracting your brain with other stimuli, obviously you’re never going to think of an essay topic, or a film proposal, or even an idea for a short story. In order for creative thought to occur your mind needs to be unoccupied. It has to be able to freely associate and wander in all sorts of directions. By constantly having our mind occupied while we procrastinate, we actually hurt ourselves in that we literally block any possible ideas from coming in. Of course, ideas won’t just come to you when you’re unoccupied, but hopefully, your unoccupied mind will think about the assignment at hand and your brain gears will start turning.
I know everyone likes to blame the internet for everything and I hate to jump on that bandwagon because obviously, it can also be amazing and even beneficial while in school, but in the case of creative thought, it is often detrimental. Instagram or Netflix are designed to capture viewers’ attention, so naturally, your brain is going to focus on that and your attention isn’t going to drift. Of course, it’s more enjoyable to watch a new show or message a friend than it is to sit down and have a think on a tough issue. I know this is certainly the case for me (I’ve put off writing this article for over a week).
My solution for writer’s block induced by procrastination is setting aside time for free thought. This can mean telling yourself that you’re going to attempt to think about an essay for one hour. Then, get a pencil in your hand, a piece of paper in front of you, and start jotting down your thoughts. Whatever they may be just fill up a paper with potentially useless ideas. If you like listening to music while you work, I recommend listening to something instrumental, and not a song with words, because even that can be distracting (or at the very least make you want to dance).
Another way of giving your brain some free time while still avoiding focusing on the issue at hand is walking somewhere without listening to music. Your brain will want to fill the silence and without a little direction on your part, you can start thinking about your paper. I’ve found that when I go on bike rides because I’m bored and not listening to music, my brain travels to other topics and I often start thinking of ideas for movies (that I would never make but if you want them, contact me @Steven Spielberg). Procrastination is a part of everyone’s life but it need not be detrimental if it involves space for your brain to think freely and creatively.
These days it’s very easy to distract your brain, especially when the alternatives are unpleasant. But by actively giving your brain the space to do what it’s supposed to do: think, you may find that some aspects of writer’s block will melt away. Now, onto tackling the issue of procrastination itself…