Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 32

 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 morning – I might feel more refreshed later.’

Perceptive Paul: ‘If you start in the morning, the first chance you can, it will be so much easier to come back to.’

Procrastinating Paul: ‘I don’t know, maybe just a really quick break and I’ll feel more energised.’

Perceptive Paul: ‘You’ll feel better once you start putting some words down.’

Procrastinating Paul: ‘Yes, but do I need to push myself? Besides, perhaps I should just check my emails?’

Perceptive Paul: ‘The emails will be there after you do some writing.’

Procrastinating Paul: ‘I’m not sure I am in the mood.’

Perceptive Paul: ‘Your mood will probably change within a few minutes of sitting down to write.’

To an extent the Perceptive Paul won the debate and I did start writing, although the tension did rumble on a bit. Perhaps unwisely, I checked my emails just after I had started writing. If these had been more urgent, I may have been derailed early on.