Hey friends. I'm an art major which means I spend most of my time doing creative things with my hands and very little time writing papers. So when I get assigned a 1000 word essay I literally freeze up like a deer in headlights. My brain goes completely blank and suddenly I forget how sentences work. It's a whole thing. 
But over the years I've developed some tricks to trick my dumb brain into cooperating and I wanna share them in case anyone else struggles with the same thing.
Trick one: the reverse outline
Instead of outlining first I just start writing whatever comes to mind for like twenty minutes. Then I print that mess and highlight the actual good parts. Those highlights become my outline. Working backwards feels way less pressure than starting with a blank outline.
Trick two: the pomodoro but make it
fun
I set a timer for 25 minutes and during that time I write as much as possible. No editing, no second guessing, just word vomit. Then I take a 5 minute break where I literally do not think about the essay at all. Scrolling, snacks, staring at the ceiling, whatever. Repeat until done. Four pomodoros usually gets me to 1000 words easy.
Trick three: change your font
This sounds stupid but it works. Writing in comic sans or some goofy font makes my brain think this isn't Serious Academic Work so I relax and write more naturally. Then right before submitting I switch it back to times new roman and boom. Professional.
Trick four: pretend you're explaining it to a friend
I open a voice memo on my phone and literally just talk through my essay like I'm telling a friend about it. Then I play it back and write down what I said. Talking is way easier than writing for some reason and suddenly I have a rough draft.
Trick five: reward system
I tell myself if I finish this essay I can watch an episode of my show or get my favorite coffee or take a guilt-free nap. Having something to look forward to makes the suffering feel temporary.
Anyway these are my tricks. They don't always work but they work enough. Anyone else have weird brain hacks for writing? I'm always looking for new ones so drop them below!
But over the years I've developed some tricks to trick my dumb brain into cooperating and I wanna share them in case anyone else struggles with the same thing.
Trick one: the reverse outline
Instead of outlining first I just start writing whatever comes to mind for like twenty minutes. Then I print that mess and highlight the actual good parts. Those highlights become my outline. Working backwards feels way less pressure than starting with a blank outline.
Trick two: the pomodoro but make it
funI set a timer for 25 minutes and during that time I write as much as possible. No editing, no second guessing, just word vomit. Then I take a 5 minute break where I literally do not think about the essay at all. Scrolling, snacks, staring at the ceiling, whatever. Repeat until done. Four pomodoros usually gets me to 1000 words easy.
Trick three: change your font
This sounds stupid but it works. Writing in comic sans or some goofy font makes my brain think this isn't Serious Academic Work so I relax and write more naturally. Then right before submitting I switch it back to times new roman and boom. Professional.
Trick four: pretend you're explaining it to a friend
I open a voice memo on my phone and literally just talk through my essay like I'm telling a friend about it. Then I play it back and write down what I said. Talking is way easier than writing for some reason and suddenly I have a rough draft.
Trick five: reward system
I tell myself if I finish this essay I can watch an episode of my show or get my favorite coffee or take a guilt-free nap. Having something to look forward to makes the suffering feel temporary.
Anyway these are my tricks. They don't always work but they work enough. Anyone else have weird brain hacks for writing? I'm always looking for new ones so drop them below!
People don't realize how hard it is to switch from visual/creative brain to academic writing brain. It's like asking a fish to climb a tree.