Brain fog + inertia + sleepiness

[lurker]

Does anyone get a combi of the three whenever they attempt to do an essay? How best to trick your mind into doing it, wihout running into a brick wall every minute?

[Asylum]

Lots of people talk about xersize. Try a 30 minute walk before study?

[CompleteChaos]

I hated writing papers in school. I did not do very well on them. I can relate. Just getting up and moving around was a help to me. (I also avoided writing any essays or papers if I could)

Sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Writin' Wrong]

As my handle implies, this problem is the bane of my existence. I don't have any easy answers. My fog/inertia/sleepiness responds only to stimulants and stress, so I can see how the exercise idea might help. You might find that some of the functional blockages can be avoided by dictating your paper instead of writing it. Just think out loud, into the microphone, and then transcribe and clean it up when you're done.

[ninjanicole]

My solution is to not plan to write the actual essay at all. Just sit in front of the telly, or have a cup of tea or something relaxing and write down what you know/think about the topic. Just notes, just getting your thoughts together. Before you know it you will have half the essay done.

I think the problem in the first place is that an essay seems like such a mountain of a thing to have to do so its hard to start. By pretending, or planning, to not write the actual essay you should be able to at least get something down on the paper!

[dyingInside]

I've had mostly A papers, but only if they were written during an all nighter before/on the due date... not a great way to operate. Instrumental music and coffee do help me focus. Using cluster diagrams, flow charts, outlines, and index card notes is helpful too.