A Research Student's Hacks To Maintain Productivity in Writing

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About a year ago, I embarked on a journey to further my studies. Officially, I am a teacher on his study leave and much of my time is spent writing my thesis or other research papers. There were no deadlines, but if I could not finish my studies, the contract was that I would have to pay back about 30,000 USD as a penalty.

Thus, it was a do or die scenario and I would rather buy an SUV than pay the penalty. I started this journey before I have started Steemit and I hope these methods would help you as much as it has helped me. I have found that these methods of writing has helped me consistently post everyday for the last five months.

Cafe Camping

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The one method that has really helped me was to get out of my home and camp at the nearest cafe. I know, some disagree with the whole idea of staying at the cafe for a long time. They believe that it disrupts the business. However, I do not stay for more than three hours. The reason being that it is not about the quantity but the quality of time spent.

One reason I feel that has helped me tremendously is firstly because of the atmosphere. I like peace, the white noise, the jazz music and the smell of coffee. The combination of all these things for some reason increases my productivity. I find that I am able to focus longer and spend more time on my writing. If I hit a dead end, I head to the cafe and for some reason, ideas start flowing.

The second reason that I am generally more productive is because of the caffeine. Well, caffeine always helps me in being more productive. However, if I am honest, I think its more of the price. An Americano costs 8 ringgit. That's about the price of a McDonald's meal here. So I guess if you mix coffee with guilt of spending you get productivity.

Subconsciously, I think I tell myself that since I have paid that much, I better complete my work. So if you are having some difficulty in writing your next post, why not try heading to a cafe? Of course, you need to be aware of the problem with cafes.

Go Offline

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Yup, free Wi-Fi. Free internet means free Steemit or Facebook. Social media is the black hole that sucks away all productivity. Imagine this scenario, you head on to the cafe, thinking that you can get some work done. You pay for your coffee at your counter and they hand you the Wi-Fi password. You log on to the free Wi-Fi, you think to yourself, I'll just reply one Steemit post or just read a post. It's only five minutes, so no harm, right?

You read the first post, then another and then another. You stare at the clock and an hour has passed. You panic and start writing, but wait, the caffeine high has passed. You are now no different from how you were when you first entered. So you think to yourself, perhaps you need another cup of coffee. You get it, but now you have too much coffee. The effects start to kick in. The toilet breaks, the agitation and the heart palpitations.

At this point, there's really no point trying to push yourself to do more. Thus, the next method may just come in handy.

Start Small

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If you find the big tasks daunting, complete the small tasks first. On Steemit, the hardest part may just be the idea. Why not start small? It may be completing that short report that is due soon. It can also be writing a thesis statement if you are looking to write a how-to article or a way to solve certain problem. A thesis statement works like summary of your entire post in the form of a sentence.

It can sound like this, This post will talk about solving your writer's block. Through this, you should be able to get a big picture on what to write and work out the fine details as you write on.

However, if all else fails, maybe consider joining a meme contest or even a writing competition. Whatever you do, make it a point to complete one task, however short it may be. You will find that small victories will eventually lead to bigger ones and writing and idea generation gets easier over time.

Hope that helps in your writing on Steemit! I'm heading off to the nearest cafe now 😀

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