Venting as an attempt to clear my head

Argh. I'm trying to get working, but my brain's so foggy. It's been this way for ages, or so it feels. I know I'm stuck, along with everyone else, in some kind of "winter blues" or something. I know even the most diligent people I know are having a hard time making themselves work. But this isn't an option!

I'm now on the second page (of 100) of my thesis. And the ideas are flowing like taffy, even after I wrote 10 pages of detailed outline. Why is it so hard to form coherent sentences, when I try to explain what I'm attempting to do with my paper.

It's time for me to pull out all the stops and play all the psychological tricks on myself that I do when I'm writer's blocked. I'm set up at my desk now: no more sitting on the couch in the living room. Being out with people distracts me even more. I have a giant glass of water beside me, which will probably be one of several tonight. I just ate an orange (some natural sugars, and hopefully energy). I have Chopin's Nocturnes playing in the background, to block out other sounds. (It tried some French music before, but even that was too distracting. Sad, because I love Padam.) If I'm still having trouble, in a while I'll take a shower to clear out my head, and then maybe I'll wear something silly (maybe I'll dress up -- sometimes wearing something special helps me, somehow. I wore lipstick the whole time I was writing my Honour's Paper.) Next step: candles.

Speaking as a TA, if you're ever having trouble with writer's block, playing tricks on yourself really works. Shake things up. Change your scenery, or your situation somehow. Do whatever it takes to snap you into a more creative place. My friends and I, back in our undergrad days, used to get pretty silly with it, but it worked! One of my best friends used to write all of her papers wearing an orange poncho and pearls. Her sister used to always wear a Santa hat. Somehow, something like that makes you feel like "And now I am working, and so everything else has to shut off." Doing all of your work at home is hard, because then everyone thinks, "Well, she's at home, which means she's available to do housework/to babysit/to talk on the phone/to drive me somewhere/to hang out." Sometimes that means that you have to get out of the house to work. Or, if you're at home, it helps either to set "office hours" (sometimes I shut off the phone), or (in extreme cases, such as if you're me) just to work when no one else is up (ie. at night). Find what works, regardless of how silly it is. And then go with it. (Everyone's different.) Also, sometimes finding someone to act as a sounding-board also helps.

But now I digress. I guess this has been Writing Tips With the Procrastination Queen, from the one who should know way better, considering how many hundreds of students' papers she's now marked, not to mention how many essays she's written herself.

I am amused by: Esperanto