intervening in the writing process (or how to stop procrastinating)

A few weeks ago, I was having a lot of problems concentrating on my thesis and getting anywhere with my writing. I was getting really frustrated and would often drift away from my writing to read something online.

So, after staying up all night to read Harry Potter last Sunday night, I pulled out my old iBook (the one with the awful screen that I haven’t used since January) and created an account that couldn’t access the Internet. I had a friend change the password on the admin accounts, so I couldn’t be distracted by the Internet. When I set down to write on Monday, I had the most productive day I’ve had in weeks. Tuesday and Wednesday weren’t so great, because I was really struggling with the organization of Chapter 3, but Thursday and Friday were both good days.

And today (Sunday) was a great day as well. I wrote some in the morning and then decided I needed a new setting (I find that shifting my writing location helps me write, for some reason — I think I’m too restless). I drove an hour and a half to Portland to a coffee shop I like and started writing (I know it’s ridiculous to drive so far just to write, but I wanted to be some place that I wouldn’t run into friends and that I wouldn’t be tempted to just go home and take a nap) — and had a pretty good and productive time, until a concert was about to start there. So I got online (on my MacBook, which I brought with me for the occasional Internet break), talked to a friend online who was staying with his parents in the suburbs, and found out about another late-night coffee shop, which I came to and have felt über productive. Unfortunately, there aren’t many vegan options here at this coffee shop, so I’m going to have to find a place to eat before driving back to Corvallis.

My defense date is set for Friday, August 17, and I feel pretty comfortable with the thesis right now (here’s hoping I’m not jinxing that by saying it in public). Chapters 3 and 4 still need some work before I turn the thesis over to my committee, but overall, they’re coming along pretty well. Just thought I’d put up an update before driving the hour and a half back to Corvallis, since I’ve been pretty absent from the blogosphere over the last few weeks. I feel like I’ll be able to wake up and get right back into the groove of things tomorrow.