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6 Tips to Help Focus on Your Academic Writing

John Bond

Mon. Sep. 23, 2019 8:57am

6 Tips to Help Focus on Your Academic Writing. This short video by John Bond of Riverwinds Consulting discusses to get more out of your writing and be more productive

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TRANSCRIPT

Hi there. I am John Bond from Riverwinds Consulting and this is Publishing Defined.

Many writers, academic or otherwise, have trouble staying focused on their writing. Delays, real or imagined, can mean set back and disappointment. Here are six tips for staying focused on your writing and therefore being more productive.

First, it all starts with goals. What are your motives for writing? Career advancement, getting your message or research out there, or wanting to be part of your community; are all possibilities. Naming why you are writing clarifies the importance and helps you to stick to a schedule.

Second, is setting a schedule. Find the best time of the day that you are productive and block out time to write in manageable increments. Don’t be overly ambitious or not ambitious enough. Clearly make time to write or edit in your schedule. There are writing productivity apps that help you track your time, word count, goals. A quick web search can help point to the best ones. Also, sometimes set quantify goals with your schedule. Say you will write x number of words that day or edit to many pages. This may not be practical for all the tasks involved with writing, but does work for the quantifiable parts.

Third, pay yourself first. In finance and investing this is an approach to savings. It applies here as well. Set aside time to write and don’t’ borrow or negate this time. Of course, you need to eat and sleep and do the work for your day job. Don’t let anything else expand to crowd out writing. Always keep this commitment and cross other things off your To Do list like TV, or phone calls, or committee meetings; instead of writing.

Fourth, know your environment and distractibility quotient. Do you need silence or background music? Is the library better or your house? There are a lot of apps that allow you, for a period of time, to turn off social media and notifications on your laptop and phone so you can concentrate on your work. I noticed in Microsoft Word the other day Focus Mode, which blocks anything but Word. Set yourself up for success with the right environment.

Fifth, have someone to share your goals with and report to them frequently. It may be a writing partner or peer in your department. You may do the same for them. Studies have shown when we share goals with a third party and report in frequently, we are more likely to keep our commitments.

Finally, set up a no-excuse-zone. If writing is important to you or your career, then get it done. People make time for what matters. Accept only your best. Let me know how it goes.

Well that’s it. I am a publishing consultant and work with associations, publishers, and individuals on a host of content related challenges. Reach out to me at RiverwindsConsulting.com with your questions.

Hit the Like button below if you enjoyed this video. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel or click on the link to see my video on tips on writing a great article.

And make comments below or email me with any questions. Thank so much and take care.