3 Ways I Battle Essay Writing Procrastination

Like writer’s block, procrastination is another anxiety behavior that gets in the way of creative writing, especially if what you’re working on what feels like the most important piece of writing that will determine your entire future. No pressure. Try not to break a sweat reading that Common App prompt.

But, just like writers block, the best way to beat procrastination is to get out of your head. (Easier said than done, of course). Here are a few things that have worked with me:

1) Make a “Done List”

Often when you’re procrastinating on something you don’t want to do, you end up doing other things in an effort to be productive: cleaning, organizing, other homework, etc. Procrastination is a negative cycle, and it gets worse the longer you procrastinate. You don’t want to start the essay and the longer you put it off, the more you feel like a failure. and the worse you feel, and the more you end up putting off. Or you’re just feeling really down about yourself and— see what I’m talking about? Not productive or helpful for anyone.

So take a deep breath and start writing down everything else you got done that day, including basic things you take for granted like feeding yourself breakfast and responding to emails. Before you know it, you’ll realize you got way more done than you thought, which will empower you with the momentum you need to get started.

A simple “done list” is all you need to put yourself on the right track to getting this personal statement done once and for all!

2) Picture Your Life After You’re Done With Whatever You’re Procrastinating

Usually whatever you don’t want to start is stemming from a negative feeling: maybe you’re anxious about it because it feels too hard, or it’s just boring and you don’t want to spend time on it. The best way of curbing that feeling is to picture how relieved you’ll be when it’s over - really bring this visualization to life. Picture how relaxed you’ll feel down to your toes— picture closing the tab on your computer that’s been open for weeks, picture bingeing on Netflix, or whatever it is you will do to celebrate.

Let this picture-perfect vision guide you to opening up that Word doc.

3) Paint Your Nails (I’m 100% Serious)

Sometimes, I just need to trick myself to sit and not move in order to write and the best way for me to do that is to literally paint my nails so all I could do is type while they dry. Otherwise, I would be cleaning or finding other random things to do around the house. It’s that simple.

Why You Should Pick the Last Common App Essay Prompt

For anyone starting the essay process, reading the 7 prompts of the Common App essay brings about dread, indecision, and maybe even nausea.

Before you freak out, remember that admissions officers don’t care which prompt you pick. That’s right - there’s no secret “hardest” prompt that gets you the most points if you answer it.

During this daunting essay writing process, students fixate on the wrong things. They start by obsessing over the question prompts instead of thinking more strategically about what they want admissions officers to know about them.

I always advise my students to start the essay writing process by ignoring the prompts altogether for that reason. Otherwise, they end up stuck with a forced essay that may not reveal the most important parts of their story. I recommend you first try journaling about yourself to get at the heart of what you want people to know about you. (Here are some journaling questions to get started.)

I also always recommend choosing the last open-ended prompt if you’re stuck.

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

This blank canvas of a question allows you to think first about what story you want to tell — what makes you who you are? — rather than some random narrative that answers a random question. I also find many of the “lessons learned” prompts to end up being too generic.

Why You Should Ignore Word Count (At First)

One of the most common mistakes I see in my student’s essays is fixating too much on word count. What often happens is students start writing, get to the 650 maximum word count, and just stop abruptly (maybe hastily adding a cheesy summary closing line) — even if the story is still unfinished.

Or I get the opposite approach with an essay that’s much shorter than the word count, which is also a mistake because every word is a chance to stand out and show admissions officers who you are and why they should add you to their campus community.

Here’s what most students don’t realize about the writing process: it takes an average of four revisions to get to the perfect final draft (and some students go through seven!). So that means you might end up writing 2,000 words of rough drafts to get to a perfect final draft of 650 words. 

Even professional writers don’t get it right on the first try. And most of the time, half the written work is left on the cutting room floor before publication.

What does that mean for you? Keep writing, no matter how long it gets. And with every draft, keep adding new and better details for every example, keep writing to draw out the storytelling of each anecdote, keep journaling to uncover deeper levels of self-reflection.

Only at the very end (let’s say around draft three or four) do I recommend you start even checking the word count. Then, follow my steps for proofreading to find what to cut. 

The Secret Trick to Channeling Your Creativity

You're staring at your computer screen, the mouse blinking back at you expectantly.

You've already tried writing an email draft to a friend, using your iPhone notes app, and remembering the “Write Now Revise Later” mantra. You know your deadline is coming up, but you feel totally stuck. Your brain is on vacay. Your inner narrator is off duty. You can't think of anything to write. Welcome to writer's block.

Here's an easy trick: switch up when and where you write.

All of us have our own internal clocks and creativity can come when we least expect it. Some of my best writing has occurred in the twilight hours between 3 and 4 in the morning. You may find yourself suddenly inspired at 6am in bed with your journal or at noon in the park on your iPad.

For now, turn your computer off, go for a walk, get distracted, and then try again at a different time and place.

Let me know if it worked!