My Strategy

When it comes down to tackling a paper I usually start on the day the paper was assigned by adding it to my Google calendar. Then I break down the paper and systematically go through it, one part at a time. I will schedule in a time, to sit down and write out an outline for the paper, and each section of it. Then I will spend a few days doing the necessary research, gathering sources, writing out the citations, and pulling out the necessary quotes and data, with the correctly formatted citations, into a word document. I use Endnote X2 to format my citations and manage them, free alternatives include Zotero and Mendeley. After I have all of these materials gathered together. I look at the length requirement, then next to the various sections on the outline, I write a projected length. I set a deadline for myself to complete the paper at least 3 days before it is due. After I complete writing the paper, I use those 3 extra days to have my paper proof read by at least 2-3 other people. Then I sit down incorporate the final changes and submit my paper.

Example Case

I am assigned a 6-7 page paper for my Humanities class, it is due in 4 weeks (28 days).

Day 0 (paper assigned): Added to Google Calendar and scheduled sometime later in the week or early next week to write outline.

Days 1-5: Busy forgot about paper, did other things.

Day 6: Scheduled day to write outline, spend 2 hours write outline, schedule 5 hours over the next 4 days to find sources, format citations.

Days 7-11: Spend around 1 hour each day finding sources, adding them to the outline and formatting proper citations for them. (5 hours)

Day 12: Sit down look at outline and length, and assign estimated lengths to all of the various sections, and add sections as needed. Schedule deadline at day 24. (2 hours)

Days 13-16: Forgot about paper did other things

Days 17-23: Wrote approx. one page each day (total page count 8 required page count 7) (4 hours)

Days 24-26: Have paper proof read by student success center, friends, and professor.

Day 27: add final changes, fix paper in the morning (approx 2 hours spent) forget about paper for the rest of the day, read it at night, and make necessary corrections.

Day 28: hand in paper.

Benefits

Using this method you are able to break down the paper in to smaller chunks, and you spend no more than a few hours a day for a few days, to finish the paper, 15 hours/28 days means I spent an average of about 32 minutes a day for the duration of the month. By breaking the paper down into manageable pieces, and having a defined plan, you will not be daunted by the task, and you will resist the urge to procrastinate till the night before. This way you are allowed to deal with the paper on your own terms, fitting it into time that you choose, instead of having the paper make you pull an all-nighter.

By changing the deadline, and setting smaller goals along the way you are able take down the perceived psychological barriers to entry. You don’t think “Oh, I have that 7 page paper due next month, I’ll do it later.” You think “I have to finish the outline for this paper on this day,” or “I have to finish finding my sources on this day.”

The greatest enemies of productivity are psychological barriers to entry, walls you build for yourself, if you break down the wall into smaller more manageable pieces, you remove those barriers, and it becomes easier for you to start a task. Don’t focus on those small details everyone else is focusing on, just try to get those 8 pages done by a fixed date; focus on those big wins, the details will fall into place by themselves. Just get started as soon as possible, and don’t delay it until the last moment.