Can't Think Straight?

jujuju

The Guelah Papyrus
    • 191
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    15
    Years
    I just wrote a very long essay on The Catcher in the Rye and found that I got stuck very often with nothing to write about. I would just sit there for many minutes staring at my computer. Finally, I got up and picked up my hockey stick and starting shooting around with a little ball and the ideas began to come to me.

    So, I was wondering...
    What do you do to help you concentrate?
     
    When I get writers block I usally put it to the side and do something else, like video games or listen to music. I always get ideas for my writing by doing something else. It helps my brain relax and think about something else.
     
    What helps me concentrate is to not have any distractions around in my environment (such as certain sites on my laptop, TV, etc.).
     
    my attention span is motivated by pressure, seems i can only get things done at the last minute :b
     
    I tend to have problems when I get mentally blocked...and sometimes mental blocks tend to be hard to move for me, because I'm a stubborn natured person.

    Especially in writing...where if the pressure is on, I actually lose 100% potency than I'd gain from the 'Pressure' bonus that I usually get. Deadlines are deadly to me in writing. Tell me a date in the near future that it must be submitted by, and I'm more likely to mentally say "**** off" and never get over that mental block. I cannot be rushed into writing.
     
    poopnoodle said:
    my attention span is motivated by pressure, seems i can only get things done at the last minute :b
    Click to expand...

    Same here, i got good results throughout school but i always did it at the last minute. A* in English... 2 of my 4 main essays started during the last week.
     
    I generally distract myself with something else, usually the Internet, until I feel like writing again. This is how 99% of my writing goes, both personal writing and for school, when I was still attending. The back-and-forth amazingly gets stuff done, and I'm not sure why.

    Or it can be that one story where it's a mess of writer's block and I just have to grit my teeth and finish it... problem being that I rarely want to do that. :(
     
    I think we all get horrid blocks at times and there is nothing that really can be done to get rid of it straight away.

    I just normally take a break and relax for a little bit.
     
    If I am reading I try and minimize all sounds so I can maintain focus on that said task. For writing when I can't think of anything I go outside and pace out until something clicks. Some times I listen to music, although I don't think it helps much. So times I go outside because things in my house like the computer, tv, video games impede me for full attention from what I am doing.
     
    Like a lot of you people just take a break for a bit.
     
    I just push forward until I find my concentration slipping away. Then I find a different environment to be in for a while. If I can't physically leave where I am and still work on what I'm focused on then I let the work sit for a little while as I get up, walk around, put on different music (or turn off the music) and generally do something that changes the kind of stimuli my brain is getting.

    Now if I really need to focus for a long period of time and can't afford to take breaks then I'll lock myself in a room and remove any and all distractions that I can.
     
    Complete silence.
    If there is no complete silence then I have trouble concentrating. Sometimes I listen to music to help me concentrate.
     
    I usually listen to music to help my thoughts flow so I can think of some more ideas.
     
    I have this problem too a lot, and usually I either need to either listen to music or do something else for awhile and come back to the original task a bit later.
     
    When I get writers block I have to watch an anime or play a game that I really like that has some kind of melancholy element to it. Watching happy things and listening to happy music actually gives me more writers block than anything else. I have to see things that are dark and gloomy to get my mind working. It's odd, but true. I listen to music as well.
     
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