HOW TO WRITE A PAPER- ANGELA EDITION
Step One- Make your Playlist
I find that whenever I have papers to write, I do a lot better when I’m listening to the same songs over and over and over and over. I honestly have no idea why this is, but I’ve read some sketchy-at-best online articles about why this could be a thing. Regardless, I am here to share with you the list of songs I’ve been playing on repeat for the last couple of days!
- “The Greatest” by Sia
- “Closer” by The Chainsmokers
- “Famous” by Kanye West
- “Headlines” by Drake
- (ALSO it’s really hard to find Drake’s newer songs on youtube and this makes me really sad)
Step Two- Find a spot and camp out
Again, I like the library. It’s hidden away where people can’t bug me unless it’s an emergency. Regardless, find your spot, bring all of your things, and plan to be there for a couple hours. I usually bring all of my chargers because camping out is what it sounds like. I’ve seen people bring blankets, food, slippers, a carton of cigarettes, you name it, people have done it. Don’t take shame in whatever you need to bring to accomplish your work!
Step Three- Invest in a snack
As the above may insinuate, you’re gonna be somewhere for a while. While some people like to take breaks for meals, I find that this disrupts my flow. YES I recognize this may not be the *best* habit, but for all the bad habits, I think eating goldfish for a meal is probably on the lesser end of this spectrum.
So get yourself a snack that you can eat without making a mess or taking time to assemble it. I tend to like goldfish mostly because they’re cheap, they come in bulk, and they have a rainbow variety which makes me feel good about myself.
Step Four- WHEN YOU ARE DONE FOR THE DAY, YOU ARE DONE FOR THE DAY
One thing I really struggle with is finding a stop when I’m writing. I’m the kind of person that likes to get work done and BE done. However, for longer papers, this isn’t an attainable goal. When you’re working, make sure that you stop and stick to that stop. You need to listen to your body/mind and really feel out what it’s trying to tell you.
My freshmen year I wrote a 10 page paper in one sitting and felt horrible. Compare that to my sophomore year when I wrote a 15 page paper over the course of a week and felt significantly happier. Not only did I feel emotionally better, but my writing reflected this. AND!!! Even though my freshmen year I had a lot of extra time on my hands because I technically finished my work earlier, I ended up stressing about not having anything to do. Compare that to sophomore year when I had an even stream of work to do, I felt like I wasn’t forgetting anything and was on top of my work.
Everyone has their own ways to get things done, but if you feel like you wanna give my method a try, good luck, and happy writing!