Melissa McMullin, Psy.D. MCAPS

No Ideas Too Many Ideas Can’t Get Started Outline Black hole Stuck in the Middle Bored/Stressed Loudmouth Inner-Critic

Do you understand the assignment? Find your inspiration: What do you connect in the material? What would you like to learn? Rewrite the prompt for the assignment Group brainstorm

Instructor Textbook or other assigned readings Other students in class Professional journals or popular magazines Relate it to your major Consider past experiences Learn more about your beliefs

List them Review & Consider: How do your ideas relate to one another? What type of assignment is this? Length of the paper? Consolidate your ideas (if warranted) What will your topic do for you?

Write anything! Write badly Write for just 15 minutes Write the smallest conceivable portion of your paper Reward yourself for writing Make a writing date with yourself

Symptoms: Your mind is a jumble of thoughts You’ve written portions of the paper, but don’t know where you are going with it Step away from the computer! Mind map Strategically brainstorm Keep It Simple and Small (K.I.S.S.)

Mindmapping/Clustering Spatially relate main concept to sub-concepts to examples/support Hierarchy Main idea Sub-points Examples Facts Statistics Listing List ideas then organize by color coating and other markers.

Work backwards Revisit your outline Write anything Rearrange the building blocks

Revitalize Assess your self-care Assess your timeline Exercise Stretch and/or jump Talk it out Breathe Eat “brain food” Revisit your topic Check in with your critic

Entertain your critic and write down what he or she says. Evaluate the truth of the critical statements. Challenge thought associations: “If this paper sucks, then I am a failure.” Reframe the thought (s) Challenge your critic with hard facts. Re-assign your critic to editor.

Challenge your thoughts: What is the evidence that the thought(s) is/are true? Not true? Is there an alternative explanation? What’s the worst that could happen? Could I live through it? What’s the best that can happen? What’s the most realistic outcome? What are the consequences of adhering to the distorted thinking? What would happen if I changed my thinking? If (friend’s name) were in this situation what would I tell him/her?