Managing writer's block and perfectionism

Many intelligent, competent people who are actually very good writers can experience problems in getting their writing tasks done. This group includes professional writers and academics - and many university students.

Some of the problems include:

procrastinating and avoiding getting started
doing vast amounts of research and not starting to write up
drafting, re-drafting and re-re-drafting
inability to finish nearly completed tasks
avoiding showing work to others, e.g. supervisors
avoiding contacting others (lecturers, supervisors)
writing too much, or thread of academic argument becomes unclear
not handing in finished work.

All of these can result in poor academic outcomes. Often people find it hard to understand what is happening. They blame themselves for not performing and get more and more distressed, so the problem becomes even more difficult to deal with. It can become a vicious cycle.

It may be clear (at least to others) that the problem isn’t just simple laziness or bad time management or lack of skills – so what is going on?

Understanding what’s happening

Here are some of the factors that seem to contribute:

Perfectionism and self-criticism

It may be that people set themselves very high standards and are so self-critical that it seems as though nothing they write, or could write, is good enough. Aiming at excellence is admirable, but perfectionism can become unrealistic and get in the way. Self-criticism also becomes unrealistic, moving from 'This assignment is difficult and I’m struggling' (which may be quite true!) to severe self-blame: 'I’m stupid and lazy and a failure', which is not true but can be immobilising.

Academic assessment

Constant assessment at university often urges students to do better, which can reinforce the idea that nothing they do is ‘good enough’. Progressing to higher levels, such as Honours or postgraduate work, sets the expectations even higher.

Working in isolation

Writing can be a lonely business, and since university students work independently, no one may be aware that someone is getting into real difficulties. Even extensions may just provide opportunities to agonise and struggle more. Students may continue to sit at their desks for long periods, managing to write only a few words. Or they may just avoid the painful situation of trying to write.

Other pressures

Many other types of pressure can contribute: family expectations, health or personal problems can add to the worries and fears.

What can be done to break the cycle?

Think realistically

As you can see, one of the major sources of difficulty is in our own thoughts, the habits of perfectionist expectations, overwhelming self-criticism and self-blame. You may need to challenge these habits by:

Setting more realistic goals, aiming at work that is competent (good enough, does the job) or excellent (goes further than good enough). You may need to set up some reasonable criteria yourself, or to discuss this with a lecturer.
Giving yourself credit for what you accomplish. Perfectionism drives us to ignore or discount what we have achieved, which can prevent us from developing the reasonable self-confidence that helps us keep going.
Identifying self-defeating thinking, such as 'I can’t hand this in, it’s not good enough'. Decide to hand things in, no matter what. A mark of 55/100 for something you’ve handed in is better than 0/100 for something that didn’t get in!

Work out practical strategies

Realistically (that word again!) work out where/when/how you tend to get stuck, or manage to avoid or distract yourself. Think of ways to ‘trick’ yourself into keeping going.

Here are some ideas:

Don’t obsess on one thing; if you get stuck on something, move on to something else. If you are ‘frozen’ on one section, work on something like the bibliography – it all needs to be done.
Break the task down into manageable ‘chunks’.
Commit to finishing things – every time.
Change the way you are expressing your ideas – move away from the computer, write by hand for a while (even dot points), change your location (working in the library may help you feel less isolated or reduce distractions), talk it through with a trusted friend.
Get some exercise - often this lets our ideas flow again.
Remind yourself of what you have achieved in the past, and how you did it.

Get help

If any of this sounds like you, and you are feeling overwhelmed, get help. You don’t have to do it all alone. You can let your lecturer know that you are trying but finding it difficult – many academics have had to battle with this themselves. You can also talk with a University counsellor about what your best strategies will be – there are many possibilities. To make an appointment call 8201 2118. The service is free and confidential.

Flinders University