Virtually every academic writer, whether you are a first-year undergraduate or a seasoned professor, struggles with developing writing habits. We all have that anxiety of looking at a page and not knowing where to begin, or worse, not even looking at the page at all. We all know that we need to write because that is how we communicate our knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of the concepts we are studying; however, there is something about writing that instil a deep sense of imposter syndrome in our veins. If we write it, it will be read by someone, then we can be judged, which is terrifying.

Unfortunately, the only way to become a good and productive academic writer is to write often. I understand that this is easier said than done, but I promise there are techniques you can explore to find out which one(s) work best for you.
Creating the right environment is the first step to becoming a successful, productive academic writerwon't. I need to be in a public space, like a coffee shop, where I can pretend other patrons are judging me for watching movies on my laptop, scrolling through social media, or napping when I should be writing. Unfortunately, I also need to be in a relatively quiet public space without too many distracting noises. I prefer empty coffee shops or pubs where they wont mind if I spend several hours drinking the same coffee.
Other people have told me that they like to light incense so that their minds can associate the smell with writing. Whether it’s the place, smell, a specific drink, or a special playlist, figure out how you can manipulate your environment to make you feel most comfortable and inspire you to sit down and put words on paper.
The next step is consistency. You need to dedicate time towards your writing consistently. It doesn’t matter if all your essays are due in three months, and you wouldn’t even know where to begin now. If all you do is do research and take notes for your essays until you are ready to start writing, that is still progress and is much better than not doing anything until the last moment. Start today or tomorrow, sit down and start thinking about one of your writing assignments. Build an outline, find academic articles on the subject, take notes, and come up with questions to ask your teacher. I have always found that my best writing, or at least my most productive, has always come when I am inspired. I get inspired by learning about the subject and coming across a resource that interests me. When I am reading actively, I am usually overflowing with writing ideas that I cannot keep up with. However, when I am not reading, I struggle to develop ideas.
It is also worth trying the Pomodoro technique, which is used by productive academic writers far and wide. The traditional Pomodoro technique is to write for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. I, however, find this too short to get into a flow. I usually write for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break. Try both, or more or less, and find out what works best for you.
The next step to productive writing is to keep organised. There is no use doing a ton of university work if you cannot find what you have already worked on or the ideas flowing out ofyour head the day before. Whether in a physical notebook, a Word document, or a special notetaking software, keep track of what you are writing, your ideas, and the academic sources you rely on. Trust me, your future writer will greatly appreciate your organisation.
The final suggestion that I recommend is to set achievable goals that are clear and written in a place where you will consistently see them every single day. Whether it is a set word count per day/week, several academic articles to read and take notes on, or maybe an amount of time oneto sit down every day to write, these goals make a massive difference. Make sure to start small and work your way up. For example, there is no use in setting a goal to write 2 hours daily when you are not even writing for 1 yet. A more reasonable writing goal is to write, read, or take notes for your essays every day. Once you do this consistently, you can increase this goal. Also, make sure that you have these goals displayed in a place where you will see them multiple times per day so that you are constantly reminded of the goals you set for yourself.
The steps outlined in this post are simple and can be developed by any academic writer to build healthy and productive writing habits. These habits will make a significant difference in your university studies, improving the quality of your writing and your interest in what you're studying.
If you are still struggling—and we all do—consider hiring us at University Writing Tutors to provide our bespoke and personalised academic writing tutoring services.
Comentarios