Pomodoro for writing

Writing stalls when you try to think, draft and correct at the same moment. Give each of those its own round.

Three different jobs

Writing is not one activity. It is at least three: deciding what to say, putting it into sentences, and improving those sentences. They need different states of mind, and doing them together is why writing feels so slow: you write half a line, judge it, delete it, and begin again. Timed rounds let you do one job at a time.

Planning rounds

Spend the first round with no sentences at all. Write the question or the purpose at the top of a page. Under it, put down every point you might make, in any order. Then number them in the order a reader would need them, and cross out what does not serve the purpose. For a school essay this takes one round; for a long report, two or three. You finish with a skeleton: headings and points. The fear of the blank page mostly disappears here, because the page is no longer blank.

Drafting rounds

Now write fast, following the skeleton, and do not correct anything. Wrong word? Leave it. Missing fact? Put a mark such as XX and keep going. Bad sentence? Write the next one. The only rule of a drafting round is that the hand keeps moving. Many people set a target of words per round; a target you can reach, such as 200 to 300 words, works better than an ambitious one. A rough full draft is worth far more than one perfect paragraph, because you can now see the whole piece.

Editing rounds

Edit only after a break, and preferably the next day. In separate passes:

1. Structure. Is each paragraph in the right place? Does each one make a single point?
2. Sentences. Cut long ones in two. Remove words that add nothing. Replace vague words with exact ones.
3. Details. Fill each XX, check names, figures, dates and references.
4. Proofreading. Spelling, punctuation, format. Reading aloud catches what the eye skips.

Each pass is a different round with a different eye. Trying to do all four at once means doing none well.

Handwritten exam answers

For exams where you write by hand, practise the same order in miniature: two or three minutes of points in the margin, then writing without stopping, then a final minute to read through. Use pomodoros to practise whole answers against the clock, one answer per round, and compare with the marking scheme in the break after.

A thesis or long report

• Keep a master outline and choose one small section for each day. "Write section 3.2" is a day's task; "write the thesis" is not.
• Stop each day in the middle of something easy, with a line saying what comes next. Tomorrow's start is then effortless.
• Keep reading and writing in separate rounds. Reading "one more paper" is the favourite way to avoid writing.
• Record words or pages per day. A steady small number, kept up, finishes long documents; bursts of heroism do not.

When the words will not come

Lower the standard for the round. Write it as if explaining to a friend in a message. Write the easiest section first, not the introduction. Write a bad version on purpose. Or talk it aloud and note what you said. Any of these breaks the freeze. If you are avoiding the whole thing, read how to start work you keep putting off.

Longer rounds for drafting

Drafting often benefits from a longer stretch. If 25 minutes cuts you off mid-flow, try 50 and 10, or use the breadcrumb habit: one line about what comes next, written at the bell. Editing, on the other hand, suits short rounds well, because a tired eye misses mistakes.

Your own words

Rounds make it easier to write your own work instead of copying, because the job is cut into manageable pieces. Note sources as you read, with page numbers, so that referencing in the details pass is quick and honest.

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