January 25, 2004

"Improving Writing Productivity: Overcoming Blocks and Procrastination"

Almost all writers are familiar with the experience of feeling stuck, blocked, overwhelmed or behind schedule in their writing. Many people find writing difficulties to be enduring, vexing and painful issues that resist change and lead to complications with academic or professional goals, creative fulfillment or personal happiness. This presentation will address common elements of productivity problems such as procrastination, perfectionism, anxiety, fear of criticism, poor time management, imposter feelings, and binge writing. Strategies and techniques that address the behavioral, psychological, practical and social aspects of writing productivity problems will be presented. This talk will explore the process of writing, not the content, and is therefore appropriate for writers of all types including those writing academic research papers, fiction, poetry, non-fiction and journalism.

David Rasch is a psychologist and the director of the Stanford Help Center, a counseling service for the faculty and staff of the university. He has assisted writers with productivity problems for the past 15 years through classes, workshops, support groups and individual sessions. Dr. Rasch teaches a class entitled "Overcoming Writing Blocks and Procrastination" through Stanford's Continuing Studies Program, and has presented on his group work with tenure-track junior faculty at state and national conferences. He authored a chapter on assisting university faculty and staff through organizational changes in the book "Process and Organizational Redesign", and is currently writing a book designed to help writers who are struggling with blocks, anxiety, procrastination, and related difficulties.