Writing Journal, general introduction

I'm going to be sharing my writing journal on this blog, both to provide some public accountability for my writing habits and also to share some ideas about how academic work happens (to "de-mystify academic labor," as the brilliant Professor Renker says it).

As a general procedure, my writing process follows four steps.

1. Set a procrastination timer. I use a kitchen timer to resist akrasia, that is, to bind my future self to the plans of my past self.
2. When the timer goes off, I have to write a journal about the state of flow. In a few sentences, I try to settle my thinking on seven topics:
1. What to do.
2. How to do it.
3. How to assess progress.
4. Where to go.
5. Challenges.
6. Skills.
7. Isolation (from distractions).
3. I write for thirty minutes. Again, I use the kitchen timer.
4. At the end, I add a little reflection to my writing journal.