5 Things to try when you’re feeling stuck with your research article

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Feeling stuck doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It usually just means your brain needs a new route in. Here are five ways to get moving again, without forcing it.

1. Write down all your thoughts and the feelings they’re triggering

Your thoughts are keeping you stuck.  Did you know thoughts are optional?  Can you let go of the thoughts like “I don’t know what to say?”, “I’ve not been theoretical/clever/well read enough,” or change the thought?

2. Enlist an invisible ally

Imagine someone who completely believes in your work. A mentor, a past self, a fictional character. Let them sit beside you. Let them speak.  This is something we’ll be doing with AI next month in The Sisterhood webinar “Your Invisible AI Academic Assistant”.

3. Write a terrible version of your paper

The goal isn’t brilliance. It’s movement. Give yourself permission to be shoddy. You can fix it later, once it exists (and search Anne Lamott’s Shitty First Drafts).

4. Go for a walk

Don’t overthink it - five minutes around the block, let your nervous system reset. The gnomes in your brain are doing more than you think.

5. Keep going

You don’t have to feel like a researcher to be one. Stay with it. Push your brain to think again.

We’ll keep going together 💛

P.S. If you’re trying to keep going—and it’s feeling lonely, chaotic, or like your brain’s doing backflips, come join us in The Sisterhood. We’re doing a daily writing challenge this month: low-pressure, high-accountability, and full of other women just like you who get it. It’s not about perfection. It’s about showing up—with your messy mind, your half-written sentences, and your tea-stained drafts.