Ask most academics about their academic writing process, and you’ll hear a familiar refrain: ‘I’ll write it up when the research is done.’ This seemingly logical approach – conducting research first and writing later – is deeply embedded in academic culture. But what if treating writing as the final step is actually holding us back? What if writing isn’t just how we document our work, but a fundamental part of how we think and develop ideas?

There are two main problems that emerge when we think in terms of ‘writing it up’ as a final step.

1. It reduces writing to a single step that, at least psychologically, feels easy. You’ve done the work, and now you just need to describe it. And we all know that writing isn’t that easy.
2. Writing is thinking, and having a poor conception of a project is never clearer than when you try to put words on a page. Writing every day helps you to identify where your thinking is fuzzy.

Writing is not a straightforward “final step” of transcribing completed thoughts. Writing is an iterative process that’s interwoven with thinking and analysis at every stage of a project. From the first notes we take to the final pre-submission editing, writing is how we grapple with knowledge and sharpen our ideas.

Notes on paper, or on a computer screen do not make contemporary physics or other kinds of intellectual endeavor easier, they make it possible … no matter how internal processes are implemented you need to understand the extent to which the mind is reliant upon external scaffolding.

Levy, N. (2011). Neuroethics and the Extended Mind. In Illes, J. & Sahakian, B.J. (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics.

Implementing a daily writing practice

• Start before you’re ready. Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Begin writing as soon as you have initial thoughts – even 15 minutes of exploratory writing can help clarify your thinking and create momentum.
• Protect your peak writing hours. Identify when you do your best writing and block this time in your calendar. Treat it as non-negotiable, just like you would a meeting with your supervisor.
• Lower the stakes. Not every writing session needs to produce polished prose. Use rough notes, bullet points, or stream-of-consciousness writing to get ideas flowing. You can refine later.
• Create a dedicated writing space. Set up a specific physical or digital environment for writing, free from distractions like email notifications. Having a designated writing space helps your brain transition into writing mode.
• Track your progress. Keep a simple log of your writing sessions – date, time spent, and brief notes about what you worked on. This builds accountability and helps identify patterns in your practice.

Some of the most insightful academic writing emerges through the very process of trying to write, not after the fact. And engaging in some form of daily writing practice can help identify gaps or fuzziness in our thinking. For academics, writing is not the outcome of completed work – it is the work itself, an integral part of our process of analysis, synthesis and knowledge creation. Approaching it as such can unlock more productive and insightful writing practice.

Writing isn’t what you do when the work is done. Writing is the work.