On Writer's Block...and How to Un-Block ItI

I am overwhelmed with this thesis right now. As everyone warned me, qualitative data is immense, and complex, and not easily whittled down into a normal-sized paper. And I have at least three separate research questions. I probably could do a traditional 30-page research paper, but what I really want is to be able to boil it down to its essence. Call it the positivist scientist in me, or maybe just the pragmatist. People do tend to lose focus after 10 pages!

So here I am, trying to figure out how to move past the panic into a more functional mindset. And I have come upon a discovery that works, I think. Instrumental music. I can't focus on music that's particularly loud or that has lyrics while I work, because it distracts me and I can't think over the thoughts the music is generating. But if I listen to soft instrumental music, it helps. And it unblocks me.

Now I have theory as to why this is. Instrumental music (especially jazz, but also classical, etc) is all about complex patterns. Qualitative research is all about finding patterns that reflect the complexity of your data. So it makes sense that listening to patterns would help align your brain and get it ready for pattern-finding. A lot of analysis and work that I do is pattern finding, so maybe that's why I've always liked working to instrumental music or just silence.

I'm going to go test this theory on myself right now. If you're reading this, good luck with whatever you are working on, too!