Most people have experienced it at one point or another. The slow, painful realization that you have absolutely nothing to say and a whopper of a deadline coming up. Ah! Attack of writer's block! What's a bum to do to get those juices flowing? Staring at a computer screen for endless hours hasn’t helped yet, so here're a few suggestions:

1. Deal with your basic needs. Have you been on a thirty-hour jag? Not eaten since yesterday’s breakfast? Forgotten where the bathroom is located? Try taking care of yourself a bit. Sometimes the pressure can be immense to perform, but ignoring your physical self usually leads to a breakdown. So, if it’s been awhile since corporeal constraints were acknowledged, consider that you might need to attend to your body before it will produce great thoughts.

If you’ve taken care of the fundamentals and still can’t think, continue with:

2. Take a walk. It might seem counter-intuitive to advise abandoning the project, but oftentimes taking a break is the most effective way to jump start ideas. Exercise can be particularly helpful because endorphins and/or adrenaline tend to help boost your brainpower. When stuck in an office situation, this bum has been known to jump up and down in place. Colleagues may have laughed, but productivity defended itself. Can’t hurt to try it because you’re not getting anywhere just sitting there.

3. Change your workspace. A famous Jewish saying advises “change your place, change your luck,” so if you usually type on the couch switch to an armchair. If you sit at a desk, try working outside (a task more easily accomplished with a laptop). If you’re using a desktop to type, try re-arranging papers or adding an interest point (i.e. a flower or kush ball-remember those?). Sometimes exterior surroundings can jolt your brain into activity.

4. Just write. You may not have a clue about the topic at hand, but you probably can expound on something. The sheer act of writing may create enough momentum to carry you through to a relevant thought. You may end up with an amusing aside or a nonsensical rant, but perhaps the kernel of a useful idea is buried in the rambling. You never know until you try. So try.

5. Create motivation. Gold stars may be très passé in the office, but almost everyone responds to positive reinforcement of some sort. Whether you’re into ice cream sandwiches or checking your Facebook account, think of something fun (and relatively harmless) to dangle as a prize for steps in the right direction. First paragraph done? Great! You get a Starburst! Awesome topic picked? Go You! You get a massage. (Please do not engage in sexual harrassment or inappropriate conduct between employees. Or at least don’t credit us if you do.)

Good luck muchachos!