u/BlueFernTheory

For most of college I was taught to outline first, then write. The problem was I kept spending an hour on an outline that I'd completely abandon by the third paragraph anyway.

What actually worked was flipping it. Write a rough draft with no structure in mind, just get the argument out however it comes. Then read it back and ask: what is this actually arguing, and in what order does it make the most sense to argue it. The outline comes from the draft, not the other way around.

The draft is usually a mess but it has the real argument in it somewhere. The outline I wrote before starting was always a guess about what the argument would be. The outline I write after a rough draft is a description of what the argument actually is.

Curious if anyone else found that the pre-writing planning was getting in the way more than it was helping, or if outlining first genuinely works for some people.

I work from home as a data analyst and my entire setup is plugged into a heavy duty power strip right under my desk. About two weeks ago, my two year old tabby discovered that if he crawls under there and stomps his fat paw directly onto the big glowing red switch, my monitors go black and my PC instantly dies. The first time it happened I thought it was a random power surge, but then I looked down and saw him just sitting there, staring right at me in the dark. 

He now uses this as a literal hostage situation whenever he wants attention or an early dinner. I can be right in the middle of compiling a massive dataset or talking to my manager on a live call, and I will hear the faint rustle of him sneaking under the wires. If I do not immediately drop what I am doing to throw a handful of treats across the room to distract him, he hits the switch. He has completely figured out the cause and effect of the situation because he only does it when I am actively typing and ignoring him. 

I tried blocking the area with heavy cardboard boxes but he just shreds them or squeezes through the gaps because he is surprisingly athletic when motivated by malice. I cannot easily move the power strip because of the short cord lengths on my dual monitors. I am genuinely terrified of losing data or frying my power supply at this point. I just need a practical way to cat proof a physical switch without causing a fire hazard under my desk.