Beating Back Procrastination
The inspiration came from a question over at Christian Writers. The day can speed past without one word written, particularly when I work hard or my reasons NOT to write. Have you ever had a reason not to write?
Reasons NOT to Write
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10. The three year old is awake.
9. Someone needs to cook.
8. We are out of coffee.
7. I have had too much coffee.
6. I MUST retweet!
5. I will write while I watch the game.
4. I will write after the game.
3. My muse is on vacation.
2. I need to make a schedule for my writing so I can get my writing done.
And my number one reason for NOT writing . . .
I have already wasted most of today so I will just stop now and start early and fresh tomorrow!
What is your best excuse for not writing? Or for doing what ever it is that you know to do?
Although this post started in jest, I quickly saw my reality in the words. It can be easy for me to make up reasons not to do what I know to do. There is always an excuse. Procrastination lurks around seeking to destroy dreams. If I choose the excuse instead of pursing the passion then I will miss the blessings.
Just as the sun breaks over the mountain and the light splashes over my face, I am resolved to push procrastination out the door. Thank you for that first blessing of this day!
For my novel, it’s usually not knowing exactly what comes next; so I mentally brainstorm while I occupy myself with household duties. For any other project, I either don’t have all the information I need or the mental energy to pursue the writing task cohesively. Plus I like to read in my genre (which is ultimately a good thing) when I could be writing. I think there needs to be a balance. I have a visual writing calendar I use that shows me every day what I’m accomplishing. When I see too many white squares and not enough writing, I make some plans and priorities and get to work!
Visual is great – I can just spend my time making the visuals and NOT actually writing 😀 The tips and suggestions I’m getting from other NaNo participants is helping me find the tools that I will use to write and not just use to eat up time.
I’ve been working on my second manuscript. The procrastination bug shows up as: “I need to research this on the Internet.” I’m wise to these wiley thoughts, and counter, “no, I’ll write this scene and deal with any problems in the edits.”
Thanks for the entertaining reasons (but real) reasons we procrastinate. I particularly felt a “ping” (that’s me) on the “I’ve already wasted…” one. Ouch.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂