Procrastination Stole $200 from My Writing Income

It is so easy for me to put off a deadline when the editor tells me something along the lines of “just get it to me when you can.” Even if I give myself a definitive deadline, it just doesn’t seem to have the same effect. I need the structure. I crave the organization. I thrive when I know the what, the when and the how long.

I know that procrastination causes me problems. It builds up my work load so that I end up stressing out at some point and time. Procrastination causes me to feel guilty because I can’t help out a friend in need or because I’m once again putting off the work when I choose to help that friend.

The problems caused by Procrastination took on a whole new reality for me today. Putting off my work load – even though it was perfectly okay to put off that work load – cost me big. I sent in one project to an editor I work for and he informed me that the projects he had recently assigned me had been cut. If I had already completed the work that I was suppose to have done then he would have paid me for those articles. Instead of getting paid I get to try to figure out some way to fill that deficit in my budget plan.

I have learned a hard lesson – and the sad thing is that it is one that I already know. YOU CAN’T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW BECAUSE TOMORROW MIGHT NOT COME. Putting off a writing assignment could leave me without an assignment. Putting off dropping that bad habit could leave me without the time or health to change that habit. Putting off starting that novel will definitely mean that I NEVER finish it.

Procrastination will not get the better of me in the end. He may have won this $200 battle but I will win the war. There are things that I’m already attempting to do (and that I will find some way to do consistently) and things that I need to do to make Procrastination a thing of my past.

1. Working for one hour straight before taking a break or surfing the web will help me push through the tough gigs that I don’t really want to deal with.

2. Planning out my schedule so that work which requires concentration is done when the kids and the husband are asleep will help me to utilize the other times more efficiently (like surfing the web or answering emails).

3. Keeping a day runner with each of my current projects written down each evening or each morning and also writing down any deadlines that might actually be assigned will help me have a visual representation of what I need to do but also what I have accomplished – and it will all be at a glance. The added bonus is that I can carry it with me when I go places so that I don’t end up scheduling events or activities on those days when I have a full workload.

4. Finishing one more project or one more article right now before I turn off my computer will help me to get beyond the concept of just starting fresh in the morning. I refuse to have another project fall by the wayside.

5. Cleaning up my desk and getting ready for the next days work will help me to be focused on what I need to do when I do start fresh in the morning. I will not be distracted by the accumulating clutters overflowing all around me.

Overcoming Procrastination is something that I have always worked towards but the motivation to defeat it has become stronger than ever after seeing that money swirl down the drain. The war is on and there is no room for defeat on my end.