Writers, You Know You’re Procrastinating When…
I find it wildly amusing that I procrastinated on this blog. This blog about procrastination. I was going to start it in the morning, but then got caught up in some emails. My stomach started to growl and I knew I’d be much more efficient with food, so I left the house for a quick brunch. When I got back home my friend called from out of the country, so I just had to answer and make sure she tried out my favorite restaurant. Now, before I know it, it’s 3:30 pm and if it weren’t for those annoying deadlines, I’d most definitely put this off until next week.
They say ‘write what you know.’ If that’s the case, all writers should write about this. Procrastination is so common that it feels like a natural part of the writing process. Read on to determine if you’re procrastinating or simply seizing opportunities to be proactive in other areas. Or if you’re in the mood to have your toes stepped on.
Writers, You Know You’re Procrastinating When…
- You Exercise. After not working out for months, you decide now’s the time to get back in the gym –right in the middle of a scheduled writing session. Unfortunately, it’ll take a while to renew your membership, get reacquainted with the staff, and to figure out all the equipment.
- You eat. Again. You ate half an hour ago but as you sit there looking at the computer screen, you realize that you could really go for some cookies. Man, you don’t have any – looks like you’ll have to drive across town to get the ones you love.
- You rearrange furniture. Your space has looked the same for years but for some reason, all the furniture in your living room feels wrong today. After an hour of playing interior designer, you’ve exhausted yourself from all the heavy lifting and need a break.
- You start conversations. You’ve complained about your roommate talking your ear off, distracting you from work. But today, you knock on his door, pull up a chair, and ask him how that date went three weeks ago.
- You check social media. You hop on Facebook – just to check a quick message – and an hour later you’ve learned WAY too much about an acquaintance from the 3rd grade. The good news is her husband is now back on his feet after losing such a good job with benefits and Jenny (her oldest) just got a band scholarship. “Like.”
- You start spring-cleaning. Suddenly, the dust on top of your ceiling fan drives you mad. But in order to clean the top of the fan, you must be prepared to clean everything that falls under it. And that rug needs to be moved before you do it. In fact, it could use a good shampooing.
- You make calls. After putting off that conversation with your grandmother, you decide it can’t wait a moment longer. While you’re at it, you might as well check in on Uncle Eddie and Aunt Karen (the talkers in the family).
- You become an accountant. All of a sudden you have a burning desire to go through your receipts with a fine-tooth comb and categorize them according to date. No, wait… Item. No, wait… Amount. This is gonna take a while.
- You organize. You start organizing random things that you didn’t even know needed it until now. Gmail inbox folders. Phone contacts. Paper clips. You’ll be able to work after everything is in order, whenever that perfect day comes.
- You nitpick. You’re ready to work, but something isn’t right about your pen – it’s not writing the way you’d like it to. And your paper doesn’t really feel creative. You’d rather have a nice notebook for this project. Time to go to Staples for all the necessities (that you already have).
- You create drama. There’s a little temptation to start mischief with your friends, significant other, or family member. You know what pushes their buttons and you’re suddenly in the button-pushing mood. “No Sarah, I didn’t say you have a bad haircut, I just said it wasn’t my personal favorite.”
- You over-edit. You get so fixated on a certain word or phrase in your project that you spend half an hour deciding if you should use a dash or a semi-colon.
- You go down the Internet hole. Now is also a great time to research the history of the semi-colon and to take an online survey that goes into detail about what your punctuation choice says about your personality.
Any of these sound familiar? Let me know if I’ve missed one!
David L. Hancock, Founder
Morgan James Publishing