THE FINE ART OF PROCRASTINATION
by
Victoria Chatham
I’ve been
thinking about this article for nearly a month. The words, like the tide, have
flowed into and out of my brain while I have been gardening, driving, doing
laundry or
walking in the park. At no juncture have they actually made it as
far as the page until now.
Oh, before I
write anymore, just let me go and get a cup of coffee. And the mailman has just
arrived. What could he have brought for me today? Caffeine fix and my curiosity
satisfied, now it’s time to sit down at my computer but before I start writing
I’ll just check my e-mails. A quick glance at the clock tells me I have time
for one round of solitaire, spider solitaire that is. Recognize the pattern?
Yup, it’s that painless, non-invasive but infuriating malady with which many
writers are afflicted.
Procrastination.
Why do we
procrastinate? There is a plethora of suppositions as to why we do it. Fear of
failure, fear of success, poor time management skills, being an adrenalin
junkie and sheer hedonism are the most recognizable of them.
At one end of
the scale procrastination can be no more than a nuisance but at the other end,
and depending on the weight we give it, it can be so frustrating it results in
depression. As with many habits, procrastination may well have its roots in
childhood. The more authoritarian the household, the more possibility there is
that at least one of the offspring of that household will rebel from the strict
rules with which they grew up. Once free of parental restrictions, and never
having been taught how to make structured choices, procrastination then becomes
a habit as that person constantly puts off doing things simply because they
can. Personal procrastination is one thing but a habitual procrastinator, particularly
in the workplace, can become highly unpopular if their habit constantly shifts
responsibilities on to others.
Procrastinators
are frequently perfectionists and perfectionists can be highly self-critical.
Their fear of failure holds them back because, if they can’t write to the best
of, if not beyond, their ability, then they won’t write at all. Or, their first
line, sentence, paragraph, page, chapter has to be perfect so they will
diligently write and re-write usually to the point that they never finish what
they began. They may consider that they
do not or cannot write as well as someone else.
Sadly, it might never cross their mind that the authors they so admire
may have started out from the same point as themselves but instead of saying ‘I
can’t’, they said, ‘I can’, and so took the first step on their particular
writing pathway.
Fear of
success can be as debilitating as the fear of failure for some writers. They
know success in the form of getting their first book published will take them
out of their comfort zone, and do they really want that? As much as they might
yearn for professional recognition and the thrill of holding their own book in
their hands, they know their time will then not be their own. There will be
revisions and copy edits and galley proofs. There will be deadlines to meet and
editors to answer to as well as making time for parents, husbands, children,
pets, jobs and friends. The prospect of juggling all that, and possibly
jeopardizing relationships in the process, can be too daunting for some so,
again, fear gets the better of their ambition and halts it in its tracks.
The question
must also be asked, ‘how fast can you really write?’ Time management skills
become crucial for a writer, especially if the writing has to be sandwiched
between the daytime job and family life as previously mentioned. How long does
it actually take you to walk your dog? Do you allow enough time for the weekly
trip to the grocery store? How long does it take you to read and revise your
work? Some writers have mastered the skill of being able to write in a small
block of time, even twenty minutes or less.
One writer I
know uses her twice-daily commute to write, scribbling diligently to the rock
and roll motion of the train. During her lunchtime she transcribes her notes at
her office and then e-mails them to herself to add to her manuscript at home in
the evening. She devotes her week to her job and her writing and then relaxes
and socializes at the weekend. A procrastinator, on the other hand, may well take
the view that they can write nothing worthwhile in twenty minutes. If they
can’t sit down at the keyboard for four (or more) hours straight, then they may
consider it is just not worth the effort so they do nothing.
We all know
the adrenalin junkie. That’s the person who lives life on the edge. The person
who barely makes the bus stop on time in the morning, who scrapes into the
office a whisker past their start time and with some tale or other as to why
they are late, the person who hands in their project at the last possible
moment or, for reasons best known to themselves, begs another hour or two
because ‘a light bulb just went on’ and they have just had their best idea yet
and they know the boss is going to love it.
Then there is your typical ‘pantser’, someone who just sits down at the
computer and lets rip with a furious burst of writing because they just have to
finish this chapter or get that article out and with precious little time now
in which to do it.
Hedonism is
my particular brand of procrastination and it’s taken me a long time to admit
it. A glass of wine and a lively discussion with a friend or group of friends
beats the loneliness of the long distance writer. A clear blue sky and balmy
breeze beckons irresistibly. I love the great out doors whatever the time of
year. I get my best ideas when I am walking or working in a yard with my
fingers deep in the soil. I find research fascinating, digging up some obscure
fact that may or may not be useful at some time or another. Shutting myself off
to actually sit down at my computer and write is almost torture but there is
enough of the writer in me to keep me at it.
Is there hope
of overcoming procrastination? As with any problem, recognizing it is the first
step in dealing with it. Procrastination is a habit and one habit can be
replaced with another although, as Dr. Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D, associate
professor of psychology at De Paul University in Chicago says, ‘Telling someone
who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic
depression to just cheer up’. Buying a planner might work for some and clearly
not others but there are many tricks and tips to re-program oneself and develop
new work habits.
Can’t work in
a messy environment? Clear just enough space on your desk or tabletop and work
there. Ignore the fact that the living room needs vacuuming, there’s a pile of
ironing in the basket or the bathroom needs cleaning. If you must clean or
iron, do it after you have completed your writing project. Consider you haven’t
done enough research? Work with what you have got. If you do research for the
sake of it, however interesting it may be, you will end up with far more information
than you need. Believe me – on this subject I know well of which I write. Don’t
have enough time? Decide for how long you will write and on which day. Set a
timer if necessary. Make the decision and stick to it. Holding yourself back
because you’re not sure how to set up a scene or make the most of dialogue? Get
a good craft book or ask your peers. Be kind to yourself as you progress.
Reward yourself for each successful step you take, whether it’s a walk in the
park, a glass of wine, decadent chocolate or a candlelit soak in the tub.
And for this
procrastinator? Right now my reward for completing this article is a glass of
red wine.
Victoria Chatham's
latest release is On Borrowed Time, Book Two in the Buxton Chronicles Series.
Find this title here: http://amzn.com/B00IWGKQWG
and find Victoria here:
