Procrastination and the writer

Procrastination is an irritation in everybody’s working life, no matter how self-disciplined you are, but for writers it’s a particularly common affliction. If you’re stuck on a chapter, struggling to find the right words or groping around for a delicate way to move things ahead without tripping up the storyline then procrastination will certainly sneak up on you. If you find yourself wiling away hours doing things other than what you’re supposed to be doing then your productivity is taking a brutal beating from the many little distractions dotted around the place. Naturally, everybody at some point has given in to procrastination and put off doing something whether that’s booking a doctor’s appointment, working or housework. I can guarantee there’s always something that needs doing but can wait… just a little bit longer. However, writers are especially prone to succumbing to the procrastination demon. Why? Well, I identify two main sources and it’s not necessarily down to having a short attention span or due to being weak willed. Rather it’s something that all writers have in common, well, the majority of writers anyway. We all work from home. Some of us like to meander to a café or other special spot to do a little writing but ultimately you decide where you go and when you’re going there. We’re all far too comfortable and in control of our work environment and home especially can hold many temptations.

Within your own home there’s probably a whole host of things you need to do; laundry, cooking, tidying up, furniture rearrangement or things you want to do; television, coffee, food, reading, napping. Home in general just makes us too comfortable and too relaxed. The discipline that usually comes with a work environment simply does not exist and like I say, we can just wander off at any given moment without anybody to answer to. A solution to this certainly lies in setting out a very defined area of work, preferably some kind of study. This defined area of work should most certainly be as clear and free of distractions as you can psychologically handle which means no television and no mobile phone. Anything you need to write with you should put in their prior to save yourself having to get up and wander off then get distracted along the way. Set out breaks in advance; ten minutes after two or three hours say, depending on how long you can concentrate for. Try to have in your mind how much work you can and should be doing a day; whether that’s a word count or a number of hours at the desk as, if you’re like me, you may get stuck doing some editing or re-writing so your word count doesn’t significantly change.

However, there is further reason that, for me, is a constant source of distraction; the internet. Now I love the internet, I’m 22 so all I’ve ever known is the internet and truly I’m the first person to wave its flag if it comes under fire;  so you can all trust me on this one. I’ve been logged onto the internet since I was around ten years old and, truthfully, that’s the problem; I’m still logged on.

These days, unless you’re a traditionalist, you probably spend most of your time writing in front of a computer because that tends to be where everything is located. Word documents, thesaurus, dictionary, Wikipedia for researching information for your book and your blog are often bits we like to flick through to aid us in our writing. I don’t always write on my laptop; sometimes I use a notepad but that’s only really for brainstorming and making lists because I find it easier that way. But for actual, full on writing I just use a Word processor. It’s easier to tinker with and it’s clear in front of my eyes so I can see what I’m doing and actually read what I’ve written due to otherwise atrociously scribbling and lazy handwriting

The problem with the computer of course is the internet. Everything non-writing related is roughly three or four clicks away and once you’re caught up in a link-storm there is virtually no way to escape. So somewhere between reading about how to correctly prepare a roast chicken and signing up for online courses in things I’ll never go through with I tend to find that, three hours later, my word count has not gone up by more than a dozen.

To make matters worse now, I’ll now be out of the groove of writing so, in an attempt to get back on course and do something productive I have a little potter about through my paragraphs. I’ll probably start with a little editing here and there, maybe a little grammar improvement and then after re-reading some bits I’ll flesh out some small and sloppy paragraphs I rushed through earlier. Ten minutes later and I’m scanning through news stories just in case a meteor has struck the country and I’m the only person unaware of it due to my busy, busy work schedule. Meteor threat avoided I’ll likely be browsing film reviews or even things that range into the ‘twenty fun facts about wild turkeys’ region. Don’t believe me? The average lifespan of a wild turkey is 3-5 years and the males are called toms. Procrastination is such a bitch.

Distracting creature.

                                                   

How do we avoid this? Well you could try turning off your internet but that’s a little brutal for my liking so, other than having the concentration and self-discipline of a Buddhist monk , I will link you some resources that will physically force you to stop pissing around and do some actual writing. A couple of the links are specific to certain platforms so have a quick check to see which applies to you first. Use them wisely, or not.

https://www.rescuetime.com/ - This one guilt trips you into spending your internet time more wisely by showing you which sites you keep visiting and rates it on a ‘how distracting’ scale for you. It shows you how long you’ve been on certain sites and bases your stats on that figure.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock/ - This is for Mozilla firefox, you download it and activate it in your add-on’s section. Quite simply it blocks any websites that otherwise distract you from your work, you can also set working time periods like between 9am to 5pm or, if you’d rather, set a timer on the block say; 20 minutes every two hours, or both if you’re feeling adventurous.

http://visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/  - This is for mac users only, macs are like a strange, unexplored planet to me so I couldn’t tell you how to use the damn thing. It is however like the others in which you can set yourself a timer, block some websites and get back to working.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strict-workflow/cgmnfnmlficgeijcalkgnnkigkefkbhd/reviews?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon – Chrome users only for this one. In Strict Workforce you can enforce a 25 minute work timer with some 5 minute breaks in there, you can also configure which websites to block yourself from whilst the work timer is ticking away. Just make sure you don't block anything you need to access during that time.