P is for Procrastination by Carol Harrison

 

P is for Procrastination

Procrastination. I am good at that. Do you ever struggle with procrastinating?

Procrastination is the act or habit of delaying or postponing some task that needs to be done, whether it is around the house, at work, or in our writing. I have always tended to procrastinate some things and I am in a season right now where procrastination seems to loom large in everyday life. Tasks appear to be larger than they really are. The tiredness due to health concerns and grief make motivating myself difficult. What causes you to put things off?

Some of the causes of procrastination for various people include:

-        Fear of failure

-        Lack of clarity about the task

-        Lack of structure

-        Perfectionism

-        Laziness

-        Allowing good reasons to become excuses once the reason is no longer valid

I’ve been reading (another way I procrastinate) about ways to overcome these various causes of procrastination. Even good things can sometimes become those excuses to delay doing a necessary task such as reading. It is a good thing for writers to engage in but I’ve found myself reading so much other things get left undone.

Fear of failure:

-        Start with small steps that are manageable as you work towards a larger end goal.

-        Build your confidence by taking small steps

-        Listen to what others have said about your writing. Read critiques you received. Sometimes our mind only sees the negatives and forgets to look at the positives.

Lack of clarity:

-        Can you break down the task into smaller steps – stepping stones to reaching the destination of a job completed?

-        Having deadlines to work towards gives a clearer vision of necessary timelines for your goals. I seem to work better when there are deadlines, even self-imposed ones.

Lack of Structure

-        Find a place that works for you to concentrate on your writing – a dedicated space if that is what works for you.

-        Figure out a designated time of day that is optimal for you to accomplish some writing or editing.

-        Remember that editing and marketing are part of the writing journey too.

 

Lack of Motivation

-        Is there some physical reason for lacking motivation? Is there a health concern or a need to step back from tasks for a short time due to circumstances?

-        Get an accountability partner. I have people who ask me how my writing is coming, what I’m working on, and how I’m feeling about the entire process. They also pray for me as I write or speak.

-        Accountability partners can also help with goal setting or breaking those goals into smaller steps on your to-do list. My one daughter reminds me to look back at what I’ve crossed off the to-do list and get a picture of the done list to see what I’ve managed to accomplish.

There are likely many more tips you’ve encountered or that work for you regarding this topic of procrastination. It has been a good exercise for me to take a look at why I procrastinate and get some ideas about how to overcome it. Now to put them into practice sooner rather than some time in the future.  

 

 Carol Harrison writes and often procrastinates from her home in Saskatoon. She loves exploring other adventures through spending time researching family history and reading.

 

Distractions Abound by Carol Harrison

 

Distractions lurk around every twist in the journey or some days they seem to be part of the underbrush that threatens to block my path forward. Other times the trail seems cleared of obstructions and things to distract my attention. 

There are several times when fighting off distractions is the most difficult for me to do. One is when I am uncertain of the project I’m working on. The other is when I’m trying to discern what the next project is supposed to be from my list of ideas.

Dealing with uncertainty in my life makes me very vulnerable to distractions even though not all distractions are bad in themselves. Some allow me to take a break which helps me regroup, recharge, and refresh my thoughts allowing me to notice those God nudges. These include getting lost in the pages of a good book or crafting, Paper crafting like making cards, junk journals or scrapbooking, is a great way of expressing creativity in another form and good for my mental health.

Reading is an activity that all writers should engage in and most find very enjoyable. It
can be a key to improving our writing skills, do market research, and provide enjoyment as well. At times I’ve read something that sparks an idea of my own which can be developed later into a story or book. When that happens, I take a moment to jot it down so I can revisit it later.

Other distractions are just that – something that pulls me away from what I should be doing. These take too much time – often wasted time which leave me feeling guilty about not following through on what I should be doing – writing. How do I combat falling into these distractions?

Deadlines help me focus my time and energy. I hate missing a deadline so it becomes much easier for me to push the distractions, even good ones, aside until I finish the project and hand it in. So I often set self-imposed deadlines to help me accomplish what I think needs to be done.

Lists also help me focus. At the beginning of each month I type up a list of what I know needs to be done that month. Then I add other things I would like to finish. The lists grow in length because I add many small steps to them. When I check them off, I feel like I am moving forward. Occasionally distractions get in the way and I let them push aside things on the list. At other times, events happen that I didn’t expect and the list needs to be reprioritized accordingly. No matter how many plans I make to help me avoid distractions, I’ve come to realize they need to be held loosely for God is the one to ultimately be the one to open doors and guide me to work on what He deems the most important at the moment. I want to be willing and able to obey.

After I make the lists and add in the deadlines, I send the list to my daughter to help keep me accountable. This seems to help as well. Accountability partners are a great resource in fighting distractions if you allow them to be. That can be easier said than done at times.

These ideas seem to work well for me. However, there are still many times I allow the distractions to win, especially those good ones like reading and paper crafting. I need to remember to enjoy each day, take breaks, and spend time in God’s Word so I am hearing His voice and not the distracting negative monkey voices. 

 

Carol Harrison writes, crafts, and finds other distractions from her home in Saskatoon. She

is trying to focus on editing book 4 in the Prairie Hope series and write book 5 as soon as she carves out a chunk of time. https://www.carolscorner.ca

Is it Time to Give Up? by Steph Beth Nickel

A modified version of this post, focusing on wellness, will appear on Kimberley Payne’s blog this month.

Giving up. Admitting defeat. Conceding failure.

None of us wants to do any of these things. But we may have to.

What should we give up?

Including too many items on our To Do list.

Oddly enough, it seems the first things we relegate to the bottom of the list are those things we know we should do. However, if we only include the most important items, our highest priorities, on our To Do list and seek to accomplish them first, we may be pleasantly surprised that we can actually add additional things to the list.

Saying yes to “just one more task.”

Many, if not most, of us feel overwhelmed by what we think we should do—at work, at home, in our community. And yet, when someone asks us to take on one more thing, especially something we’d like to do, we try hard to fit it into a schedule that already includes too much.

Not paring down our list of responsibilities.

This can be difficult. We look at our schedule and can’t imagine setting aside anything, at least not permanently. But maybe it’s time to take a hard look at our priorities and see that what we include on our To Do list lines up with those priorities. We may have to decline things we really want to do, things others think we should do, even things we promised to do. It isn’t easy, but many of us need to give it serious consideration.

Ignoring healthy habits.

Regular exercise. Healthy eating. Adequate sleep. This could be considered the trifecta of healthy living. Eventually, all our responsibilities and relationships will suffer if we don’t tend to our health. We may feel as if we don’t have time to stay active, prepare homecooked meals with fresh ingredients, and get enough sleep. However, at the risk of sounding cliché, we don’t have time not to do so.

Procrastinating.

Oddly enough, when our To Do list is too long, we often relegate the most important things to last place. These things may very well include behaviours that constitute healthy living. If we’re not willing to pare down our To Do list—either the things we really don’t have time to do well or those things we do because we’re avoiding important items on our list (things like binge watching our favourite Netflix series for example)—those things that lead to physical, emotional, and mental health will be put off for another day.

Not seeking accountability.

Some people are incredibly self-disciplined and accomplish most—if not all—of what they set their mind to. But for the rest of us, partnering up with an accountability partner can be a great way to stay on track.

What will you have to give up to accomplish what you want to do this week?