Procrastination - Shirley S. Tye

According to an article in Psychology Today magazine, 20% of people chronically procrastinate. I entered that group two or three years ago.  Difficult duties, jobs that seem just too big, or tasks that fail to grab my interest, are always put off to a more suitable time.  Of course a more suitable time never materializes unless a deadline looms. And since there is no deadline to complete the novel I’ve been working on for …I don’t know how long...there it sits on the bookshelf collecting dust. 

Why do people procrastinate? Apparently it is linked with motivation.  And what motives a person?  The value or the importance of the work will motivate a person.  Bingo!  Well, there we have it, folks!  I just don’t find my novel important enough to finish. Mind you, if someone offered enough money to get it to the publishing phase, I’d be hitting the keyboard swiftly.  But alas!  No one will offer cash to an unknown writer to complete a novel that may or may not become a hot seller. So then…how shall I motivate myself?  

Sometimes I daydream about my novel.  I dream that it is published and many copies have sold.  It’s a hot seller locally because the story takes place in a near-by ghost town.  In the story, the town is a thriving little community in the present time where a touching love story unfolds and characters come to life.  Readers connect and relate to the characters and this in turn stirs their interest in the ghost town.  They form a strong lobby causing the Canadian government to take more seriously the plight of the village remnants, the neglected pioneer cemeteries, and the lumber history of the area. Soon the village and cemeteries are tidied up, plaques are placed to indicate where some of the buildings had stood, a few benches are placed under the trees facing the lake, a gazebo is erected on the beach, a replica of the general store is constructed, and the abandoned restaurant is re-opened.  Oh, what a lovely dream! Isn’t that enough to motivate me? 

Yes, it’s just a dream but it could come true – or at least, part of it.  Well now, I guess the only thing to do is to pull myself up by the bootstraps.  

Finish Well — with a little help by Dayna Mazzuca

three things to help Finish the Work

by Dayna E. Mazzuca 

 

 

In the Gospel of John, chapter 17, JESUS SAYS: “I have glorified you by finishing the work you gave me to do.” Today the red letters come alive for me. Between the lines I read: finish the work, the task of writing. Specifically, to follow up the pile of ideas tucked in my “Idea File.” The file is currently bulging with pink and yellow sticky notes. The coil notebook laying open beside it is filling up fast with more ideas-waiting-to-happen. There’s also a pretty blue “ideas book” in my purse with enough ideas to last the year and various notes jotted down on parking receipts and to-do lists covering my desktop. Ideas abound, praise the Lord. But where is the Time to Finish the Work?

These ideas are Important. They are essays-waiting-to-written. Poems-waiting-to-be-composed.
They are books-in-the-making!

FINDING TIME

If I could find the time, I could/would finish the work God has put in my hands to finish. I could take the unlit candle off the shelf, light it and lead others along the path I’ve been blessed to find. I could take the flashlight and install four new “D” batteries, push the switch forward and shine the light into the pile of “undone stuff” now burying the best of my friends, helping them to tunnel through to the light of day. I could mount the stairs of the lighthouse and guide the wayward home. I could do it all. IF I could find time.

Where is this time and why is it important to finish the work? To put the finishing touches on my third collection of poems to accompany the spoken poetry blog I recently launched? To compile the notes for various workshops into a book-length project? To prioritize the essays I want to write to those living (and dying) on overwhelm?

WHAT’S REALLY STOPPING ME? 

I have space, ability, technical support, connections and a track record of publishing. But this month—so full of potential and fresh energy—seems to be off to a slow start. This year seems off to a slow start. What is going on?

I AM MISSING THREE THINGS: 

      1. DEADLINES

As a former journalist, I never missed a deadline. But as a freelancer working from home, I have no deadlines. So, I meander, pause and wander off to clean the floor, make soup, buy new sharpies. My writing comes last because there is no urgency. There is no deadline: I do not keep the end in sight because there is no end! Open-ended projects are destined to pad out the Idea File, adding their slight heft to my sense of being... YET UNDONE. Sigh. 

While I do not miss the tantrums of tortured editors banging down my door, I do miss the built-in success of always-motivating red flag deadlines. I used to write 32 stories a week, error free. Today, an idea can languish on my desk for years… I need deadlines.

            2. A PARTNER in planning and execution

A writing buddy. Someone to talk shop: “What are you working on this year?” “What deadlines have you set for yourself?” “How are you planning on prioritizing your projects?” “When can I check in with you again to make sure we’re on track?” “Let’s meet for coffee and go over this in person once a month.” Having a boss was the bane of my professional writing stint, but having a hard-core friend to my writing who takes freelancing as seriously as I do on a good day would be great! 

btw - I've noticed an offer or two on this wonderful Blog to join forces... THANKS. 

I look forward to forging mutually strengthening links!

            3. THE BIG PICTURE

I can envision the finished poetry book (and even spoken album). I can see the workshops materializing into a book. I can see the essays being a blessing to many. But I have trouble seeing myself as a communication-hub, my writing as a business, my content as dovetailing with a coherent, helpful message.

I need help putting the potential of my writing in perspective. I don’t mind sharing ideas through spoken, printed or published means, but to see myself in the category of an Ann Voskamp, Mark Buchanan or Malcolm Guite is a bit of a stretch. These in-their-niche godly, professional communicators have built a brand around their work, and their lives! Do I want my work and my life to become a brand? Do I want to be a brand?? I’m not convinced.

But. I do want to share well and widely. To create venues for content and extend invitations to others to enter more deeply into a consideration of their faith and the work they’re called to. I do want to do that. To finish that work.

If I could find the time.

IN THE  MEANTIME - Please join me for the INSCRIBE WORDSHOP on March 18 I'm facilitating in Edmonton this year— at WRITE ON TARGET, you'll find out how to Reach Your Reader by 1) identifying your Type (there are 5Types of Readers) 2) tailoring your writing to their reading needs and preferences and 3) aligning your work to the markets your reader visits. A hands-on day to take your writing to the next level. 

REGISTER online.

VISIT DAYNA -

www.daynawrites.com

The Plan by Glynis M Belec

I just about fell off my new office chair when I saw the prompt for this month. You know the one about staying on track and handling unfinished projects. And then the major guilt trip about how God might be prompting me to finish the unfinished projects (the guilt trip part was my doing). Ugh. 

I have SO many unfinished projects and manuscripts that if I died tomorrow my family would really discover the wayward, procrastinating 'brain' they called wife and mother. Come to think of it, maybe it wouldn't be a huge shock. They are used to my spurts of energy and brilliant ideas interspersed with a million things in any given week. Let's just say they could put it all together and create a small library! 

I guess, maybe what I am trying to say is I have a lot on the go, so pacing myself is a biggie. Staying on track is a struggle but I find if I keep my agenda current it helps. I prepare an agenda every night for the next day. It's the only way I can function properly. Lists make me focus. I always have a hundred incredible ideas that explode on a page but usually I can't find enough time to complete them and I am afraid I will forget them. So I have learned my green 'idea' ledger is the best place for me to begin the initial explosion. 

When I get that 'Full Brain Feeling' that's when I stop and pause and remember that my plans don't always measure up with God's. Then I pray. Then I stop flitting for a minute. Then I trust all over again.  

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you 

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

I listened to my hubby give the message this past weekend in a local church. His topic was on service. At one point he spoke about how service, in whatever form it takes consists of seven essential elements. I liked that approach and started thinking of these elements from a writerly perspective and decided it might be a jolly good way for me to regroup. 

1. Willingness

     Is my motivation pure and right and am I willing to allow the Holy Spirit to led me to complete the project I am supposed to complete? 

     For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
2 Corinthians 8:12

2. Attitude

     Do I have a good attitude about my gift and am I striving for excellence that glorifies God and not self? 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

3. Compassion

     Am I making my writing life all about me or am I making sure I take the time to help other writers who might benefit from my experience? 

     Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts... Colossians 3:12a

4. Organization

     Do I plan? Are the goals I set - even the daily ones - realistic and attainable? Is my workspace clear and uncluttered (is my brain uncluttered?) Do I keep current in my craft? God is a God of order. am I striving for that?

    But all things should be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40

5. Tasks

     Do I just talk about the great things I could do or write or do I actually do them? Talking is merely procrastination. The proof is in the pudding. How's my work ethic. Do I keep deadlines? 

     Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3

6. Flexibility

     I am called to write. But first I am called to love. I haven't to feel guilty if I put a project on hold, temporarily to help someone with a greater need. Random acts of kindness can't wait. 

     For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phillipians 2:13

7. Obedience

     Am I really writing what God wants me to? If I believe my words are a gift from God and He has given me the ability and the opportunity to pour the on a page, it's my responsibility to follow through. Am I trusting and obeying? 

    But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

 ~

          So I guess now that I have laid out 'the plan,' it's in my lap now. Note to self: Check back in a year to see if I practiced what I preached. 

I'm trying. Really. 

         How about you? 

                                     ~

Moving Past Failure by Susan Barclay

This month’s Inscribe writing prompt asks the following:

• Do you struggle with unfinished projects?
• How do you stay on task until your project is completed?
•  As you think of this topic, how is God prompting you to finish the unfinished?

This is about how old I was when I started (ugh).

Do I struggle? Ha! Journey with me over the last number of years I’ve been a contributor to Inscribe Writers Online and you will see that I’ve been talking about this for over FIVE years!! In fact, I mention it over TEN times in my posts over that period. Here's a sampling:

Jan 30, 2012 “As for the novel, I'm in the home stretch, and started it about eight years ago, so it's definitely time to wrap it up.”

November 30, 2013 “I've recently pulled out my unfinished novel and begun to write the pivotal, climactic scene.”  “As I push toward completion of my novel's first draft…” 
 
May 30, 2014 “my focus this year has been on the novel I started ten years ago… While I had hoped to complete the novel by the end of June, it looks like I'll have to extend my deadline to the end of the year.”

October 30, 2014 “I was hoping that this would be the year I'd finish it so I could move on to the next stage of getting it ready for publication, but a couple of major things have happened to make that improbable.”Sept 30, 2016 “As far as my writing goals go, I’m still hoping to finish my novel this year.”

Yes, I am still "working" on it.

Now for link two in the chain of questions: how do you stay on task? 

Clearly I don’t!

Totally a fight to do the right thing.

In September 2011, I talked about "bum glue" – “you must apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair… If you want to succeed in the call that God has placed on your heart, you must make the commitment to apply yourself daily to the task He's placed before you.” Good advice, if you follow it.

In January 2014 I wrote: “I knew where things were going to end up; I just didn't know how I was going to get there. So I wrapped [the novel] in blankets and focused on other projects, including picture books, short stories and personal experience pieces. From time to time I'd hit on an idea, pull back the covers...try out some thoughts, and put it to bed again.”

In May of that year I confessed: “I don’t work from a detailed outline and tend to go with the flow, an approach that has both its challenges and its joys.”

But enough! How is God now prompting me to finish the unfinished?

I’ve been reading David A.R. White’s book Between Heaven and Hollywood: Chasing Your God-Given Dream. In it, he devotes an entire section as to why some never succeed. In short: they give up when it is harder than they thought it would be; they are indecisive, lack confidence, or are unwilling to adapt; or, they are experiencing spiritual warfare. White (of God's Not Dead 2 fame) points out that hard times reveal who you are, and can also serve to improve or train you.

What do these thoughts from the book have to do with me finishing the unfinished? For starters, they prompt me to identify what may be holding me back: 

• Writing a novel is hard work. I'm not sure it's harder than I thought it would be, but it's certainly taking longer than I thought it would;
• I've shown a lack of decisiveness in my ability to clear out the physical clutter that gets in the way of creative juices; 
• I've shown a lack of decisiveness in my ability to commit to a structured writing schedule;
• I've failed to protect my writing time by taking phone calls and getting side-tracked by frivolous online activities.

If I take care of the latter three points, the first may take care of itself! These are changeable things - not easily perhaps as they mean breaking bad habits, initiating good ones, and working to prevent interruptions - but it can be done. 

Today I choose to move past failure, the failure to complete. I determine to put my writing time into my weekly calendar and to protect that time. I determine to clear away book and paper clutter. Now to find accountability partners to make sure I do this and stay on track. If you are in need of a partner to help you in similar ways, please contact me through the Inscribe Facebook group and let's move past failure together!
_______________

Please visit Susan at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.ca