Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Procrastination Buster

I have to admit it. I'm an expert at procrastination, especially when it comes to avoiding work. I don't know what I do, but I can sit in front of the computer (promising that I'll start writing) and before I know it several hours have passed.

Yeah, I know, with the amount of time I sit in front of the computer I could have a dozen novels written right now, but alas, my need to procrastinate is still there.

So, how can one person aim to defeat that enemy of every writer, or every person with a computer? You could do something drastic like disconnecting the internet (gah) or getting someone to lock you in a small room with nothing but a notepad and pen and not letting you out until you finish that first draft you've been meaning to complete. Okay, so that's a little too drastic. What about following these tips and bust that procrastination:

  1. Prioritise your time: Know what you want to complete and what 'needs' to be completed. Some things may have more priority and so must be completed before anything else. 
  2. Set a goal: Yeah, procrastination comes when you don't know what you're working towards. Having a goal is one way to tell yourself that you must complete so many words before you can have a break.
  3. Reward yourself: Everyone loves to get rewarded, it makes completing something so much more... rewarding. Give yourself something for completing goals, even if it's ten minutes on Twitter (well, you need to announce to everyone that you completed that goal).
  4. Positive motivation: Surround yourself with positive people. Having people who can support you and congratulate you for completing goals will help power you on until you have all your goals completed.
  5. Don't be unrealistic: Don't say you're going to write the whole first draft in one sitting (even though i could possibly be done if you don't need sleep, food or any other relief), your goals need to be realistic or you'll get bored and boredom is definitely one road back to procrastination.
And here's a fantastic little video of Lisa Simpson writing a novel, and I promise you watching this isn't procrastination :D


So, how do you beat procrastination? Do you have any other tips?

2 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Unrealistic goals can be real killers!

Libby said...

I 100% believe in giving rewards when you complete tasks.

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