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?

Procrastination or Laziness?

Procrastination, everyone does it. I'm an expert at it, and it comes easy. Just sitting in front of my computer, I can find so many distractions. There's the internet, there's games and then there's social networking. All this right in front of me, all this that I need to push aside to get some work done.

No matter how hard you try, there will always be distractions to keep you from 'wanting' to do the work. You can disconnect the internet (yes, that's a bit drastic), you can lock yourself away and ignore all the family calls (wondering why you've ended up with a dozen voice mails) or chain yourself to the computer desk.

One way to overcome procrastination for me is to set a goal. With having something to work towards, it helps to push me into completing something worthwhile and not say "I'll do it tomorrow".

What about you? Do you ever suffer from bouts of procrastination? What are some tips to overcome the want to put the work off?

You can tell a lot from the cover

Like I said yesterday, when I went to the movies I had plenty of time to waste before the movie started, and I couldn't help but noticing the movie posters that were advertising upcoming movies... not thinking about how much I wanted to see them, but what other covers they looked like (and yes, every movie poster really looked identical to numerous others).

Movie posters, the same as book covers, attracts the attention of the viewer/reader, and all these similar looking covers tells the viewer the genre and something about the movie that they might want to see. It was easy to identify what sort of movie they were based around the cover, because they able to relate and capture the attention of the audience from another movie.

It's not just movie posters that use identical features, but book covers do this also. The cover tells the genre, and a lot of books use similar features to identify what the book is about. But, this is a good thing because you know what you're getting yourself in to (and a lot of the cover artists knows how to make them still look original and elegant while still using similar features of others).

Have you ever noticed how much covers/posters look the same? Do you pick up a new book or go to a movie because the cover reminds you of another one you've seen?

Ooh is that the time?

And here I am, trying to keep my eyes open and realising I haven't posted. Here's a confession, I have absolutely no idea of what to write either. Life has definitely been busy lately (I've also realised that working over a month straight is not good for one's health).

I've got a week left of school placement, and I've learnt a lot while I've been teaching the darlings...

1. Students don't like to behave for subs (my mentor was sick for two days so I had someone else sitting in the class with me... boy that was a chaotic nightmare).
2. Guilt does wonder... watching the masters at work with putting guilt on the children for misbehaving was like watching a brilliant performance... I wonder if I'll ever be able to do that.
3. A lot of planning goes into figuring out not only what to teach, but how... especially when teenagers DON'T like reading (*gasp* yes, I wouldn't believe it too if I didn't see it with my own eyes).

So, instead of planning my lessons or catching up on writing (which my beta reader demands me too) I've been procrastinating, but in a good way. Let me offer you up the proof. Exhibit A is the blog. Instead of doing the work I really "should" be doing, I've been re-designing it.

Oh well, it was time worth wasted. And, before I knew it, it was way late (11pm here) and I have to get up 5am... whoops.

Has anyone else ever done this? Been so involved in something that the time has just slipped away? Also, how does the blog look?

Wind-down Wednesday

Today I thought I'll keep with the theme of writing, after all, it's what we do. And, the clips I found comes from none other than the Simpsons (who doesn't love the Simpsons?)

Well, everyone have a fantastic Wednesday. I hope everyone's week hasn't been too stressful, and just remember to allow yourself to unwind every now and again.

Wind-down Wednesday

Another Wednesday and what's not to celebrate and relax for? I've got a whole week off uni, my baby sis is coming up on Sunday and I actually have time to get back into writing, which I've been neglecting lately because I've figured out there's not enough hours in the day (still petitioning to get some more).

So, this week I found up on the fabulous YouTube a little Monty Python sketch which should be an interesting viewing.

Also, for anyone that loves good old super hero movies they should check this out when it premieres (I'm pretty sure it's the 8th here and 16th in US). I was lucky enough to get into an Advanced Screening and I've got a new hero... Hit Girl, she's just great.

Wind-down Wednesday

Wow, another Wednesday, and another really good reason to wind-down. So, here's a clip from Family Guy that I know I can relate to, but I'm sure the feeling's mutual for a lot of others as well.

Well, I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.While I'm at it I would like to give a big thanks to Deb Salisbury for giving me:

 Now, all I have to do is pass it on to five people and share ten things about myself. That doesn't sound that hard, does it?

So, here are the five I'll pass it on to:
1. Annie from Dutch Hill News
2. Michelle Mclean
3. Ali Cross
4. Alison from Adventures of a Cautionary Tale
5. Mireyah Wolfe

And, now for the ten things I need to share. Now, where do I start?
1. I have been in five car accidents and have walked away from all of them (not a statistic I like to think about because I think cars hate me).
2. I never liked English class during High School because my English teacher made it seem so boring, it was only after I finished that I got serious with writing (woah, that's eleven years ago, seems like forever).
3. I absolutely love Disney and animations (they always have a good story to cheer me up when I've had a really bad day).
4. I played the flute all the way through Primary and High School (I'm pretty sure that's Middle, Junior and High School for the US).
5. I'm rather impulsive (if I see something that I want I pretty much get it... that could explain why most of my library consists of books I've still got to read, and I'm currently trying to get through three at once)... but, shopping is another way to relax, don't you agree?
6. The only coffee I drink is White Chocolate Mocha's from Starbucks (which I absolutely love).
7. Call me a big geek, but I love Anime's (and am eager to attend the convention in April where I'll actually be entering a karaoke contest and singing an entire song in Japanese... well, the worst I can do is trip over the words and totally embarrass myself but that's not much).
8. I am related to a famous Australian Singer (but would rather not know because I didn't know he was a distant cousin until he was in the finals of Australian Idol... I haven't even met the guy).
9. I love horror stories, movies, anything pretty much that terrifies (I was desensitised as a child when I was six and my cousins left me at the entrance of the haunted house ride at a fair... hey, this is a pitch black room where you can't see where you're going... I guess being traumatised has it's advantages).
10. I hate clowns (It's not that I'm scared of them, I just don't believe anyone can be that happy all the time, and fitting that many people into a small car is just wrong).

Well, that's me for another Wednesday. Thanks Deb (go and check her out, she has links to wonderful resources for writers) once again for the award, and I hope I didn't lose any respect for the ten things I shared.

Wind-down Wednesday

Here I am trying not to have a stress attack over the work load of uni, I totally need a stress-free day (which won't come until tonight unfortunately).

So, here's another lovely clip I discovered on YouTube. It's said that everyone sells out once in their career, who knew it happens to cartoon stars as well (you've got to love the Simpsons)

I'm about to totally rush off to uni, but later tonight I'm going to allow myself a night of not thinking about what's due, what I've got to do and what I haven't gotten around to yet and geek out with Final Fantasy XIII (which I just totally bought about ten minutes before doing this post), and then also catch up on some needed reading (also geeking out with just receiving Hex Hall from Amazon)...

Ok, I'm finished acting like a geek at this very moment. Hope everyone's Wednesday is going a lot smoother than mine.

Wind-down Wednesday

I've survived yet another Wednesday and really need another relaxer (hey, I've got an assignment next week I was the luck one to draw a slot for a presentation in two weeks, I've got two essays due that I need to get on top of... and that's only to do with uni).

So, I've scoured the internet once again for anything that is random and something to encourage procrastination. The first I thought would be a good stop since I highlighted Twilight - The Musical, here's the sequel: "New Moon - The Musical".

And, here's an article that's definitely worth reading: The 24,504 Worst Pieces of Advice Ever Published... it's a crack up about a woman who's got a book published called "14,000 reasons why to be happy", it's (the article not the book) definitely worth the read... seriously, I managed to find the book and the author has things like hot dogs and puddles as reasons.

If you like that sort of humor, Cracked is definitely worth checking out.

Well, that's my Wednesday over. Hope your weeks are a bit less stressful than mine.

Wind-down Wednesday

With everything that's happening at the moment in my life, I thought I needed to schedule some down time (a good excuse to procrastinate). Everyone needs to schedule some 'ME' time once in a while, and what's better than in the middle of the week... especially when the week's been stressful and everything's building up.

So, Wednesday's are now going to be Wind-down Wednesday where I search the internet for anything wacky, zany or just random to distract from everything else that's happening in our lives.

Where will our first stop be? None other than the best place to waste time find useful information to assist in our lives, YouTube. So, here's a couple of videos I've found up. Hope you enjoy.