In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a question from a reader about managing procrastination.
Dear Jenna, I struggle with procrastination and getting started writing. I want to write, but each day I wrestle with myself to get started. When I do finally get around to writing, I feel so much better. But I hate all the time I’m wasting. What can I do to get myself to work faster?
First, you’re not alone. Many writers struggle with procrastination, if not all, at least at some point in their writing lives.
Procrastination is one of the many ways fear manifests for writers, along with perfectionism, paralysis, self-doubt, negative self-esteem, and more. These are all forms of writing “resistance,” which is an oppositional force artists, writers, creatives, and entrepreneurs face. It works hard to keep us “safe” from taking risks, usually based on past and childhood experiences that have taught us to avoid certain kinds of exposure or self-expression. Procrastination — putting off doing the work — is a way of managing the fear and anxiety we feel.
Unfortunately, procrastination is like a band-aid on top of an infected wound. Because procrastinating doesn’t resolve the underlying anxiety or fear, it simply delays it. If anything, even while procrastinating, we’re still walking around with a (low, sometimes) level of fear and anxiety.
The beautiful thing is that writing is the ultimate cure-all for the fear once we can get ourselves to take the actions and do the work.
In my response, I discuss ten strategies for dealing with procrastination:
- Tell yourself you only have to write for X minutes.
- Find a deadline or goal for your work.
- Reverse-engineer a timeline.
- Give yourself permission to start over.
- Write early or late.
- Focus on showing up.
- “Find” writing.
- Trust your inner voice.
- Focus on how you feel when you’ve written.
- Recognize the underlying fear.
When you’re struggling to write, remind yourself how good you feel when you’re engaged with the purely creative act and process of writing, regardless of the outcome or result.
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
Do you have a copy of The War of Art?
From Amazon.com: “The traumas and losses of childhood are often buried. The child grows up appearing normal, unscathed and perhaps even successful. But often what is buried comes back to attack at the very moment when life is reaching its pinnacle. This is the story of one woman’s spiral downward into physical and mental breakdown and her return to wholeness by courageously, and some would say recklessly, following her intuition. Ms. Montanye’s intuition leads her to a tiny town in a Colorado canyon alongside the wild and scenic Cache La Poudre River. There, she immerses herself in the grandeur and beauty of the surrounding mountains. When her journey begins, no one involved can know that it will lead to such a powerful and bittersweet end: an end that includes healing for herself, her marriage and for the difficult relationship she endured with her mother.”
