How to Deal with Procrastination When You're a Writer
According to statistics, over 20% of the planet’s population tend to procrastinate, and some even aren’t aware of that, which is quite dangerous for their jobs. If you’re reading articles on writing or watch other writers’ interviews online during your working time – you are procrastinating. It usually starts from “just 5 minutes to check my newsfeed” and ends 4 hours later. Then you realize the need to deal with procrastination and stop spending whole days doing nothing that would make you closer to the project’s finish.
Deal with Procrastination in 5 Steps
- Identify its source.
The sources may include lack of essential things like time management skills, self-confidence, or motivation. The absence of any planning or too many distraction factors around may also affect the quality of your working time. Make sure you recognize the true source of your procrastination and eliminate it as soon as possible. Be aware of the challenge you take while writing, but don’t allow your fears and insecurities interfere. - Spend the first 30 minutes of your day working.
Specialists say it’s 90 minutes when you have an urgent important project, but if you are struggling through a large long-term writing task, 30 minutes will be enough. It doesn’t mean you will work only half an hour a day, just start as soon as you fulfill your morning routine. Don’t fall for checking SNS or watching TV while eating, or your commitment can transform into hours of aimless roaming among websites or TV channels. - Divide your project into parts.
Plan your work and divide it into smaller parts to deal with procrastination and finish the work. Some people can’t lay the first brick of the task because they don’t know what to start with. If you have a plan that includes brainstorming, planning the chapter or article, analyzing events or characters described, you’ll work much better. - Schedule the start of your work.
Don’t wait for an ideal day to start writing – schedule the time you will start to work on the project and get all other things done before that day. Schedule something else before and after a couple of hours you will write, so you have certain boundaries and no time to be distracted. - Take an advantage of help.
It may be easier for you to start working when you know you will get assistance. This can be the help with ideas or editing from your friends or writing help from WritingJobs.com if you get stuck. Such help will not only let you get the job done faster, but will also keep you in a positive mood, as you won’t have to handle everything yourself.
Summing Up
There are so many things to get distracted with when you have to focus on the work to be done. However, the ways to deal with procrastination also improve, making it possible to learn planning and get rid of insecurities. Start your day with working, divide projects into pieces, and plan the writing process well. By doing such simple things, you will soon forget you couldn’t start working or getting any project done in time.
