Procrastination - The Thief of Time

I knew I should have done it yesterday!!

Procrastination is the thief of time. ~Edward Young

Do you put things off? Even things you really want to do? I've been struggling with that while trying to finish the first draft of my work in progress. I want to write it. I really do. And I am writing it, but what seems at a snail's pace. It's time I hit the homestretch with a burst of speed, but instead procrastination is popping up like dandelions. I like dandelions better. 

How do I procrastinate? Let me count the ways. There are hundreds of them. But I can take solace in the fact that I'm far from the only person who has a tendency to put things off. Procrastination is a basic human impulse and a lot of us humans give in to it from time to time. Some of us more times than others. The word comes from a Latin term meaning "put off until tomorrow." 

Oh, how easy it is to put off until tomorrow! Tomorrow I'll have more time. Tomorrow I'll see the next scene more clearly. Tomorrow the day will somehow stretch and add those extra hours I need to get this writing done. 

Procrastination has been around for as long as there have been people. When you're self-employed, as I am, then you can get extremely good at procrastination. You set your work time. You can break your work times. That's not to indicate that self-employed people don't work hard. Most of the ones I know - whether they're writers, beauticians, car repair people, yard care workers, lawyers, or you name it job - they all work very hard and long hours. 

Plus, we can procrastinate about things other than our jobs. We procrastinate about washing those windows or cleaning out the refrigerator or weeding the garden or whatever chore. I'm sure you can come up with lots of things we put off. Even things like going to the dentist or to get our eyes checked. Things we shouldn't put off. Tomorrow, we'll do it. Next week for sure. Or we'll have more time this summer. Then, maybe in the fall. 

If you want to read a more detailed examination of why we procrastinate, here's a link to an article "Later" on the New York Times site. Some interesting theories and facts there. 

Of course the internet is a great procrastinating tool. There are even applications and software now that you can download to block the internet for a specific amount of time so that you CAN'T procrastinate by checking e-mails or surfing for that one more fact that you just have to know before you can write the next scene. I haven't downloaded any of them. I think I should be able to just use self-discipline, but then the phone will make that little bing that says I have a new e-mail. And while I'm looking at that, I'd better see what's going on over on my Facebook page. And is there a new review on one of my books? Or maybe I'd better pay those bills before they're overdue. Or take Oscar for a walk. Or it could be I just need to organize my pencils here on my desk. I wrote a post here a few years ago about sharpening pencils to delay the start of work.

On top of all those type of reasons for not getting the work I need to do done are the interruptions I have to allow in my day. A call about Mom. A visit to see about her. The church bulletin to do. Birthday gifts to buy. Blogs to write. All important things, but I don't need to use them to delay writing my book. Sometimes that's what I do. Just use them to put off the hard work of writing the next scene. 

So are you a procrastinator? Or what ways have you come up with to keep yourself on task?

Here's a quote I found out on the internet. I promise I wasn't procrastinating. I was looking for something I needed. Honest.

"I am taking care of my procrastination problem. You just wait and see." I think that means I'll get it done tomorrow. LOL.

The Balancing Act of Writing

What happened to Wednesday? I was walking late this afternoon and I suddenly realized that uh, this is Thursday. That meant I had forgotten talking to folks here on One Writer's Journal on Wednesday. Of course, the best thing about a journal is that there are no deadlines. You can write when you want, what you want, as much or little as you want. 

However, when I started this on-line journal, I did say I'd come visiting on Sundays and Wednesdays. I picked church days to help me remember, and now, alas, I know what happened to Wednesday. I didn't go to Bible Study last night or stay at Mom's overnight. That's what I usually do on Wednesdays. But I'm beginning to feel the pressure of the deadline for my work in progress and since I am spending a lot of working hours caring for Mom, I have to scramble for working time at my desk. Even so, I had planned to go to Bible Study last night, but then an acquaintance passed away and my husband decided he needed to go early to make a visit to the funeral home. And I copped out. I decided if I was working at a store or a restaurant and needed to work, nobody would think twice about me working instead of making it to church. That doesn't quite make up for the poke of guilt I feel not making it to church, but it was my rationalization. We can rationalize almost anything if we work at it.  Whether we should or not!

But that hits on one of the hardest things about being a self-employed writer. Keeping those hours to work. Books don't write themselves, but when you work from your home, whether it's writing or whatever you might do, you have to be disciplined. And you have to stand up to others for your working hours. Things are difficult for me now with Mom's deteriorating health, but I've always had to carve out time from my busy life to write. I told a book club group the other night that I wrote my first novel while Captain Kangaroo was on. Then it was during school hours. Now all my kids are out on their own and I have to carve out time from my working schedule for those grandkids. 

That's what I was doing in the picture up top - taking a walk with my son and some of the grandkids. It's always a balancing act. Whatever we do, whatever kind of work. Work and family. Work and fun. In writing there is even more balancing to do. Writing and promoting. Writing a good book is the most important thing I can do to gain readers, but after I do the best job of that I can, then I have to try to let interested readers know about the book. That means newsletters and Facebook and Twitter time keeping up with my reading friends and letting them know what's going on with me - that I do enjoy. Blogging time  - that I also enjoy. Contests to promote my books. I love giving stuff away. 

Then there are book fairs and book clubs - two of my very favorite ways to meet readers. Add into all those the many other tasks of writing on top of churning out that first draft of a book like editing and coming up with discussion questions and promo bits and doing blog visits. In fact I'm visiting a blog now i blog 4 books where you can leave a comment to have a chance to win a copy of Words Spoken True. Brooke in the interview asked what was my pet peeve and so people have been sharing their own pet peeves in their comments. So it's fun.  

Be assured, I'm not complaining. I love writing and meeting readers. I went to a book club last week. Had a great time hearing what they had to say about Words Spoken True and answering the questions they asked. Saturday I'll be at the Southern KY Book Fest in Bowling Green, KY from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST talking to people one on one about my books. I'm on a panel about Christian fiction at 1 p.m. If you're in the area, I'd love to talk to you too. 

I've been keeping up with some of the questions people have been asking me lately. I'm going to be answering some of them in detail on here in the next few weeks. So if you've got something you always wanted to know about writing, but were afraid to ask, now's your chance. 

Thanks for reading my Wednesday post on Thursday. :) If you work from home, what's the hardest part of that for you?

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