Procrastination is the Pits

I've been thinking about writing this post about procrastination for quite a while now but other things kept getting in the way. Things like reading and writing comments on the writer's forum I belong to; things like checking my email to read my google alerts and to see if anyone has posted on one of my blogs; things like reading other blogs on Zen and writing, and leaving comments; things like blogging about the coffee controversy; things like blogging about where you can win a free cookbook; and things like working on the final edits for Who Were You? A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Past Life Regression that the project manager at Sterling sent me last week. (I know that was an incredibly transparent plug but we writers have to promote our work!) While playing on the web this morning, I found a blog about managing the writing life and the need for Zen. Hmm, so I'm not the only one afflicted with procrastination. Good to know.

But seriously, procrastination is not a good thing and there's really nothing productive about it. You know you want to write; you've got a bajillion ideas running through your mind; you can see the finished book in your mind, but your computer screen is blank and the outline for your book only has a few scribbles on paper. (I seem to have a thing today for semi-colons.)

In the above-referenced article, Claire talks about finding your focus and a quiet place to write. Both are good and necessary things for a writer. She also mentions managing your time. Another good thing. A system that works for her is creating a schedule for her writing time. And this probably works for a lot of writers, but it doesn't work for me. It's way too regimented and I like being in the flow. I think what both she and I are saying is that it's really important to create the time to write, to find your focus and take it from there. I also like that she mentions the Zen of writing in her post. The mindfulness of Zen is always a good thing, whether it's applied to writing, drinking coffee, or simply taking and/or making the time to do what you love.

I know that we all have very busy lives with so much to do that even finding time for yourself seems next to impossible. We tend to multi-task, another concept Claire covers in her post, but to simplify our lives and get more done, maybe we could single-task. This is very Zen, being mindfully aware of what we are engaging in, focusing on one thing at a time. I'm a firm believer in starting your day off right so that no matter what you do, you can be mindful. I start my day with a morning meditation. It works for me and then everytime I find myself procrastinating or doing too many things at once, I come back to my Zen coffee; I return to mindfulness.

At this point, I'm well aware that I'm rambling, but indulge me for one more moment. When I was in high school (a way long time ago), I had a humongous crush on this guy, but only knew him well enough to say "hi" when I saw him walking through the halls. Anyway, the point of the story is this: In our high school yearbook, we could include a favorite quote or saying. His was, "Do it! Do it! Do it!" I'm sure it didn't relate to writing, but these are words of wisdom. Just Do It! Just sit down and write. Write one word at a time, then write another word. And then an amazing thing happens: All those single words somehow magically turn into a book.

I'd like to hear how other writers handle procrastination; how you create the time to write and what works for you.