Most writers will tell you they love writing. But many will come up with a myriad of reasons to postpone the hour when they actually sit down and write.
That’s certainly true of me. I adore writing. I get pure joy from immersing myself in my fictional world, entering a transcendental state and letting the words flow.
But I’ll do anything to delay writing. Whether it’s cleaning the house, responding to messages, tackling life admin or taking the dog for an extra walk because it’s sunny, I’ll always find excuses not to write.
Self-sabotage
Why do we who love writing torture ourselves by not doing so, and continue to find delaying tactics until we run out of time? Why do we persist in self-defeating behaviour?
Psychologists have theories about this. We fear failure. We also fear success.
We may feel undeserving. Somewhere in our psyche we may believe that writing is not ‘real’ work.
Dr Carol Dweck, a pioneering researcher in the field of motivation, says writers are often paralysed by the fear their writing isn’t good enough.
We fear exposure. Imposter syndrome is common among writers.
Whatever the reason, procrastination among writers is one of the biggest obstacles to productivity.
How to stop procrastinating?
So, what can we do to beat these self-destructive habits? There are simple daily habits we can develop, to help us maximise the time we have to write.
Create a routine
- Allow slots of time for the things you need to do. Segment your available time and include a dedicated time for writing.
- Sit down at your desk at the allotted hour, even if you don’t feel like it. Switch off to the demands of the outside world. Ignore that niggling piece of dirt on the carpet that says ‘clean me’, and write!
- Set aside a time each day for freewriting. I do this first thing in the morning, and stick to it, whatever else happens in the day. Even if it’s just ten minutes a day, it doesn’t matter. Daily freewriting is like exercising a muscle.
Start small
If you set realistic goals, you’re more likely to achieve them. Can you manage to write for two hours a week? Half an hour a day? Look at your schedule and decide what’s achievable. Even people with busy lives can find time to write.
According to this paper in the Royal Literary Fund, “…writing, like sleeping, can be done in ten-minute snatches. It’s probably preferable to have eight hours but life isn’t always like that and sometimes something really good can be done in ten minutes. It may not be very many words but it might be thirty or forty very good ones.”
Keep your writing time sacred
Once you’ve allocated a window for writing, don’t let anything or anyone encroach on that time. Start saying ‘no’!
Turn off the tech
Emails, alerts and social media are the enemy of creativity. So switch off notifications. Leave your phone on silent, preferably in a different room. Whoever’s trying to contact you, they can wait.
This year, I’ve been unsubscribing from a lot of things. Many of the emails I receive relate to environmental causes that I care about. But someone told me recently that each email has a carbon cost. The knowledge that in some small way, by unsubscribing, I’m easing the burden on the planet, helps me to feel better about removing myself from these lists.
Try not to multi-task
If we let it, 21st century living fragments our attention. But we can claim back that time.
Unsubscribe from message alerts and delete apps that don’t serve you. Ask yourself if what you’re scrolling through is useful or just another means of wasting time.
Create headspace
Set aside space simply to be. Creativity sometimes needs silence.
So much presses on our brains we may feel battered and squeezed. There’s no room for our imagination to run free.
Shutting off the noise and doing nothing is not a waste of time. It’s allowing your brain space to breathe.
Another way of creating headspace is to spend time in nature. Our creative brains need balance.
Clear space to write
Research shows people who procrastinate tend to have messier desks.
The creative mind can be messy, and my default position is to surround myself with untidiness. But clutter clogs up cognitive processes.
If you tidy your desk, chances are you’ll feel better about sitting down to write there.
But don’t use this as an excuse not to write. Don’t do it in your allocated writing time!
Pace yourself
Once you’ve sat down to write, the tendency can be to keep going. But it’s important not to become burnt out. Build in breaks.
Because I love writing so much, once I actually sit down to do it, I can become obsessive.
Once your wrists start to ache from typing, and your vision blurs from staring at words on a screen, it’s probably time to take a break.
Create accountability
Set yourself (realistic) deadlines and tick them off as you complete them.
It may help to have a writing buddy or someone to check in with. Someone to report back to when you’ve met your allotted task. Someone who’ll encourage you and say ‘well done.’
Practice compassion
Procrastination comes from negative emotions and, as writers, we can be our own worst critics.
Perfectionism can paralyse us in our attempts to write.
So if you’re feeling stuck, just write. Write anything.
And when you’ve done your allotted number of words, give yourself a pat on the back.
Even if you think what you’ve written is drivel – it probably isn’t.
As G K Chesterton said: “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.”
