3 Questions to Help Fight Procrastination
Sometimes when I sit down to write, I have a hard time concentrating. I may check Facebook and Google News. My mind may start wandering to the economy, new business, the dishes–anything to keep me from writing. If I’m not writing, then I get depressed and, well, I can’t write anymore.
Over the last few years, I’ve started to realize that all these habits are actually effects of fear. It’s kind of like a fight or flight mechanism. My mind is so scared of what MIGHT happen–what if people don’t like what I write, what if I fail, etc–that it makes up these distractions to sort of ease the suffering that it thinks might happen. In effect, what ends up happening is that I defeat myself.
I’ve also noticed that I feel like I’m missing out on something or giving up “Chris time” by FORCING myself to do some arduous task. Whether it’s hanging out with my friends, going to the park, or just chilling, I feel like I’m rebelling against my own authority.
In both cases, what I have to remind myself is that writing and art make me happy. I’ve purposefully changed my life so that I can spend more time working on these things in hopes that ultimately I’ll be able to support myself completely off my art. With that in mind, I have the following three questions posted above my writing desk:
- What can I do right now to get closer to reaching my goals?
- What can I do right now to improve my state of mind?
- What can I do right now to improve my quality of life?
Not all of these have to do with writing. Sometimes I’m legitimately distracted by things like paying bills, doing laundry or eating. These questions force me into thinking about what’s bothering me by asking if I can do something in that moment to help me focus so that I can get back to work. It helps.
What do you do to fight procrastination?
