How to Overcome Procrastination and Writer's Block

Procrastination and writer's block are two of a writer's worst enemies. Procrastination is often created by fear and self-doubt. We may have a fear of failure or success and we may wonder if we are worthy of publication or if our writing is good enough. Often, these feelings come out in the form of procrastination and writer's block.

When procrastinating, a writer will work on unimportant tasks and assignments rather than sitting down and writing the piece they truly want to work on because of the pervasive fear and self doubt. Writer's block prevents us from sitting in front of our computers and putting any words on the paper which in turn makes us feel sad and unworthy. It becomes a vicious cycle of not writing, self-doubting, second-guessing and not writing. While the two may seem altogether different, in reality they are closely related and stem from the same negative feelings.

Overcome your procrastination and defeat writer's block to get more writing done and complete your writing projects.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Slow down and take your time if you feel rushed and overwhelmed. Take a few moments to make a short plan for your writing session each day. Address ways to be more efficient in your work.

2. Just start working! Do not wait for a perfect time to begin writing, just start. If you are looking for motivation to begin writing, then start with a short 5 minute instant task that will get you started. Instant tasks help you to get moving and add confidence to your work so that you keep working.

3. Work in sessions of 30 to 90 minutes. Working in moderate time blocks allows you to be more productive than working in longer sessions where you may feel overworked and tired. Set a timer for your scheduled work block and then stop! Do not worry if you are not finished with your work. Make a note of any ideas that you want to work on in your next work block.

4. If you find yourself unable to work because your thoughts are consumed with something else, stop working and get up and deal with whatever issue is really plaguing you. If it is an issue that can wait until after you are done with your writing session, tell yourself that you will deal with it as soon as you are done writing.

5. Balance the time between research, organizing, outlining and writing. Often, writers can procrastinate by spending too much time doing research and not enough time writing. Balancing these tasks is important. Set deadlines for completing your research and outlining tasks. You may still end up doing more research and outlining after this deadline, but you want to get the bulk of this pre-writing out of the way by a specific time. Try to work on your pre-writing tasks and do your actual writing simultaneously. Do a little of both each day if possible.

6. Manage your feelings and eradicate any negative thoughts. Try to be as positive about the process as possible. A great way to overcome bad habits is to say positive affirmations about yourself and your work aloud. To combat anxiety, stay relaxed and work to create a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere in your writing space. Consider playing some of your favorite music, light candles or burn scented oils for a calming effect.

7. Think of all works as a work in progress. Do not become too attached to your work and the original ideas that you came up with it. Becoming too attached to your work and any original ideas may cause you to procrastinate when you are feeling overwhelmed by them and are focused on your conclusions which may have to change. Instead focus on the process and not the end result. This way you will have the mental room to make changes and not be tied down to what you thought your work should be.

8. Focus on what you are doing with your work and silence the inner critic. Do not worry about the reactions to your work by your peers or the critics. You can only do the best that you can do. And if you are satisfied with the end result of your hard work, that is all that should matter.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a motivation board with the title of the work you are creating, and other positive words and images. Hang this up over your writing space and use it for instant motivation.

[arwen1964]

on 12/22/2007 Excellent advice. Fear and self-doubt can be crippling. And whe nall else fails, duct tape your inner editor. (Hands everyone a roll of shocking pink duct tape).