My "I don't want to do that now" face
I don’t know about you, but I am a career procrastinator. I always have been. I can remember being in school (much longer ago than I care to admit) working on some project or paper into the wee hours of the morning cursing myself for waiting so long. Every time I swore I would never wait until so late again, yet when the next project arose I would inevitably find myself scrambling.
One of the problems was that I never had any real consequences other than stress and exhaustion. I somehow always managed to pull together something good enough to earn a grade I was okay with, so when I was faced with the choice of doing work ahead of time or doing…whatever…I chose the whatever.
I used to always laugh when teachers tried to “help” us avoid procrastination by dividing the work and giving each part a due date. College professors seemed particularly fond of this method. All this really did was cause me to come up with something passable until it was time for the “real” work to be due. One common part for teachers to separate out was the research. They would ask us to find x number of sources and turn those in. Half the time I didn’t even read the sources opting to just find titles that sounded appropriate. And I still did it the night before it was due.
When the deadlines began coming from a job rather than school I got a little better. Rather than waiting the night before something was due I would wait until the weekend before and at least start on it. Sometimes.
Now I don’t have a job that really requires any work outside of what I do while I’m there, which is nice. Instead, all of my deadlines are self-imposed for things that I choose to do – blogging, writing and editing a book – those kinds of things. Without any “real” deadline with the threat of actual consequences (other than my own disappointment) it has been extremely difficult to overcome the “I’ll get to it later” syndrome.
You’d think someone who spent 3 years implementing behavior modification techniques with children with autism would be able to apply those techniques to modify her own behavior. You would be wrong. Every time I come up with a system it will work for a while and then gradually fade away becoming useless. I’ve tried rewarding myself, punishing myself, withholding x until y is complete…none of it worked.
Until now.
I have finally learned a system that seems to be working. I love organization and list making. I have come up with a schedule that allots time for my book and my blog. The rules for the schedule are that I overestimate how long something will take so that I am less likely to run out of time before my tasks are complete, I take into account other obligations so that my daily tasks are feasible, and I leave open time for fun stuff. So far so good.
The Mancave
The other thing I have done – and it has made a HUGE difference – is that when it is time to work on writing I leave the house. Whether I go out somewhere like Barnes and Noble or simply go to my husband’s “mancave” which is in the barn I get out of the house. This helps limit the things available to distract me tremendously. Leaving also helps signal my brain that it is time to work so that I am in the right frame of mind.
These are just a few tricks I have come up with that are proving to work for the time being. I am sure that I will have to add and modify as time goes on, but I think I am on the right track for a system that works.
What about you? Are you a procrastinator or someone who does things ahead of time? What tricks do you use to avoid procrastinating? Let me know in the comments!
I’m a horrible procrastinator. In fact, I’m procrastinating right now. Today, instead of catching up on the 6,000 words I needed to NaNo, I finished painting the bathroom, had coffee with a friend, watched some Stargate, shuffled through papers, and hung out on Twitter. I’m sure I’ll get it all done in time, but I always feel bad being so far behind. Part of the problem is, as you mentioned, I’m the only one who can be disappointed. I have a hard time doing things for myself. I just don’t find my disappointment to be that big of a deal, since I’m so used to it. When other people are counting on me, I get stuff done. But if it’s just me, it’s tough.
This post is actually perfectly timed. I was just telling my Tweeples today how I always seem to do my best writing when I’m behind schedule. I think I need to use a bit of your plan. I currently leave the house on Fridays, but I only get an hour to write that day. Maybe I need to schedule in a Monday, too.
I’m the same way when the task affects someone else – then I get it done. Right now the problem I am having is unexpected things coming up and throwing a monkey wrench in my nice, neat schedule. For example, I was not supposed to work at my job today but ended up having to go on for a half a day. Should not have been a big deal at all. I still had plenty of time to get everything accomplished on my list. But I haven’t. Why? Because when one thing falls out of place it completely throws me off kilter and I can never seem to regain my balance. But I guess that is kind of a separate issue…
Good luck to you as you try to find something that works. If you figure it out come back and let the rest of us know what it is!
I read an article about how to use procrastination to be productive.
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-ProcrastinateStill/93959/
Procrastinators are always doing something, it’s just not the thing at the top of our to do list. Sure you didn’t write Samantha, but how long did you put off painting the bathroom?
If you want to get something done, have something else that is more important to do. You’ll get that other thing done right away. Of course, if there is something very important to do and you keep putting it off, the author had no advice. LOL
Thanks for the tip with the link!
*cough* I bought the paint in July.
I am prone to procrastination, my teenage son too. This summer we listened to an audio book called, Eat That Frog! It’s based on a saying that if you eat a live frog in the morning, nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day, so your frog is the most difficult thing on your list and you do it before anything else. Anyway so I make a priority list and don’t do anything until my frog is eaten. It’s odd, but I don’t think a day goes by without my son or I asking if we ate our frogs!
Ah! Kristen Lamb references that in her book “Are You There Blog? – It’s Me Writer”, but I forgot about until now. That really is such a good idea. I think I do kind of tend to do that – as long as my day starts as planned. Thank you for this reminder!
I am totally a procrastinator and all of your examples were true for me, too. Silly teachers, did they actually think we did the reseach ahead of time? As an adult I have found ways to get myself to work. The most important is that it’s something I really want to do, like writing. That has made it my priority so I do it first thing everyday. I also have a designated office that is only for creative work. I painted it bright orange to inspire creativity. And now my brain is used to writing in this space. It has become such a routine that I wouldn’t know what else to do when I first get up. I like your idea of leaving the house, too. If I want to write in the middle of the day, I need to do that at a coffee shop.
I do procrastinate, yes, but it also sounds like we are similar in another way in that we’re driven by deadlines. I love the rush of having to go, go, go in order to meet a deadline. As long as it’s quality work at the end, I don’t see the difference.
BUT, I also agree that in the absence of imposed deadlines, it’s important to create them for myself. So I have similar tricks. I put a Post-It note on my laptop every day with my to-do list so I can’t blow it off as easily. I enter contests and go to conferences where I have to submit work. I have a critique group, etc.
Luckily, it’s easier to motivate when it’s something you love to do.
Hi Jessica,
How kind of you to share this post. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who will appreciate that they are not the only ones with this habit.
I try to look for things that will inspire me to achieve my goals. I always regret it when I put things off.
I’ve learned over the years to be a self-starter because I worked for myself. Though nobody was going to fire me, I wouldn’t have a business if I didn’t get the job done.
And then there are times when we simply need to back away and steal the time for ourselves. To take a breather, to catch up on life.
It takes balance and I’m sure you’ll find yours. Thank you for your post.
I leave post-its and lists and reminders and even threats all over my house — and I still end up rearranging my scheduled tasks according to some weird internal clock. Yes, the stuff for other people usually gets done first. And the projects I’m most afraid to face usually end up last — keeping me up into the wee hours.
I love Colleen’s Eat the Frog advice. Sort of revolting image, but I guess that it s the point. Definitely going to try that.
Whoa! The mancave’s a scary place. You’d finish your pages there–or else.
Thanks for this post, Jessica. I put everyone else’s projects before my own. That has to change.
Hahaha! That’s why even though I have commandeered it from my husband it is still called MANcave
hey Jessica , great post, I’ve recently been struggling with procrastination because of the crappy weather and my warm
heated mattress. My problem is the internet and falling asleep. I also can’t work if my room is messy, which it frequently is… I just can’t stay on task. It’s hard being 16, juggling work, school, homework, bad teachers who
don’t make sense, and a “life”, so you can imagine my happiness when I saw you post this. Unfortunately, at this point I can’t offer any awesome foolproof tips or methods, but I will definitely give your tips a try starting tonight and let you know if they work on me. Please post any more theories or tips if you have them, I’d love to be a guinea pig, haha.
Glad you’ve found a system that works for you! I’m not much of a procrastinator. I suppose my only “trick” is pursuing work and relationships I love. During short stints of jobs I’ve disliked, I TRIED to procrastinate…LOL. I’m a big deadline setter, which helps. I say the due date out loud, tell someone I respect about it, and my engine revs huge.
Thanks for another insightful, fun-to-read post.
I am absolutely a huge procrastinator. I found that telling someone else about my deadlines (or telling them I’ll have a piece of writing to them by such-and-such a date) really helps. It’s great when someone else is excited about your writing – you just can’t wait to rush forward to meet the deadline and get it to them.
I like having several different spaces for writing. Whenever I move to a new spot, I feel more inspired and dedicated to my writing. I also can’t write if I have a messy desk – so I make sure that stays clean and it makes it much easier to stay focused.
I’m a procrastinator, too, especially when it comes to the things that are important to me. Lately, though, I’ve tried to be more stringent with my time. I’ve devised a schedule which puts the writing first and everything else second. So far, it’s working.
I’m not usually a procrastinator, unless it has to do with housework. Haha! As far as school, I was always on top of my homework and always studied for tests, started on my essays and reports right away. Too bad I’m not as on top of things with my blog posts these days. It always amazed me how my kids would wait until the last minute to work on a major report and manage to pull it off! That would drive me crazy!
This post certainly hit home for everyone. lol. Procrastination? Guilty. Writing is like working out: 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. Procrastinating and dreading is the worst part of anything. Once you plunge in, it’s usually never as bad as you thought. Booting up my desktop is my signal to work, booting up my laptop means it’s time to play. When I’m writing a novel, I keep a very strict schedule. Now if I could just manage the same kind of discipline with working out
I was the same way in HS and college. When I started working from home I had to make a true office space and I made myself get up daily at the same timw and get dresses as if I worked outside the home. If I stayed in pjs I was useless. Those two things have worked wonders.
Wow. I put the computer away for the night and came back to find all of these wonderful comments. Thank you so much everyone! You guys have left so many great tricks and tips – not to mention your own procrastination woes. Glad to know that I am not the only one who faces this struggle!
I definitely am not a procrastinator, but I have worked for almost 30 years in the legal profession and attorneys are notoriously last minute creatures, which makes my job as a legal assistant very stressful. I give them ticklers, reminder calendar updates and just plain nag and still, they wait until the very last minute to begin a project. I HATE it.
I am the polar opposite, almost anal you might say. I am very organized, detail oriented and a big list maker. Keeps me on track and on tme. I guess I’ve developed this habit because I work with people who are the opposite and one of us has to be organized or no one will know what’s going on in the office or where anything is. It’s a good fit I guess.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Glad you found a method that works for you.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
I suffer from living with a procrastinator. Does that count? I think part of the reason I’m not a procrastinator is because my husband is, but even before that, I was the obnoxious student who had her essay completed two weeks before it was due. I don’t work best under pressure (the way some people do).
What I struggle with most now is getting everything done, which can look from the outside like procrastination because sometimes things get left to the last minute out of necessity (they were the least urgent on my list).
Thanks for giving me a look into a procrastinator’s mind
Great post!
I think I’m somewhere in the middle. At the moment I’ve actually bought stocking stuffers for my children and even a gift or two……However, I’ve had the fabric to make this “very easy starter quilt” for 8 years. It seems that if the task is something I can complete very quickly then, I get it done but, if it’s something where there’s set up, planning and will take hours of work……it goes to the back burner awaiting the day “I can start and finish without being interrupted” Good luck to me right?? Well, I’m confident there will come a day when those tasks and projects do get finished. Man, will that feel great!! I’m loving your system and really think I should give it a go. 
You mean I’m not alone in putting things off? Sigh. I thought I was so unique. Thanks, Jessica, for a great post and for reminding me of some ways I know to get my writing and blogging done.This writing/time-balancing gig is not really different from losing weight. I know exactly what I need to do. It becomes a matter of implementing even one or two ‘tricks’ to get started. The rest often flows from there.
As per the routine breaking down, I’m horrible if I don’t get my exercise or writing in before the family is up. BUT: I’m getting a little better at talking myself back where I need to be, even if it’s on a smaller scale than I originally intended.
Now back to that paperwork I was putting off so that I could put off starting Chapter 2…
Well, I do believe I know from whom you inherited this procrastination! It’s a step in the right direction to realize that one is consciously putting off tasks and then makes the effort to resolve it in a way that works for them. Put it into practice enough and eventually it will become easier to tackle the tasks at hand. I remember those weekends long ago where you would be going home on Sunday night to do a report or project due the next morning, so I applaud your accomplishment.
Now, if you could just pass that idea on to a certain someone……