Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that.
The truth is, writers are the ultimate procrastinators. And as a professional procrastinator myself, I know what it's like to be two days away from starting NaNo and only have half the plot finished, the characters that don't matter outlined and no chapter outlines whatsoever. Or even worse, I know what if feels like to be two days from finishing NaNo, and being 20,000 words behind. (No, I'm not kidding. I actually did this once. I spent two days writing non-stop, and only finished with 50,060 words ten minutes before the clock struck midnight.)
As I've grown as a writer, however, I've learned more about procrastination, and I it's easier to spot and avoid nowadays. So today, I am going to share my advice for avoiding procrastination with you. So step on up to the procrastination station!
The Procrastination Station
For all I know, you could be reading this article and be procrastinating that English homework that was due two weeks ago. If that's you, well.... You obviously need my help, so keep reading.
Procrastination is defined as
the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying,especially something requiring immediate attention: She was smart, but her constant procrastination led her to be late with almost every assignment.
by Dictionary .
As you read that definition, I can hear your thoughts. "Oh my god, that is so me," right?
Well today we're going to change that.
Here are my Top Ten Tips for Getting Rid of Procrastination, or at least avoiding it.
1.
Finish everything else you have to do, before you start writing.
That includes homework, sweeping the floor, reading a book, or anything else that could distract you from turning out a thousand words.
2.
Set yourself a goal, and most importantly, hold yourself accountable to that goal.
If that means skipping that Supernatural episode until you've met your goal, so be it.
3.
Offer yourself a prize when you do something right.
That Supernatural episode you just skipped? Well guess what, because you just churned out 2,000 words in a day, you can watch two! How great is that?
4.
Turn off everything.
That includes cell phones, computers if you write on paper, internet if you don't. Everything. Except music. Music is important.
5.
Make your procrastination playlist full of pumping tunes that get your brain juice flowing.
Whether that is some Bach or One Direction, make a playlist especially for NaNoWriMo.
6.
Use this wonderful little site
The savior of my writing during NaNo is definitely Write Or Die . Go check it out and book mark it.
7.
Word War
Chances are, if you hit up someone in the chatbar, or even go in YWS Chat and ask for a word war, people will take you up on it.
(A word war is when you set a time such as :00 to :15, and then you write as much as you can in that space of time.)
8.
Eat before you write
It's very important not to be hungry before you start writing. If you are, you're probably just going to spend the time you should be writing dreaming about food.
9.
Try to write in the same space every time.
I've found, that I'm more likely to be focused if I write in the same place every time. When I switch places all the time, I'm distracted by what is around me.
10.
Know what you're writing before you write it.
That's why chapter outlines are my savior during NaNo. I always know exactly what is going to happen before it actually happens, so I don't have to waste time thinking about it.
And, bonus tip!
11.
Do NOT stress yourself out
Writing is fun! Don't stress yourself out over the little stuff. My motto is, tomorrow is always a chance to make a better today. So if you screwed up and didn't write today, you always have a chance to pick it up tomorrow. Unless the today you're talking about is November 30th. Then you're probably screwed.
And there you have it! my tips on how to kick procrastination in its butt.
Gender:
Points: 2099
Reviews: 355