Copyright 2005 Writer's Eye Advisory Service
I'm assuming that you have encountered some form ofprocrastination in your life. For those of you who don'tstruggle with procrastination. Congratulations! I findprocrastination especially frustrating to handle, when itdisguises itself as irritability, confusion and anger, pointingmy heart and mind away from where the real causes lie.
Procrastination is a temporary solution to cover or push awayintense feelings during the creative process. Some creativesfeel anxiety before starting a project. Others feel depressed inthe middle of creating a project. Still others struggle beingunable to finish a project, especially one that comes closest tothe realization of part of their artistic vision. They don'twant to face the unknowns of exploring a new project.
Procrastination is a form of self-sabotage. I call it ashort-term last resort. If you let procrastination go, it cantake over your life. In the following exercises, I can increaseyour awareness of how procrastination may be interfering withyour work. Remember to choose to work one exercise at time. Takeyour time when you write. Be patient as you start to react tothese two exercises. Let your mind and heart gently guide youtoward deeper awareness and desire to change.
TO-DO LISTS: Lists are easy to write in your journal. If you canwrite a laundry list, then you can write a journal list. Feelfree to choose organization tools that work best for you. Mypreference is to use a combination of my calendar, some goalfiles (pc), index cards and my memory. When I'm creating lists,I like having access to both flexible tools(cards and memory)and a workable structure ( past lists and some goal files).Remember to write a clear, easy to read, and detailed to-dolist.
CHOOSE ONE AREA: Choose one urgent "procrastination" area. Tohelp your focus answer the following questions about yoursituation:
Purpose: Increasing your awareness of your resistance: What partof this activity, that I don't want to do? (answer in specifics)What am I feeling about working on this activity? (There may bemore than one feeling) What would I rather be doing? What is soattractive about resisting this activity?
Purpose: Increasing your awareness of your motivation: What partof doing this creative project do you like?What are your feelingabout this creative project? (any feelings)
Summarize your resistance statements and your motivatedstatements Look for any similarities and differences (use thisinformation to answer the next question) Look for ways toincrease your motivational actions and decrease yourprocrastination actions.
Congratulations! You've chosen your new goal. Start working onit now!! No more procrastination!
