Planning for 2013: Procrastination is Still My Middle Name

I published the first version of this blog post for Chiseled in Rock December 28, 2010. I am a master at pouring  my own good intentions down the drain with the dregs of my morning coffee..

I did complete one first suspense novel draft in 2012 and finished revising the other suspense novel I wrote in 2011, so I'm not a total loser. Overall, however, I wrote blog posts, blog-hopped, blog-challenged, e-mailed, wrote Facebook status updates, tweeted, surfed the Internet, gardened, traveled, and played more than I wrote.

Time management seems like a common sense issue. Doesn't it? Yet, here I am, enjoying another innovative way to procrastinate:

Yes, I take my Katie Cat outside on a harness and leash and she walks me around the yard as she searches for grasshoppers, smells the lavender, and tries to dig up the seedlings in my garden.

Truth is, I have no intention of giving up fun, but I hope to get a lot more writing done over the next five years. My plan is pretty simple, and no different from the one I posted here two years ago:

1. Focus on long-term goals.
2. Set reasonable weekly and daily benchmarks.
3. Keep track.
4. Adjust benchmarks as needed.
5. Don't sweat the small stuff.

In addition to my regular calendar, I have the 2013 writing planner from Northern Colorado Writers (designed by Kerrie Flanagan and illustrated by April J. Moore) dedicated to goals and deadlines for writing new stuff, revising old stuff, queries and submissions, and de-stressing (also known as exercise). Keeping word counts worked for me in the past, so I'm adding that technique back to my plan.

If procrastination is also your middle name, and you need to rethink the way you spend your time, read a few of the articles in the archives at Leo Babauta's zenhabits.

There are several helpful posts at Fuel Your Writing, including 7 Writing Distractions I'm Kissing Goodbye by Suzannah Freeman and After the Break: How to Get Writing Again by Robert Smedley.

Want more? Just Google "writerly procrastination" and you'll find enough articles to keep you reading (instead of writing) for weeks. Or you can knuckle down and set your goals.

What long-term goal is at the top of your list for 2013? Mine is the same as it always is...write 500 words a day, not counting blog posts.

Pat Stoltey

Writers: Your Semi-Annual Performance Review

By Janet Fogg

In December I posted the Citation for the Order of the Chocolate Donut, a tongue-in-cheek effort to acknowledge the all-consuming, often unrecognized efforts of writers. Surrounded by flammable paper, we work with little praise, less sleep, and too much angst. Worse yet, our hair suffers as we frequently wrench out fistfuls when rejection stalls our story-telling stamina.

Today, my mission is simple. I’ve scheduled your semi-annual performance review to remind you that you're not really alone. Please, stay seated.

First, I want to compliment you on the terrific concept you’ve developed for your new book. Don’t shrug and turn away, I mean it! It’s unique and will grab an editor by the throat. You’ve written how many words? And you’re writing every day, even if only for a few minutes? Excellent!

That short story you completed? Stunning and succinct. I’m in awe.

Your article series? Get those queries out! They’re a brilliant preview for your non-fiction book proposal. Out, foul queries!

My goodness that poem is compelling. Sigh…

Ahem.

Time to look at your goals from last December. Hmmmm. Write every day. Check. Update your website. Check. Uh oh, here's one that still needs work. You said you loathed both the long and short drafts of your synopsis and that you were going to polish both. You tried? Well, a positive attitude really will help. Try again.

This leads me right into setting goals for what you plan to accomplish during the next six months. Please write them down so you can check on your progress every few months. I might remind you that specific action items are helpful and that goals should stretch your capabilities, help you to grow. What? Yes, you can finish that manuscript before Thanksgiving, so stop with the negative waves, Moriarty. Repeat after me: Bird by bird, baby, bird by bird.

Now get back to work.

Planning for 2011: Procrastination is My Middle Name

If you read Janet Fogg's Citation: The Order of the Chocolate Donut yesterday, and are totally bummed because you couldn't claim you'd written a complete To Do List during 2010 and are therefore an undeserving goof-off, then I'm frankly amazed you showed your face here today.

But you are here.

That means you want to do better next year. Me, too.

I did complete one first draft in 2010, so I'm not a total loser. Overall, however, I wrote blog posts, blog-hopped, blog-challenged, e-mailed, wrote Facebook status updates, tweeted, surfed the Internet, and played more than I wrote.

Time management seems like a common sense issue. Doesn't it? Yet, here I am, learning another innovative way to procrastinate:


Don't worry. I have no intention of giving up fun. My plan is pretty simple.

1. Focus on long-term goals.
2. Set reasonable weekly and daily benchmarks.
3. Keep track.
4. Adjust benchmarks as needed.
5. Don't sweat the small stuff.

In addition to my regular calendar, I now have a 2011 writing planner dedicated to goals and deadlines for writing new stuff, revising old stuff, queries and submissions, and de-stressing (also known as exercise). Keeping word counts worked for me in the past, so I'm adding that technique back to my plan.

If procrastination is also your middle name, and you need to rethink the way you spend your time, read a few of the articles in The Unsurpassable Productivity List: A Handy Guide to Getting Important Things Done at Leo Babauta's zenhabits.

There are several helpful posts at Fuel Your Writing, including 7 Writing Distractions I'm Kissing Goodbye by Suzannah Freeman and After the Break: How to Get Writing Again by Robert Smedley.

The first goal on my list is to write at least 500 words every day. Blog posts and e-mails do not count as part of that total.

What goal is at the top of your list for 2011?

Pat Stoltey