The War of Art

13 08, 2014

Procrastination – One Word Wednesday

By |2014-08-13T06:00:51-05:00August 13th, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

Procrastination is the act or habit of putting off or delaying something. A clever enemy of everyone, not just writers.

I’m not sure whether procrastination is a deliberate act or subconscious, but, according to Wayne Dyer, “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.

Author of The War of Art, Steven Pressfield, calls procrastination a form of resistance. He believes creative types face lots of resistance and offers inspiration to overcome that resistance. Words from his little book have gotten me over more than one bumpy writing slowdown.

I believe his idea of overcoming resistance applies to everyone plagued by the habit of procrastination.

Even if you’re not be a writer, procrastination can hold you back and prevent you from doing something you should be doing.

Goethe said, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.

Writing is hard  and solitary. Those two truths stall many writers. Procrastination wins.

I refuse to let procrastination to win. I get up every morning, put my butt in the chair, and W-R-I-T-E.

Note, I didn’t say when I feel like writing or whether I think what I write is worthy of a Pulitzer. I sit at the computer and write. EVERY DAY.

Does procrastination stall your dream?

I suggest following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advice so beautifully depicted in Edie Melson’s graphic?

photo-29

29 02, 2012

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

By |2022-01-23T11:59:46-06:00February 29th, 2012|Make Me Think Monday, one word Wednesday, Procrastination, resistance to writing, writing|30 Comments

Today’s word is PROCRASTINATION

Dictionary.com defines procrastination as the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention

I really, really hate when a definition uses the word, don’t you? Still the meaning is very clear — putting off something.

Is procrastination deliberate or subconscious?

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art calls procrastination a form of resistance. He believes creative types face lots of resistance and offers inspiration to overcome that resistance. If you don’t own a copy of Pressfield’s book you should, it’s gotten me over more than one bumpy writing slowdown. Btw, I don’t get any kickback.

I’m not sure what to call procrastination, but I know it’s a disease shared by too many writers, myself included. And, procrastination is a clever enemy.

Half the time, Mr. P (aka procrastination) disguises himself as very worthy endeavors like
A writer’s meeting to get a writer fix
A computer game to “clear your head”
A movie for “research”
Social media is one of Mr. P’s favorite tactics. Who among us doesn’t find Twitter or FB or web surfing sucking precious time from our day?

My favorite delay is a power nap to refresh my brain’s hard drive. Naps may work, but am I really just giving in to procrastination’s subtle ways when fifteen minutes slides into an hour or two?

Writing is hard work. A solitary work. Those two facts alone stall too many of us and allow Mr. P’s power to succeed.

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” ~Wayne Dyer

So how do we cure the culprit that steals our words from the page?

Ali Luke in her blog How to Stop Procrastinating and Start Writing suggests four steps.

Great hints are offered on How to Stop Procrastinating

For me, and maybe other writers, I shoo Mr. P away by putting my butt in the chair and W-R-I-T-I-N-G every day whether I feel like it or not, whether what I write is worthy of a Hemingway or not. It works for me. What works for you?

As part of One Word Wednesday, I want to play a game I used when teaching spelling—writing a sentence with the word. Leave your sentence in a comment. No grading involved just for fun.

Dictionary.com suggests: She was smart, but her constant procrastination led her to be late with almost every assignment.

How would you use PROCRASTINATION in a sentence?

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