Here Is How You Wage War Against Procrastination
And how you can win the battle every day
Do you want to be a better, more consistent writer but find that you constantly wage war against procrastination?
Are you finding that being a better, more consistent writer is more easily said than actually done?
You are not alone.
There are plenty of people who find themselves pitted against the demons of procrastination every day.
Ok, fine… Not actual demons. But you get what I mean, right?
Like any good knight in shining armor, I’m here to save the day…! (Maybe)
Here’s how I win the battle against procrastination every.single.day.
Make a choice
I came to the realization early on that I was either in, or I was out.
I was either committed, or I was not.
While I am sure that there are some psychological parts to procrastination, it really comes down to a conscious decision that you make to do, or not to do.
It is no different than waking up on a Monday morning, suddenly dreading the fact that you have to get dressed and walk out the door to sit in traffic and go to a job that you hate with every fiber of your being.
The only difference is, the job has a boss who holds you accountable.
Whereas with your writing, chances are, you are your own boss — Are you holding yourself accountable?
Runners? They run.
Teachers? They teach.
NFL players? They play.
Are you a writer? Then write.
Stop fretting over the details
Fear can stop you dead in your tracks. It can prevent you from doing many things in life, including writing.
The screenshot you see just below this line is something Grammarly sent me.
As you can see, my writing hasn’t been very “accurate”…
Has that stopped me? I guess not. I’m writing this article.
I know that I am not a perfect writer, but I eventually decided that I was going to stop fretting over the details and just do it.
I was going to just start writing, so write I did:
Per the screenshot above, I have been on a writing streak now for 45 weeks.
The next goal? 52 weeks!
Set a realistic goal
Look, I get it.
We all want to be rockstar writers.
I still want to be a rockstar writer.
Am I? Not yet.
We all have a life. I have a wife, three kids a full-time job and a side-hustle.
That means that you have to set a realistic goal that makes sense for YOU.
If you can only write one article per week to start with, then by all means, only write one article per week. If you can write five, then sure, write five articles per week.
Just make sure that the goal is realistic because the worst thing that you can do is set yourself up for failure.
Be yourself — it’s easier
Early on, I had a tendency to write as if I was someone else.
I read every how-to article on writing that has been written.
I studied how various writers phrased things, how they transitioned from one line or paragraph to the next.
And then I created content that looked just like theirs… And it was really difficult. It did not come naturally.
To write a single article like this one? It.took.forever.
Call it emulation. Call it being a copycat. Whatever you want to call it, it was hard.
Once I started to learn to be confident in who I am as an individual, and as a writer, I was able to start perfecting my own craft and my own style.
And let’s be honest — if we all wrote in the same style, the world would be full of very, very boring literature.
Once I learned how to be myself in my writing, it came naturally.
And while natural childbirth may not be easier, writing naturally sure is!
(Is that comparison not a thing…? K, got it…)
Go ahead, surprise yourself
Real quick, let’s recap the steps above:
- Make a Choice
- Stop Fretting Over The Details
- Set A Realistic Goal
- Be Yourself — It’s Easier
Once you have done those things, and you’ve started writing consistently, you just might surprise yourself.
I surprised myself. Check it out:
Yes, you read that right.
Since January 20, 2019, I have written 27,582,880 words. Just to make sure we both (myself included) read that right, that says 27.5 MILLION words in less than 365 days.
I also wrote 83,074 words last week — I guess that was a slow week!
Go ahead. Go surprise yourself.
