Comments on: Ask Becca: Procrastinators Unite, Tomorrow! https://diymfa.demo.cmsminds.net/writing/ask-becca-procrastinators-unite-tomorrow/ Tools & Techniques for the Serious Writer Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:02:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Rebecca Ann Jordan https://diymfa.demo.cmsminds.net/writing/ask-becca-procrastinators-unite-tomorrow/#comment-926 Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:02:00 +0000 https://diymfa.com/?p=8124#comment-926 In reply to John T M Herres.

I totally empathize, John. The important thing is that you keep calling yourself an Author. Maybe that label will drag you through the rough patches of actually getting things done.

Really, it’s all about tricking your mind into playing along. When I get sucked into that warp of checking email, Facebook, Twitter, watching YouTube – I print out my project, put it in a binder, and take a walk to the park. That tricks me into thinking that there’s actually nothing else to do except write words.

I also sometimes annoy myself. I’ll put sticky notes EVERYWHERE reminding me of what I get done. They’re annoying, so I have to get the stuff done before I can trash them.

There are also some great apps that you can get online that actually SHUT OFF YOUR INTERNET for a specified amount of time during the day. This app knows that you’re a creature of weak-willed habit and can force you to work on things that are not on the internet (i.e. novel documents). Check it out: https://macfreedom.com/

Anyway, try some of the tips and let me know if they help or if they just make you more frustrated.

]]> By: John T M Herres https://diymfa.demo.cmsminds.net/writing/ask-becca-procrastinators-unite-tomorrow/#comment-924 Fri, 10 Jan 2014 22:15:00 +0000 https://diymfa.com/?p=8124#comment-924 Sometimes, I get the feeling that “Procrastinate” could well be my middle name. I tout myself an Author, a Writer, because I have some words written, both online and in print(on demand), yet I carry out feebly. Most times, the easy cop-out of i-net distractions takes hold all day, for days on end. Crying out to the gods for mercy, I steel myself and pound out a couple hundred words. “Whew!” would be my response. “I got some writing done, and can do more tomorrow.” And that’s as far as it gets for another undetermined amount of time.

As to the “…S*** first draft,” I keep finding that I have to stop before I finish typing it if it does not word correctly. (Does that make sense?) The thoughts come unbidden. “What if someone else sees this crap?” “The spies in my computer will post this in the ‘cloud’, then it will forever more be linked to me.” On and on. Oh, will it never end? *sigh*

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