Overcoming Procrastination...or not...
Oh, how I have struggled with this little 'noun' of procrastination. Of course, I had some very intellectual rationalizations as to "why" I was justified in delaying the task at hand. In fact, with a bit of imagination thrown into the reasoning, it almost made sense!
Sadly, it becomes a habit and a very destructive and indestructible behavior! Then BOOM! My eyes about popped out of my head when I read this;
"Don’t stop procrastinating. You read that right. Don’t try to beat it or even avoid it. Rather, accept it as inevitable, a fact of life. And believe it or not, it actually becomes a natural part of the process."
Jerry Jenkins~I was intrigued with this message in my email box and decided to explore more about this author. Afterall, it appealed to my sense of pride, that maybe somehow, my consistent habit of procrastination might have a positive flip side. I immediately found a new definition for my habitual behavior.
On my expedition towards my newest writing mentor and guru; I made the leap and added his book to my eBook collection. (I travel light). In his book, "Writing for the Soul: Instruction and Advice from an Extraordinary Writing Life." Jerry B. Jenkins
I found Jenkin's book very inspirational as he retells the journey of his writing career and all the good, bad and ugly parts of it! It made me realize that we all have a story to tell and we should just tell it. Jenkin's is very personable in his approach to authoring this book. He has written almost 200 books including biographies of famous athletes. And in each one, Jenkins discloses that part of the process involved his own procrastination which had been a barrier.
Then, he developed a blog and posted a resource for writers. "How to Write a Great Novel in 12 Steps" Jerry Jenkins. I feel he had all of united procrastinators profiled in on this great manual. Certainly, I can stick to 12 steps....I wish it was only ONE step...for sure I could cross the finish line...."one and done." However, I am game to try the first step or two and then I can do maybe a couple more steps tomorrow?!
Jerry also states that he is the "King of procrastinators." Jenkin's elaborated; "But it’s true—I am a procrastinator. In fact, I’m the worst. And it once tormented me. The truth is, I have not rid myself of the curse. But I have learned not only to manage it, but also to now view it as part of the process." (Jerry Jenkins, www.jerryjenkins.com)
Badah bing badah BOOM!! That's all I needed to hear! Or read as the case may be. I think people are their own worst enemies! We spend enormous amounts of mental energy beating ourselves up and what a waste of precious time! Instead, I am learning to embrace my quirks, mistakes and less than shiny aspects of my persona. And finally, Jerry pulled together a strategy and words of wisdom that have allowed me to view my behavior of procrastination in a different light.
".....how you can live at peace with procrastination....Now, when I’m on deadline, I:
*Pencil in my pages-per-day figures
*Know full well I’ll stall and find all kinds of reasons to delay starting when I know I should*Don’t obsess over it, but sleep well, knowing my subconscious is working on my book
*Keep my deadline sacred, making sure I don’t let the pages-per-day figure get out of hand
Finally, start when I really have to and enjoy the surprises my subconscious reveals
So view procrastination not as a curse, but as a prerequisite. Because only once you start can you write a book that impacts the world." (Jerry Jenkins)
At last, I have made peace with my procrastination and acceptance that it is part of my creative process. Now, let's see...tomorrow.....I will start writing another blog....till then....peace...
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