Five ways to beat the procrastination monster
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For me, writing and procrastination have always gone hand in hand. In fact, I鈥檓 pretty sure that if there were awards for 鈥渆xcellence in the field of procrastination鈥, I would have a shelf full of trophies 鈥 and I鈥檇 take great pleasure in polishing them to distract me from my latest writing project.
Right now, I鈥檓 writing this article about beating the dreaded 鈥淧鈥 word, but it took a fair amount of effort to shake off my plethora of delaying tactics to sit down and start typing. Please note, however, that I鈥檓 simply detailing what works for me; I鈥檓 not suggesting a one-size-fits-all panacea for every fellow procrastinator. I hope these techniques do help you, but don鈥檛 waste valuable writing time moaning at me if they don鈥檛.
1. The 鈥榩erfect conditions鈥 trap
One of the things that continues to trip me up is the search for the ideal writing set-up. Whether it鈥檚 the right place, the right notebook, the right pen, the right lighting, the right coffee (more on this later) 鈥 you name it, I鈥檝e searched for it. And guess what? I鈥檝e never achieved it. I鈥檝e spent so much time in the past trying that I could have written an entire book had I just accepted that there is no ideal when it comes to putting pen to paper or hands to keyboard. Because there really isn鈥檛. And searching for it is just another time-sapping exercise that we need to stamp out.
2. The coffee conundrum
To caffeinate or not to caffeinate? Although millions of us lean on coffee when writing, caffeine might not be as useful as we think for the creative process, with Darya Zabelina, of the University of Arkansas, and Paul Silvia, of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, observing that 鈥, [but] had no effect on divergent [creative] thinking or working memory鈥. So, if we鈥檙e working on something that requires the analytical side of our brains, then maybe we should put the percolator on. But if we鈥檙e trying to write creatively, it might not have the impact we鈥檙e seeking (meaning that those jitters and toilet trips are even less welcome).
3. Body doubling
This semester I booked a classroom for two hours every Monday afternoon for creative writing students (and me) to write. We did this together but individually. And the point of this? Body doubling, a term that has emerged in relation to the self-management of attention deficit disorder. Put simply, it is defined as 鈥 [where] they may work on the same task, but independently, such as when friends do homework together鈥. In our case, then, it involves a group of people sitting together in the same room, during a defined time, where each is encouraged to focus on getting those words down because everyone else is.
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This might work for several reasons, but the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) suggests the main factors could be that 鈥 [鈥nd] feels responsible to and for the body double鈥. It鈥檚 certainly worked for me; the thought of being tutted at by my students for getting out my phone and doomscrolling is incentive enough to knuckle down.
4. Write in a different place
I鈥檝e mentioned that an ideal location to write in probably doesn鈥檛 exist, but even if we have found that preferred spot, it doesn鈥檛 mean we always have to write in it. One of my go-to methods for overcoming periods of procrastination is to change writing location. This can be something as simple as moving a metre across the room (I shift from my usual desk to the 鈥渇amily鈥 desk or take my laptop down to the dinner table for a bit). A lot of research shows how location can affect our mental health, with people who 鈥, such as, 鈥榟appy鈥, 鈥榚xcited鈥, 鈥榮trong鈥, 鈥榬elaxed鈥 and 鈥榓ttentive鈥欌, so it鈥檚 not surprising that changing up our writing environments can help with our creativity, too. If I鈥檓 really struggling to focus or come up with ideas, I change not only the location but also the method I use to write, switching laptop for pen and paper to connect more physically with the ideas.
5. Collaborating or talking though ideas
Although the physical process of writing is largely a solitary endeavour, that doesn鈥檛 mean we have to spend the whole process 鈥 from idea conception to editing 鈥 in isolation. Many a time when I鈥檝e been struggling with a project, I鈥檝e found that discussing it with a friend or colleague has forced me to articulate the idea in a coherent way, and I鈥檝e often emerged from the conversation with a better understanding of what it is I want to do. Importantly for me, the discussion needs to be verbal (rather than conducted in text over Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp) for it to work. Typed conversation is too close to the writing process I鈥檓 already struggling with, but having a face-to-face chat to verbalise my thoughts forces the brain to think about the problem differently.
Now all I need to do is follow these tips myself鈥
Happy writing.
Glenn Fosbraey is the associate dean of humanities and social sciences and the head of the English and creative writing department at the University of Winchester.
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