Do you ever feel overwhelmed with your writing project?
Do you find it challenging to focus on writing?
Has it been a while since you have had consecutive writing days?
If so, there is a big chance that you are struggling with procrastination.
The more you put off writing, the less writing you get done.
Today, I am going to share with you my top tips for overcoming procrastination. So, if you have been struggling with procrastination, don’t worry. Let’s tackle these problems together.
Read on to discover the top 5 reasons why you are struggling with procrastination and how you can tackle them.
1. If It's Not Perfect, The World is Going To Explode
Perfection is the enemy of creation, as extreme
self-solitude is the enemy of well-being
-John Updike
Ah yes, perfectionism.
Perfectionists are often the worst procrastinators. The fear of writing something that doesn’t live up to their standards holds them back.
When we write something that is sub-par, it gives us anxiety. A sinking feeling that we are amateur writers, we can't write anything good, and that it is the end of the world if we do write anything "bad".
We pile on so much pressure on ourselves to be "perfect" that we develop this fear of writing.
How to Overcome It?
Progress is more important than perfection.
-Simon Sinek
The #1 piece of advice for perfectionists is, “just do it anyway”.
And while that might be helpful to some people, it doesn’t remove the fear and the frustration the perfectionists feel whenever they type out a few terrible words. Well, terrible from their point of view.
No, in order to fix this, we need to go to the root: the unrealistic expectation of being perfect.
If you lower your standards, the fear and frustration of not being good enough will fade.
Whenever I find myself getting frustrated with my writing, I take it as a sign that I need to lower my standards. When it is time to write, I just write.
I hold back my perfectionistic side for when I get to the editing phase. Once it is time to edit, then and only end then do I raise the bar and seek polished writing.
So to all the perfectionists out there, is your unrealistically high expectations holding you back from writing?
If so, it is time to lower them in order to make progress.
I know lowering your standards might sound like a bad thing. After all, don't you need to strive towards the next level? Won't high standards lead to better writing?
Look at it this way. Which one will make you a better writer? a) writing poorly rather than not writing at all, or b) skipping your writing session due to procrastination and perfectionism?
It is not the procrastinators nor the perfectionists who lead successful writing careers. Rather, the ones who are willing to learn and make mistakes are the ones who ultimately make progress and become better writers.
2. You Want to Avoid Pain
Procrastination, in essence, is just avoidance of pain.
If writing is frustrating, boring, cringe-inducing, or lacks any type of intrinsic reward, then we will find every excuse not to do it.
We, as human beings, are motivated to numb and dull pain. In other words, we are motivated to procrastinate (do other, easier tasks) when we desire to avoid the pain at hand (in this case, writing). This leads to putting off writing until another day. You just don’t want to face that pain.
So how can we make writing less painful?
How to Overcome It?
Identify your pain point and fix it
Is writing boring? Well, maybe you need to liven up your story. Listen to music. Make it fun!
Is writing frustrating? Identify why it is frustrating, and look for articles on the subject you are struggling with.
Whatever that pain point is, really get to the core of the problem and tackle it.
Make it a habit
To reduce the friction you feel when you know you need to write, the best thing to do is to make your writing commitment a habit. Without a writing habit, then you are relying on erratic willpower and impulses to get yourself to pursue your writing.
With a set time, place, and writing routine, you won’t have to rely on willpower to get your words in.
You will start doing it simply because it is a habit. Much like how you don't really have to think about brushing your teeth everyday, your habit will pull you to write, instead of you having to push yourself to write.
How does one go about building said habit? It all begins with getting clear on your goal, setting up a trigger, rewarding yourself, and repeat. For a more in-depth guide, check out our ebook where we dive in to how to create an unbreakable writing habit.
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End your writing sessions on a high note
If you end your writing session in a frustrated or bad mood, the next time you think about writing, you will just remember how upset you were last time.
That negative association with writing will make you want to, well, procrastinate. After all, you don’t want to get into a bad mood like last time.
So if you find your writing session isn’t going that great, try to end with something that will spark your love for writing again.
Brainstorm some ideas. Write a few sentences of another project that you enjoy. Start outlining another story that you have been thinking about. Start writing a different scene that you are excited about.
When you end your writing session on a high note, you will be looking forward to your next writing session rather than putting it off.
3. You Don’t Know What to Do
Maybe you wrote yourself into a corner. Maybe you are struggling with coming up with creative ideas. Or maybe the scene you are working on is just not working and you don’t know how to fix it.
Whatever it is, your lack of clarity is making it difficult to continue.
The less you know about what you have to write next, the harder it becomes to write.
After all, if you knew exactly how a scene should play out and you are excited about it all at the same time, then you would have no problem sitting down to write it.
Not knowing what to write next is the hardest reason for procrastination to identify. Not to mention, it is probably the one writer’s struggle with most.
When they run out of ideas, writers tell it off as writer’s block. And just like that, their procrastination is justified.
If you are struggling with “writer’s block”, be sure to check out our blog post about how other authors overcome this phenomenon.
How to Overcome It?
If you just have no idea what you need to write next, there is only one solution: do some planning.
Plan what needs to happen next.
Take a moment to outline your next scene. What needs to happen? What are all the possible settings ? Can you add any more characters?
What unexpected events and disasters might arise? What time of day does the scene take place? Which POV are you using? Would it be better if you used a different POV?
How can you raise the stakes? How can you create more obstacles for your main character? Can you add another layer of conflict?
Try to get as detailed about your next scene as possible. Talk through the story with your friends or family if you have to. Then take a step back, close your eyes, and try to play the scene out in your head as if it were a movie.
With planning and visualization, you will get a crystal-clear idea about what to do next.
4. You Get Distracted by Shiny-Object Syndrome
A ton of story ideas can be a blessing… or a curse.
As you probably have already gathered, when you are in the middle of writing a novel, and you keep getting wonderful new ideas, then it is generally considered a bad thing.
Not because your stories ideas are bad, per se, but because of what follows...
When our current novel gets rough, we turn to the new, shiny ideas that have been untouched and full of potential. And while it may be fun to explore new ideas, it is just another form of procrastination, and we never finish our current work.
How to Overcome It?
If you came up with a great story idea, write it down!
Let this story be simmering on the ‘backburner’ as you continue your current works in progress. Once you're finished with your current work, you can come back to it. You will find that you have a ton more ideas now that you let your mind work on it subconsciously.
Whatever you do, just don’t abandon your current work in progress, no matter how amazing your new idea might seem.
5. You Lost Your Vision
Sometimes, the reason you procrastinate is simply because you lost touch with your vision and why you are writing in the first place.
For some reason, you lost all motivation and you are beginning to question if you really should pursue this whole "writing thing" in the first place.
And so, you put off writing so that you don’t face those tough questions.
This is, indeed, one of the toughest obstacles to overcome. But if you do find your vision, this will be a key step in your writing journey.
How to Overcome It?
First, if you have lost your motivation, be sure to check out this article where we give you the 3-step guide to sparking your motivation and finding your vision.
Ask yourself, why are you writing? Who do you want to help? Why did you start writing in the first place? Why do you feel called to write this story? What kind of people might you be able to help with your story?
If you have been hanging around Kingdom Pen for a while, then you know that we believe that the world needs more Christian writers like you to fill the world with more truth and light.
Those who tell the stories rule society.
- Plato
With stories, we can make an impact on the world and take back the culture for Christ. That is our vision for Christian writers.
What is your vision?
Someone out there needs to read your book and hear your message. You can make a difference with your story.
So don’t give up.
Stop procrastinating.
Keep writing.
And go create awesome stories.
But I am really curious...
Which of these five points makes you struggle with procrastination the most?
Let us know in the comments below!
Erin Ramm
Erin is a writer, graphic designer, and language lover. She began writing with an Adventures in Odyssey fanfiction, and she hasn’t stopped dreaming and writing about stories since.
Erin was a huge fan of Kingdom Pen before its two-year-long hiatus. Seeing the potential of Kingdom Pen, she wanted to join the attempt to revive it and help writers make a bigger impact.
Outside of writing, some of Erin’s favorite things to do are talk with her siblings, learn languages, play the violin, listen to soundtracks, and eat frozen mango.
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