I hate to admit, I'm not pushing myself very well. There are a lot of writings I could be working on, but I've not been putting myself to task. It's not writers burn out or anything, I'm just bad at scheduling. The up side to this, (if you can call it that), is it's not only my writing that's suffering. I should be trying to lose weight, keeping up on my foreign language studies, working in the home and other duties as well. Instead, I keep putting them off because I don't schedule them. Not that I'm a big procrastinator either. Well, maybe I am. BUT.... If I actually dedicate myself to getting something accomplished, and I make a list and check it twice, it seems to get done. It's the reason when I plan a trip, I make a check-list. I should really do the same thing for my writing. Sure, I'm keeping up on my blog-hops, BECAUSE THEY ARE SCHEDULED. But what about the rest of my writing (and other things I should be working on). I've done this in the past, and it has worked. I've made a list and I kept to it. So why am I not doing this currently? Well, I think it's about time I do that. Check back next month to see what I put on my list, and how well I stick to it.If I'm insecure about anything this month, it's worrying if I can actually pull this off. I've been complaining without doing anything for far too long.
(To Be Continued)
Questions:
Does making a list help you?
If you are a procrastinator, what helps you?
Do you find it hard to 'push yourself' sometimes? What helps?
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Hi Jeffrey - I used to write a lot of lists ... and now have 'some' scattered around my desk area and a mental to-do list of Christmas stuff etc ... I really must settle and clear some of the gumph up and get myself organised. Lots to do, lots I'm wanting to do .. but doing - not in a very organised way .. good luck with finishing off the year in an organised fashion?! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI sat and made the list last night of things I want to try and accomplish. Sometimes, the first step is making a list, so everything you have to do does not seem so insurmountable. Baby steps is the way to go.
DeleteLists help me. I have an overall list and then daily tasks. I've learned to keep the daily tasks manageable so I don't get discouraged.
ReplyDeleteI've had success in making a list and keeping to it in the past. Then it becomes a habit and I stop following the list so closely. Before to long, I start to get lax and lazy. And that brings me back to where I am now.
DeleteYou just solved your own issue! I have to schedule time or I don't accomplish anything. And I just make the decision that I will do it and I do. Guess I just hate to lose.
ReplyDeleteNow comes the hard part. Putting it into practice.
DeleteI am a procrastinater, I do it very well, thanks for asking. Sometimes I make lists and schedule things, but writing is not something I do well with a schedule or list. There has to be a consequence to not doing it; and not getting published obviously isn't a devastating enough consequences. No guarantees even if I do write and submit.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that gives me incentive to write is the prospect of a deadline in something I really want to submit to. I missed the IWSG anthology deadline, and that hurt my ego a little. But, I know the opportunity will come around again. Shame on me.
I am psyching myself up to make a New Years Resolution to write 100 words on any project every day through 2016. Anything except blogs or reviews that is. Those are separate. Ya with me on the committment :)
I congratulate you on the commitment and wish you the best in sticking with it. Perhaps I may have to make that sort of a commitment if my new schedule list for writing does not pan out.
DeleteI have yet to enter a contest of any sort. I have to agree, that is another of my insecurities, feeling it would never be good enough, or assuming I could never compete against writers (for me that's any) who are clearly better than me. That's my insecurities shining through once more.
I'm a "list girl" for sure! It serves as a reminder of things I've planned to do on any certain day, week, month, or year. Without one, I seem to just drift in several aspects of my life - most certainly in my daily writing. I hope making a list & setting goals helps you get things done, Jeffrey! Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteIt's helped in the past. Perhaps I can stick to it fully this time.
DeleteI find I can ignore lists just as easy as I can ignore the thing I made the list about lol I just stay far far ahead of the 8 ball and then if I want to procrastinate, I can with ease whenever I please.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, lists keep me on task. It's just time erodes away at my determination after awhile and I soon forget the list.
DeleteMy Passion Planner for 2016 is on the way. I'm going to sit down and outline all the goals I want to accomplish in 2016 and hopefully make myself sit down every Monday and outline what I plan to do that week to work toward all of those goals. I write every day, but it's about making time to write fiction, which is the important stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo true, with the blogging I do and blog sites I visit, technically you could say I write every day. Especially since I tend to write such long replies from time to time. LOL
DeleteI've never thought about planning further than one week at a time. I hope that works for you.
I am all about lists but I am terrible about accomplishing all of the tasks I put on them. I always seem to be overscheduling. I am determined to schedule my writing and make it critically important, I just wish the fun distractions would stop.
ReplyDeleteI've found it helps to schedule the bare minimum on a list. If I schedule something for just an hour a day, I tend to spend more than an hour on the task. So in the end, it works for me.
DeleteI didn't used to be a big list maker- but my co-author, Stephanie, loves them and they have rubbed off on me. Somehow I do get more done when I have a list. Good luck making your next list. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
I think it has something to do with feeling accountable once it's written down. When it's just in our head, it's easy for us to say we'll get to it later. But the list makes it feel real. Now I HAVE to do this.
DeleteThanks for stopping by the ToiBox of Words Jeffery.
ReplyDeleteI do pretty well at keeping up with things until I reach a point when I've taken on too much, which I seem to do quite often. I seem to be a cyclic master planner, meaning I have a cycle I go through where I'm a master at planning that slowly fades into what appears to be a master procrastinator. After everything falls apart, I start over with everything planned perfectly untill I pile on too much again.
I think that's pretty much what I do too. The list makes me feel I HAVE to stick with it, so I do. Till it becomes a force of habit. Then I take the training wheels off. Then, slowly but surely, I get lazy and forgetful.
DeleteI'm beginning to discover after 9 years of blogging that lists work! So I'm time travelling through my archive in a bid to discover what else works. Its an interesting experience because the numbers are screaming out at me, lol. I just have to get off my butt and do it. Theres so much to do and when I incorporate my new platform which is taking an age to do, maybe the blog will become self aware and take off. Seriously though, I find high fiving bloggers a rewarding experience which I haven't been doing lately because of my dislocated shoulder but NOW Spacer is back!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your dislocated shoulder, but good to have you back. I'll make sure to check your blog more often now.
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