Stuck at Start?

 Author Margaret Atwood famously penned, “If I waited for perfection I would never write a word.”

      I have that quote above my writing desk, to take away one of my excuses.

     To start a writing or any project, one needs motivation.  In my personal experience, I can have a truck load of ideas but if there’s no spark of enthusiasm or purpose, my creativity engine stalls.  Procrastination excuses are easy to find:  not enough sleep, too much sleep, I’m hungry, I ate too much, the house/laundry needs are calling me, and the necessity of scrolling Facebook for just a minute more.

      Is there a cure for project procrastination, especially mine?  As new writers are advised, I have researched this subject. I have personally experimented with various ways to stimulate my creative juices. The following identifies some of what has prevented me from progress. Maybe one of these suggestions will encourage you to start a postponed project in your life.

Environment

      My surroundings affect me a great deal.  I don’t know if it’s having good housekeeping skills or control-mania, but I do have to have a clutter free area in which to compose even a brief email. My fingers start taping the keyboard, but what competes for my attention?  A dust bunny next to my desk or a cobweb in the corner prompts a pause. My instantaneous impulse is to grab the vacuum and dust cloth.  There have been times, well actually days, when I have put off writing due to reorganizing the room and my desk. Of course this included carefully chosen colored markers in an attractive cup, the correct distance from my hand.  That way, if nothing is done on the keyboard, I still feel a sense of accomplishment. (Can you relate to that, or do you suggest I seek therapy?)

                                                                                          

 Interruptions

      As addicted as I am to the noises from my cellphone and computer (someone’s contacting me, I must be important!) these accolades are a deterrent to concentration. It seems an author needs to pay more attention to her outline, objectives and word-count goals (like I do that, LOL) than noise. There’s also the neighbor’s large dog who prefers to poop and bark outside my window. Haven’t found a friendly solution to that, yet.

     My verdict is not yet in on whether listening to music will motivate good writing.  Brain-spotting proponents say having bi-aural (ear changing) headphones will reduce pre-creativity anxiety. Of course the results of this brain-body connection usually relies on what kind of music or calming sounds work best for you. In my personal experience, seashore sounds are more inspiring than Dubstep. But perhaps it’s just my age: old.  

         

 Expense  

       A writer usually makes an investment in a computer, paper, some pencils with large erasers, and a continuous stream of obscenely-priced ink.  There’s the various costs of internet connections, whose prices depend on the company, and how many times you threaten to disconnect.  (Recently, I was  fortunate in obtaining a very low price from Nigeria). The costs that have delayed my writing progress, I feel, are those involved in non-refundable units of time.

       Do you have a love/hate relationship with your calendar, as I do?  I know I need to record every appointment, new responsibility, work change and to-do, or there is a good chance they will be forgotten.  Color-coding my schedule on paper helps me to clearly see what needs to be done and when.  Using a calendar increases confidence that I have purpose: important activities and valued responsibilities.  It also conveniently camouflages memory loss.

       When I attach realistic time frames to each step of the writing process for a project, it encourages accountability.  Meeting those deadlines will motivate continued adherence.  The dreaded part is the forced concentration and organizational skills needed to set up *SMART goals.  A large blank paper calendar, or an empty goal-setting spread sheet is intimidating. It glaringly shouts I have lots of thinking work to do: heavy lifting for my brain. Those thoughts are as appealing as an overdue trip to the gym. No wonder English professors call their writing assignments “exercise.”

An Encouraging Cure?  

      Do you have a project or goal that can't quite get ignited? Can this environment-preparing, interruptions-stopping, time-frame plan be the cure to procrastination? Because I completed writing this post (in a mere 10 days), I can recommend these steps. What better proof does one need?  Yet, there is another way to glean perhaps the most powerful push. It requires  other people, or maybe just one individual. Receiving encouragement on any accomplishment will spark optimism and renewed energy.  So, can I get some love?  If any of these thoughts motivated your start on a project, I’d be thankful if you let me know.  You have my interested, listening ear.

                                                                           

          *SMART goals are:  Simple/Sensible, Measurable, Action-orientated,  

        Relevant/Reasonable,  and have a specified Time-frame