procrastination Archives - Addicted to Writing

8 Reasons I Procrastinate and How I Make Procrastination Work for Me

Posted on December 12, 2021 Written by Pinar Tarhan

One of the most common (and generally sound) writing advice is to write with your audience in mind. What’s their pain point? And how can you fix their problem?

Except, I sometimes do things the other way on my blog. I take my pain point and write it in a way that will relate to my audience.

This usually happens when I keep reading articles that are supposedly targeted toward me but I can’t relate to at all. And I’m not a unicorn. Chances are, there are writers who will relate to me.

So I hope this procrastination article speaks to you and that you find it relatable.

As for fixing the problem of procrastination, well… we’ll see.

Fear of what now?

The reason blamed most for procrastination is usually a tie between fear of success and perfectionism.

And when that happens, I usually stop reading whatever that is.

Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not afraid of success. Failure? Oh, yes. Absolutely. Very often. Success? No.

And I’m so not a perfectionist.

I’m by no means a perfectionist.

Sure, I like to check things. I like it when things are done right.

But I never aim for perfect. I aim for grammatically correct (as long as it doesn’t stifle style and voice), factually correct and enjoyable.

Because perfect doesn’t exist. Universally loved and accepted doesn’t exist either. So, why bother? I get that it might be the reason behind the procrastination of some writers. Just not mine.

So why do I procrastinate?

– Overwhelm (also known as overload). Whether it is due to too much information, too many ideas or specific difficulties like monetary or technical, overwhelm blocks me. It renders me frustrated.

– Underwhelm. Something is boring, repetitive and/or takes too long to get to the point. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out whether you are overwhelmed or underwhelmed. The line is thin.

– Writer’s block. How do you pitch something or write when you’re absolutely stuck?

I regularly go through what I call pitching blocks. Yes, I need to pitch guest posts to promote my novels.

And I need to pitch non-fiction article or essay ideas to editors.

But sometimes, the idea is just not there. Or the idea is there, but you can’t find a publication that is a good fit.

Sometimes you get over that hurdle, only to be rejected by the editor. Then it’s back to the drawing board.

I am often working on more than one thing, so complete writer’s block is not a thing for me.

Stuck in one scene? I move on to another. Stuck in one story? Go ahead and work on the other one. Not feeling the fiction muses? I’ll go ahead and write that blog post.

But no matter what form and magnitude writer’s block hits you, it still gets in your way.

It delays your launch plans. It might put a dent in your expected income. It will also occasionally drive you crazy.

Why can’t I find the right, exciting love story for this wonderful character of mine?

Why do I have the perfect premise for a sci-fi thriller but I can’t for the life of me figure out the personalities of my protagonists?

And why can’t I figure out the rules of this alternate universe?

– Fear of failure. Will this (whatever it is that you are learning or working on) be too hard to figure out?

Will the result have too many mistakes and/or look hideous (especially for techie things and/or things that require formatting/design)?

– Health problems. Good luck being proactive and productive when your health is bothering you a great deal.

Sure, conventional wisdom tells you to rest and sit it out, but what if your issues are chronic and the doctors haven’t figured out a solution yet? Just how much rest can you afford without going crazy and/or broke?

– Fun/being social. Yes, I admit binging Netflix too many times. Luckily, I turn that into content.

And what is sitting with friends for an hour longer? Although, if I knew Covid would hit, I would have procrastinated even harder on this front.

– Fear of failure/rejection.

I’ve been pitching for over a decade, and I still occasionally procrastinate on this.

I also call it “fear of more (unpaid) work”.

Because, if the editor rejects you, you have to look into other magazines and do more research and tweak your pitch. Then wait. Then follow up. Then maybe follow up once more before moving on. Rinse and repeat.

And if one novel doesn’t turn into the hit you are hoping for, you have to reconsider your entire marketing strategy, study some more, and gasp!, write another book – while dealing with fear and anxiety. What if this one also doesn’t work out the way I want it to work out?

Fear of more, endless, (initially) unpaid work in sight is real.

I don’t mind the work; it’s the uncertainty that gets to me. The feeling of working as hard as you can and still feeling you are not getting anywhere.

– Being intrigued by how the human mind works and how/why everyone does things. Have you ever watched videos of apartment rentals in New York even though you don’t live in the States and aren’t planning to move there anytime soon? I have.

For me, the peak of this type of procrastination is watching videos or reading about why people procrastinate. Like, I know why I do it. Why do other people? How? How often? How normal/rare/weird am I?

If this is you, you just might enjoy this Ted talk. It’s called Inside the mind of the Procrastinator.

Procrastination isn’t the end of the world. Or the end of productivity.

I’ve never missed a deadline imposed by an editor or client, including when they asked me to set the deadline. It is only right and professional to turn in my work when or before I promised I would.

Can/do I perform the same level of “professional” courtesy if I set the deadline for myself for a passion project? I think you know the answer to that one. (No, I can’t.)

Part of the reason is, I believe, my personality. I strongly recommend Gretchen Rubin’s bestselling book Better than Before (Amazon aff. link) about habits, one of the only books I’ve read on the topic that takes your personality into account before drawing conclusions and offering advice.

I’m a questioner/rebel (terms coined by Rubin). I question everything, and I only do things if I’m satisfied by the reason. I also rebel. I do something only if I want to do it. So even if I happen to set a deadline, I would rebel against me.

Does it mean I don’t get things done?

Of course not. But it is unlikely for me to say “I’ll finish this book by March 15” and then have it finished by March. I will do it as soon as possible, but I can’t give a date. And if I did, I wouldn’t stick to it. I’d probably finish it even on the 14^th or the 16^thof March just to spite my goal-setting self.

I’m trying to tone down the Questioner/Rebel in me, and luckily, I’m a total obliger when it comes to dealing with other professionals.

I’m trying to understand why I procrastinate and come up with methods to tone it down. And when I can’t tone it down, I come up with reasons to make it pay.

Make your procrastination work for you

– Watched too many episodes in a row? I pitch and write articles on it in a row while everything is still fresh in my mind.

– Spent days socializing with friends as opposed to working? I am grateful for the fun I had.

And I might or might not use the stories we shared for future inspiration. Always with their permission, of course.

So, there you go. This has been the procrastination analysis of a non-perfectionist.

If I regret any procrastination, it’s usually the mindless social media browsing or YouTube watching before I go to bed. But even then, those are my creatively and energetically dead hours.

And let’s face it, cute cats can’t be that bad for our mental health.

Could I be working instead? If I could, trust me, I’d be working.

Could I be doing something else? If there was a way I could be out safely dancing and mingling outside, I’d be doing that.

As long as I don’t hang around online past midnight (which is the latest I can go to bed where my brain and body will allow me to wake up properly in the morning), I’ll be fine.

And in those “mindless” strolling moments, I’ll still find hilarious memes, story ideas, what I want from a rental apartment, what (not) to do with my social media, where I (don’t) want to travel, and beyond.

Here’s what I want you to take away from this post:

– Not all procrastination is bad.

– Not everyone procrastinates the same way or for the same reasons.

– You can make procrastination work for you.

– Reading about other people’s procrastination reasons (and ways) will be helpful to a certain extent. But you might decide you have to work on it if you are filled with regret and disappointment afterward.

Why do you procrastinate? How do you procrastinate? And what do you do about it? Let me know in the comments.

Benefits of Having a Cold for Freelance Writers

Posted on March 29, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Surprise, surprise – I have a cold again. I hate colds probably more than any other person you know. Yes, having a weak immune system (no matter how healthily I try to eat or how well I try to take care of myself) and getting colds a lot more often than anyone I know is truly annoying.

Even though my cold symptoms aren’t typically that serious, they are bad enough to limit my social life and decrease my productivity nearly to zero.

Being a one person-company doesn’t help either. After all that’s how many freelance writers operate. We write, edit, research, query, organize, brainstorm, market and a lot more. Having a head that feels like 40 pounds or feeling dizzy as soon as you get up doesn’t really help with any of our tasks.

But while there is not much I can do about the colds, I can at least think of the benefits (and lessons learned) to avoid feeling blue and frustrated.

1) You save money. Assuming you have a solid insurance, having a cold means you don’t go out much and therefore you don’t spend much. This way you have a lot more to spend when you are feeling all energetic and healthy. Maybe you can put some of them in your saving or traveling accounts. And I am not making this up. You should see how good my account balance is right now.

2) You can procrastinate, and not feel guilty about it. There are many ways to procrastinate, and despite our best efforts we find ourselves doing it. I know that we need our relaxation moments but we often spend a lot more time resting/delaying/dealing with less challenging stuff/depressing over queries more than we should or need to.

If you are not feeling terrible, there are of course productive things you can during a cold. But chances are you are not going to be nearly as efficient as your healthy self. So take this time to procrastinate away. Watch mindless TV, feel upset, eat some comfort food….

3) You can reach a whole level of motivation and drive. The longer a cold sticks around, the more driven I become to do more for my career, and do it sooner and faster. You realize how important time is one more time, and when you have the energy to do things to reach your goals, you should just do so.

4) You can get the not-so-exciting tasks done. Not all tasks require much energy. Try organizing your desktop, getting rid of all the resources you don’t need, rearranging bookmarks, going over your markets lists. Note all your ideas. Go over your old posts to see what you have covered so far.

Once you get your health back, you can get back to work with guns blazing.

How do you deal with your colds?

Procrastination: Friend or Foe?

Posted on March 19, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

One advertising teacher had told me there was a word for people who were addicted to deadlines, and the adrenaline that last minute rush created. I’ve not forgotten the definition. Yes, I was pretty guilty of it when I heard the word.

The easier a subject was to study, the more I procrastinated. Oh, I procrastinated for the subjects that were hard for me too- I just did it a little less and gave myself a little more time.

For some reason, I just couldn’t focus or worry enough until 2-3 days were left before the exam. And if I thought I could pull it off, I’ve been known to start studying as late as in the morning of the exam!

Of course I made exceptions for term projects, theses, grades I needed to improve and while I was studying to get into university.

I’m much more professional and careful now. I take my assignment deadlines very seriously, and start the project almost as soon as I accept it. I also make sure I finish it a couple of days before the deadline so that I am ready for last minute problems.

And although my sense of professionalism has made me procrastinate less, it hasn’t eliminated it completely. Let’s take my first novel for instance.

Since it is my first, I don’t have an editor/publisher pressuring me to finish 5 chapters in 2 weeks or something. It is not that I don’t try to write as much as I can whenever I can. But when I get stuck with a scene, I let myself suffer from the writer blues, and sometimes it is hard to take back the inspiration I need for fiction.

Then there are the blogs I run, but I don’t publish as often as I’d like to because in between gigs, other marketing efforts, market research, and trying to squeeze in a novel, I sometimes lose more time when resting than I intend to.

But is procrastination purely evil? Or is it a necessary tool for innovation? Does it always make our lives worse? Or does it really help with productivity and creativity?

The two posts I read on it made me wonder. The first one was Melanie Brook’s article on Freelance Switch “The Pull of Procrastination”, and the second one was the article that inspired Melanie’s post “Procrastination Is Essential to Innovation” on Harvard Business Review, written by Whitney Johnson.

I was amazed at how successful Melanie was at not procrastinating, and I did relate with Johnson’s tendency to delay things she wasn’t familiar with – even though she needed to do them to promote the thing she was familiar with-her book.

Both Melanie and Whitney seem to agree on the fact that a little anxiety about an approaching deadline might be necessary. Desirable even. But too much of it is bound to decrease productivity and innovation.

I agree. Below is a list of when I find procrastination a friend or a foe.

It’s a friend when:

It really makes you get off your butt. Yes, ideally we’d all start doing something about dreams and goals right here and right now. But this is where the saying “better late than never” comes in. Starting and rushing to finish is better than not finishing at all. But of course this goes more for first drafts you write for yourself and not for your clients.

It gives you adrenaline that was missing for a long time. I don’t know about you, but some adrenaline does fuel my productivity, speed of learning and creativity. I remember promising to a friend that a story would be ready at a certain time. Guess what? It worked. She got the story – and a good one – at the promised time. I just didn’t want to disappoint a reader, no matter how hard and fast I had to work to get it done.

It feels great to find yourself reaching a productivity level you never knew existed.

It’s a foe when:

It creates extra stress that you could probably do without. As freelancers (and/or writers) we are under enough pressure and stress already about running a one-person company, responsible for all the aspects of our business. And even if you are collaborating with others, it is a lot different from just being responsible from one or two tasks and leaving the rest up to your boss.

It messes up your schedule and other tasks.

It makes you enjoy the project less.

Bottom line?

It all depends on what you are procrastinating against and how you procrastinate. How much damage are you doing to your work? To your peace of mind? To your career?

Or are you using your procrastination for inspiration?

Just like most things in life, procrastination lies in a grey area, and it is up to you to pull it to the white zone, or let it drag you to the black.

How to Use Our Email Accounts Productively to Avoid Procrastination

Posted on March 27, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Many books have been written and chapters have been monopolized for time management. One of the most popular,m aybe even the most popular, procrastination activity of all times is reading and sending e-mails.

Sure, you can do your best to avoid scam. You can warn your friends against sending you weird chain emails that mean well but end up being nothing but time-wasters. You know those emails. It can be a collection of funny cartoons or jokes, or much worse, an e-mail in the form of a story or a greeting card that urges you to forward to as many people as you can.

I don’t get those emails often anymore, and I immediately delete the ones I get. But managing your inbox doesn’t end there. You have work e-mails, e-mails from friends, newsletters, notifications, offers and more.

Ideally, your work e-mail and personal e-mail are two separate accounts. In this day and age, one email isn’t sufficient, especially if you are a freelancer.

But what about those newsletters? If you are working online, there is a big chance you want to keep up with the industry. You need to follow blogs. You updated need information. So you sign up for newsletters. You sign up for free e-books. But of course after signing up for 40 newsletters (it can and should happen if you are educating yourself in specific areas). But keeping up with the information you are receiving is a challenging activity. What you should do is to create many relevant folders so that you can store different things separately and you can return to them whenever you need.

Of course it doesn’t end here. You might also have chosen to be notified when someone comments on a blog post or article you commented upon. Someone might have commented on your article or blog. You need to keep up with these as well.

Timothy Ferriss is an established entrepreneur and blogger who tells you how to deal with all the distractions in your life in his book The 4-Hour WorkWeek. As the title suggests, the book is all about reducing your work week to a mere 4 hours. That’s right, not even your work day but your work week! It sounds implausible but he talks about everything in step-by-step detail. It is possible.

However, I am pretty sure I spend at least 4 hours a week, just checking and reading my emails. He suggests that you should only check your email only twice a day- once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And obviously he is talking about being done with the task quickly and efficiently. It is good advice but one we struggle at keeping. Surely, it can be done. But it does takes patience, effort, and an e-mail checking diet. After all, which writer doesn’t want to see if she has published her recent article or heard from that publisher?

We writers do in fact have many work-related and significant reasons to have a love affair with our email accounts. But we can and should work on cutting the habit and maximizing our productivity. Organizing our e–mails, and not spending more than enough time on them, are good starting points to stop the e-mails from turning us into procrastinators.