Procrastination & Goals
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Procrastination & Goals |
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So what makes us "not do"?
The WHYS of procrastination. The first step in fighting the urge
to dilly-dally is to recognize why we do it. Some people have good reasons: they have another job, they have children, and
these things run them ragged. They don't have the energy to be creative. Others are just naturally lazy or easily distracted.
These are problems that can be solved by setting priorities and setting goals.
The WAYS of procrastination.
It took me a long time to recognize the subtle ways I keep from
writing, because I do it in a way that makes it look like I'm actually doing work. I write lists, I organize, I write articles
(just kidding! this is a good thing.) Bottom line: I waste time.
The ways we procrastinate can be inane or viable. Who could argue
that doing research or reading other books isn't necessary? No one. Except a lot of the time we research things like how many
shades of blue there are--I have to get the color of my heroine's eyes just right! We research furniture--what kind of chair
would my big, masculine hero sit in? We read other books to keep ourselves from writing instead of to "keep up with the market."
Are you planning to write a time-travel? Well no. . .
You have to do research. It's a must. You should keep up with
the market. But these things shouldn't take us away from the actual writing of our novel. We can avoid inane or viable ways
of procrastinating by setting priorities and setting goals.
The WAGES of procrastination.
Goals are probably one of the things unpublished writers use
the least. There are no deadlines, no "boss" telling them to get it done or get out. All they have is what they impose upon
themselves. Published writers have to set goals if they want to keep on top of the industry and hold onto the slot they have
with their publisher(s).
For every action there is a reaction, and this scientific law
also holds true for procrastination and goals. The less you write, the less you want to write. The more you write, the more
you want to write. Procrastinate long enough and you may never go back to your dream. That's enough to get me to sit up and
take notice every time. So we set our priorities and we set our goals if we're serious about this dream.
The WHYS of setting goals.
In the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys, Michele Pfeiffer can make
you believe it when she says the reason she never makes a New Year's Resolution is because "You do what you do, right?" That
was my motto for not setting goals in 1994. The biggest reason for setting goals is simple: accomplishment. In 1994, I had
no goals. By hemming and hawing and working whenever the mood struck me, I finished a book.
It was an accomplishment, but it was a half-hearted one at best.
In 1995, I set goals. I set an easily attained goal, I set a challenging goal, and I set an impossible goal. I surpassed my
impossible goal somewhere around March of that year and kept going. I kept going because I asked myself "How bad do you want
to be published? How much would you do it achieve it?" If your answer is that you want it so bad you'll jump any hurdle, you
want it more than anything, and you'll go the extra mile, whatever it takes--you've accomplished the first step toward getting
published. You know why you'll set that goal.
As a published author, I immediately set a goal to have another
novel submitted to my publisher before my first novel was released. Competition being as fierce as it is, I couldn't let it
go at that. Before Leather & Lace was released, I had 2 full manuscripts in to my publisher as well as a proposal for
a four-book series. If I don't keep my slot filled, someone else will come in and take it. That kind of thinking forces me
to set goals.
The WAYS of setting goals.
Goals are as individual as people. What works for you won't work
for everybody, and only you know if you're letting yourself off easy, really challenging yourself or if you're overextending
yourself. You can set your goals the way I used to, if it works for you, but whatever you do--set one that's challenging.
There's a story, but an unknown author, that Charlie Brown was
shooting arrows into a wooden fence one day. After each shot, he ran over to the fence with a piece of chalk and drew a bull's-eye
around the arrow. Lucy came along, saw what he was doing, and said "Hey, that's not the way to practice. You're supposed to
draw the target and then shoot at it." To which Charlie Brown replied "If you do it my way, you'll never miss." Let me tell
you, that kind of goal is a sure-fire way to shame even the laziest of us. Do you want to do the best or just settle? Set
challenging goals, but don't set them so high that the only thing you'll come out with is an extra-large dose of discouragement.
You could set a time goal, where you work a set number of hours
a day. You could set a page goal of writing X number of pages a day. Or it might work best for you to set a date goal. When
do you want to finish this by?
Once you've decided on your goals, test them. Are you making
them? Exceeding them? Falling short? Adjust them so you're getting the maximum amount of work done.
The WAGES of setting goals.
Teddy Roosevelt said "Credit belongs to...the man who actually
strives to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasm and knows the great devotion, who spends himself on a worthy cause,
who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement. And who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly..."
It's easy to shrug it off with "You do what you." Don't be fooled
because if you set goals, you are taking the hard road. You're also taking the high road. "Do or don't do." "Dare greatly."
How badly do YOU want it? How much would YOU do to achieve your
heart's desire? Don't wait until New Year's to set those challenging resolutions. Do it now and don't look back.
 --Karen Wiesner© 1998 Karen Wiesner
For permission to reprint this article,
contact Karen at kwiesner@cuttingedge.net.
Mirror, Mirror (book 3 of the Wounded
Warrior Series) Twenty-five years ago, Gwen Nicholson-Nelson was in a car accident that almost claimed her life ... and left behind a strange gift. She can see the future ... and death ... before it comes to pass. She had a vision of her husband's death 10 years before it happened in, for Gwen, chilling deja vu. During this time, she's also had a disturbing connection with another like her, a psychic who has the power to not only see into others but to manipulate and destroy.
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