Don't Put Off That Writing Project

Today's poster says If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. It's anonymous, but it sounds to me like something a mother would say to a reluctant child. Maybe you've said something akin to the quote to someone. The big question is this:  Have you said it to yourself?

It's so much easier to procrastinate than work on a project. The keyword in the previous sentence is work. Yes, we all get a little lazy now and then. I think maybe we're doing it more now during our stay at home time as businesses begin to open again. For one thing, we are tired, more mentally than physically. All the concerns people have right now about working or being furloughed, or worse yet, to be laid off. Add the little fact that families must still be fed and monitored so they do follow the rules. We are worried about our immediate families and our extended families living either close by or very far away. All that wears us out mentally. 

But let's look back to pre-pandemic times and peer ahead at our writing world down the road when we hope to have life back to normal. Even when life is 'normal,' we put can writing projects on the back burner. Oh, we don't totally ignore them because we do think about writing, either starting a new project or finishing one. It's the sitting down and doing it that's the hard part. Why do we wait?

There can be any number of reasons. Your nature may be that you are a habitual procrastinator. Maybe you were that kid in high school or college who always turned a paper in but had whipped it out the night before. Start that, and it goes on and on. When you put things off until the last minute, you aren't going to do your best work. It's often a hurry-up job. You might get by, but you're probably not going to get rave reviews. 

A second reason we wait to start or continue working on a writing project is fear that we can't do it, that it won't work out like we want, or that even if it is your best effort, it may not be good enough in the eyes of another. This is a time when you need to give yourself a mental talking-to and to do all you can to boost your self-confidence. It sounds easy, but you'll need to work on it on a continuing basis. One little session isn't going to make you the Completely Confident Fantastic Writer you hope to be. 

One more reason could be that you put everything else ahead of your writing, and you either never get to it or are totally exhausted if you manage to eke out an hour for yourself. I admire younger writers who are raising a family, perhaps holding down a full or part-time job, yet still find time to write. You're Superman or Wonder Woman! I started writing in my mid-fifties because I let many other things take precedence over my desire to write. Looking back, I wish that I had started much earlier. 

So we have three reasons for waiting to start a writing project--being a habitual procrastinator, fear, and de-emphasizing writing in your life. There are solutions to each of these if you have the desire to tackle that long-awaited project. You should also remind yourself that if you wait, all you get is older.