#Giveaway PROCRASTINATION + Smash & Grab by Amy Christine Parker @amychristinepar @randomhousekids

How to Deal with Procrastination

I used to be the queen of procrastination. Last minute book reports, homework completed on the bus to school, tests studied for in the hallway on the way to class—I’m guilty of all of it. I didn’t actually overcome my penchant for putting things off until I nearly flunked out of college. Seriously. I nearly did. It was such a nightmarish, horrible, scary moment that I went procrastinator cold-turkey. However, that doesn’t mean that I still don’t struggle with the temptation to push off stuff from time to time, especially my writing. When I’m drafting the initial rough draft of a novel I battle it. I feel like my writing is awful, my ideas are all boring, and I’m never going to be able to fix any of it. It feels easier to not write than write. Here’s what I do to combat it. MOST of the time it works.

1. Use Pacemaker Press to make a word count quota schedule and deadline for my first draft. Now that I’m published and often times under contract, I have to stay on track or I’ll get too far behind to catch up by my deadline. This site lets you enter in your projected completion date, which days you plan to work, any days you plan to take off and comes up with a daily word count. It’s brilliant! Every day I don’t work I see how quickly the word count is affected/increased and it’s enough to get me typing.
2. I try to write at the same time, in the same place as often as I can, preferably early in the day because the later it gets, the harder it is to get going.
3. I play an app on my phone that uses background noise and brain wave tech to help concentration called Brainwave Sharp Mind. You can pick your noise: rain, ocean sounds, etc and the type of work you’re trying to do and it will play a series of brain wave patterns to help enhance it. I owe this gem to Jessica Brody.
4. I have to keep my phone on because I have kids and often get calls from the school/need to be available for emergencies, but I turn off all social media notifications and keep it far enough away that I don’t see incoming emails, etc. during my writing time.

And that’s basically it. Sometimes I bribe myself with rewards such as an afternoon at the movies or a new book I’ve been wanting, but mostly it’s about sticking hard core to a routine!