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Procrastination. . . .Who hasn't been afflicted? An insightful take on how to accomplish your goals. Procrastination
and Goals I think all writers must have a little quotation stuck right where they can see it in their offices. You know, one of those encouraging, kick-in-the-butt mottoes. Mine is "Do or do not do. There is no try." No, it's not a quote by Keats or Churchill. My kick in the butt comes from Yoda, the little cute/weird Jedi Master in Star Wars. It's what I believe it comes down to for anyone who dares to dream. 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 Goals are probably one of the things unpublished writers use the least.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. For more information about Karen and her work, visit her web site at http://karenwiesner.hypermart.net. Back to Articles Contents Page
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