I am your familiar procrastinator. Ah, my bed! What could go wrong if I just lie down for a few minutes?
4 hours later, I get up to fetch a snack. My mind is in a dilapidated state.
As I eat my food, I browse through YouTube because…I’ve always associated eating with watching something, as many of us do, and NO, the fact that I was just watching random stuff on my bed a few minutes ago does not make this dishonorable. I have dozens of these associations to keep the engine of my procrastination going.
Eating dinner? It’s alright to watch an episode of a TV show you don’t even like that much. Lying on your bed? It’s fine. I’m allowed to check my phone and go through all the social media apps on the phone. I even catch myself many times mindlessly opening Reddit on my phone and realize I was just browsing through Reddit on my Laptop a few seconds ago. I find myself disgusted at the rationalizations I provide for each of my actions. I do everything possible to keep this train on procrastination going, fairly well aware of what it is doing to my mental health. I’ve had enough!
My solution? I decided to write a thousand words a day no matter what.
And it’s working. I’m slowly untethering the insidious associations I have made over the years with just this one resolve. No matter what is an important part of it. Unless my house is on fire or there’s blood gushing out of my head, I am going to get it done. Once you know that you can’t give yourself an excuse at the end of the day and that you have to deliver, you unveil the rationalizations you make to prolong procrastination and see through them.
What I’ve realized is that writing 1000 words a day is not that hard, especially if you call yourself a writer. Sure, there are some days you’re gonna want to pull your hair out rather than write another word. But the key is to write one word at a time. Bird by bird, as Anne Lamott says.
I know I’m not saying something novel or fresh. Many have exhaustively covered what consistency and building habits do to your skill and productivity(Thank you, James Clear). But it doesn’t make it any less profound. If you’re a writer struggling with procrastination, I urge you to try this one thing. Just write a thousand words every day. If you don’t have anything to say, start writing with I don’t have anything to say. But just make sure you get to that target because sooner or later, you’re bound to churn out something valuable.
1000 words a day can get you to 365,000 words a year. That’s enough for a book series. Of course, you’re gonna be throwing most of it away, but hey, what’s left can be great, and who knows what that might bring you.
You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page — Jodi Picoult
So just get writing. Good luck. Follow me on my journey so I can share my learnings with you.
