Prep vs. Procrastination
Oh hey, it’s writing time! Maybe that’s after work. Maybe it’s during your lunch break. Maybe it’s whenever the baby’s finally deigned to slip into an exhausted coma. Maybe it’s 5 a.m., before the rest of the world can wake up and demand things of you.
Point is, you’ve carved out some time to write. Great job!
But wait. Before you get started, you have some prep to do. Perhaps you…
Make yourself a cozy cup of coffee.
Dig out your best notebook and the one perfect pen from your horde of hundreds.
Adjust the lighting—too harsh and you risk a headache, too soft and you risk an accidental nap.
Adjust your chair height. Ergonomics are the backbone of a healthy writing practice!
Gather appropriate snacks, both salty and sweet, and arrange within one-handed snacking distance.
Check your email. Can’t have unread email anxiety eating into your flow.
Open up a time-tracking app so you can optimize your metric collection.
Turn off your phone.
But what if there’s an emergency? Turn phone back on, disable wifi. That ought to do it.
Unless the emergency comes in via email! Enable wifi. Better safe than sorry.
Oh look, a response to your #amwriting tweet! Gotta hop right on that networking opportunity.
Twitter has a lot of cats, doesn’t it? Awww.
Cats aren’t productive. But this thread about bias in the publishing industry certainly is! It’s important to keep up on this stuff. Gotta arm yourself if you’re gonna survive in this climate.
Take a sip of your coffee, realize it’s cold. Stick it in the microwave.
Does it feel a little hot in here? Crack a window.
The sun has shifted its position. Readjust indoor lighting to compensate.
Wait, is this your last pair of clean socks? It is, isn’t it? Throw a load into the wash—it can do its thing while you write. Multitasking!
Find a faded receipt while emptying a pocket for the wash. Squint at it. Do you still need it? Probably not, but maybe. Add to the mostly-illegible-receipts pile.
Okay, laundry’s going. Time to get serious! Close Twitter. Open Spotify. Navigate to your writing playlist. Realize it doesn’t have a song for the particular scene you need to write today. Google “sad songs ambient focus meditation energy.”
Skip through the options until you find something workable. Get stuck on a good song you’ve never heard before. Daydream a scene to match it. Let the creativity flow through you.
But that’s not the scene you’re here to write today. Skip skip skip. Realize the perfect song was on your playlist all along.
Sip coffee. It’s cold again. Grab a sweater while you’re up.
Sweater’s too warm. Ditch it, close the window.
BEEP. The wash is done already? Huh. You’d better transfer it to the dryer.
Yaaaaaawn. What time is it? Past time to get working, you’re sure. Check the clock.
WHAT!? You’ve been writing for an hour and a half already!? Sigh. Time to switch to other priorities. Maybe tomorrow, WIP…maybe tomorrow.
Moral: writing rituals can help get you into a groove, but they run the risk of ballooning out of control.
Your writing ritual should be helping you get your words in. If you find it taking over, try limiting it to the three most important items. The more aspects of your environment you try to control, the greater potential for distraction when a cog isn’t turning juuuuust right.
Don’t be afraid of a warm cup of coffee or the perfect pen. But make sure these rituals are working for you, not the other way around.