Procrastination

[caracaal]

My brain literally will do anything to get away from doing something productive. Basically yesterday I went to Target, got some gelato, did my makeup, took it off because it looked bad, painted my nails, ate some pasta, drew a whole sketch, played Niche for an hour, and texted for a bit so I didn't have to do homework.

 

Am I the only procrastinator here, and if you procrastinate too, what's the worst bit of procrastination you've ever done?

[Spacestar TheThundersuncat]

Time management works if it's the usual stuff, you know, these three assignments you get every week, maybe two others thrown in. Some tests.

This week, we had a nice 'surprise'. Some very important essay for economy, where the written instructions weren't only completely ambiguous, but in clear contradiction to the verbally stated expectations. 

Well, Wednesday wasn't an option. One assignment isn't as important as the only Latin test, anyway.

Thursday was kind of ... a blur. Too tired to get up and do anything, really. So logically, I started writing at 10. 00 pm and was done by 4. 00 am. 

To find out it was due next week. Kill me and the concept of conveniently left out information that has you question whether your superior is actually a sadist or just plain out unaware that other people have a tight schedule they don't intend to keep.

[Lurkily]

I do purchasing for a gov't agency; supplies, toner, training, shipping, printing.  It's always a constant struggle to stay focused, because if I procrastinate, things go sideways and pile up fast.  That's usually my issue.  I keep a set of post-its with open tasks; when I'm stymied, I can switch tasks, and when I lose focus, I have a reminder in my face.

[Lurkily]

On a side note; my favored notepads are mnemosyne 162, or the Front Page Reporter by Field Notes.  They're both narrow for easy pocket-carry, but tall, giving you enough space for a long checklist and status notes for complex tasks.  They both flip over the top easily, letting you cycle through tasks and return to start.

Maruman's Mnemosyne notebooks use better paper, 50 instead of 30 sheets to a pad, and still somewhat less expensive, where I shop.  The pages are also perforated instead of ring-bound, for a clean separation.  Rings typically flip more easily, but the cover is creased so that it folds over each corner if the pad's dimensions easily.

https://www.jetpens.com/Maruman-Mnemosyne-N162-Memo-Pad-Graph-3-x-7.8/pd/14510#index=1

EDIT: Lihit Labs deserves a mention.  They don't have a pad in the dimenions I prefer, but they have a squeeze-open ring system, which means you can keep separate notebooks with notes only for specific things, and transfer notes behind them; like taking notes out of an 'active tasks' notebook and putting it in a 'closed tasks' book.

Additionally, they also sell a hole punch to fit their ring binding, so you could MAKE a pad of any dimensions out of it, if you wanted to just use the binding and punch your own sheets and cover.  That also lets you slip photos and receipts into a notebook with a ring binding similar to spiral notebooks.

https://www.jetpens.com/Lihit-Lab-Aqua-Drops-Twist-Ring-Memo-Notepad-Squeeze-Open-3-x-4.1-Lined-Black-Brown/pd/20554

[Goggles-kun]

I gotta write a book and I'm still procrastinating the first draft

[Lurkily]

Two approaches to that; plan it, or do it by the seat of your pants.  Some people do better with outlines, settings, character sheets.  Other people just WRITE, and the details they put down create the world while they write.

If you're one of those latter, grab a text editor that hides all but the last line of text; or just tape a sheet of paper over all but the last line of your document editor.  And just . . . write.  Accept that the start will be rough, and just write.  Go off on tangents if you hit a dead end.  Word vomit, make a mess, disappoint your mother.  For a procrastinator, stopping to edit will murder your book with brutal and malicious glee.  Save that for later.

Whether you wrote an outline or your brain puked on the paper, the next steps are much the same. 

Once you get the whole story out, look at the blemished, ugly thing you've birthed, find the STORY in it, and rewrite it, cutting out what you don't need.  Trim and trim until that ugly little bush is an elegant bonsai.  Reconsider the order of the chapters.  Read the dialog out loud, to make sure it sounds real.  

Now that you have the full elegant sweep of the story with all its richness and detail in mind - you're gonna hate me - rewrite it again.  Start from page one with every ounce of rich flavor and detail in your mind.  You know what the future holds, your characters are full and your settings rich, and you can do better justice to the first page, now that you know the last.

Once you're done, compare your works.  sometimes you'll find magic missing after you rewrite, and you can find new ways to craft the passage to recapture it, or even just walk back the changes.

At least, that's how it goes for me when I've written longer things.  Word vomit is about the only way I can get to the end of the story without seizing with despair, jumping into editing, and losing it.  if you lose interest in a story before you're done with a draft, it's very hard to just work through it.  But if you have the draft finished, polishing and rewriting is something you can just work through.

[Sky]

On 11/25/2018 at 3:38 PM, Lurkily said:

or your brain puked on the paper,

look at the blemished, ugly thing you've birthed

Trim and trim until that ugly little bush is an elegant bonsai. 

good advice

[Lurkily]

Thanks, but I can't take all the credit.  I participate in a few writing forums and groups.  I see advice or requests for advice along, so some of this is mine, some comes from other members of other communities, some come from the greats of literature that I've found published advice from.

[Markus]

My favorite writing about procrastination is https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html. It's quite a long article (good for procrastinators), but I think the mental model described there helps fighting against this behavior. Highly recommended (as well as all the other articles on that blog)