As I progressed along my writing journey, I struggled to settle into a regular writing routine. I’m not sure if I should admit this, but a procrastination demon possessed me.
It taunted me as the day progressed. Why don’t you get your client work done first? Why don’t you go out for coffee? Why don’t you get the housework done? Why don’t you ring a friend? Why don’t you check Facebook?
Some days I gave in to the chatter in my head and just hoped that there would be enough time left at the end of the day for me to write. Well, so many days passed and I hadn’t managed to get back to my notebook.
Then someone advised me to trial writing at a set time each day. The strategy worked, and I wrote every morning for an hour. Short, sharp bursts worked best for me. The word count for my novel developed an upward trajectory.
However, each morning it felt like I had run a marathon mentally before I had sat down at the computer to write. My procrastination demon was still alive and well.
I remain puzzled as to why my brain does this especially when I enjoy writing. I would love to hear from other writers thoughts on the topic of procrastination.
Jen Trewin 