Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A Few Words on Procrastination by Donna Fasano

Dawdling, postponing, stalling, dabbling, delaying, dilly-dallying, loitering, frittering, playing, frivoling, idling, loafing. They all mean the same thing: to put off. I am good at it. Too good, I fear.

And when I am questioned about my progress (the project matters not—it could be anything from making a grocery list to editing my next novel), I have perfected the hemming and hawing answer that is sure to baffle the interrogator into a frustrated fit (90% of the time the interrogator is my husband who has learned over the years that it's safer not to do too much questioning unless he wants to end up walking away, scratching his head, and muttering, "What the heck did she just say?"). 

Just this week, I was interviewed by an editor of a popular romance novel review magazine and I told the woman, "There's nothing better than being your own boss." And here I sit this morning, blogging, reading e-mail and tweets, checking Facebook, pacing from window to window, nibbling on a granola bar, doing anything and everything besides what I should be doing: starting the next chapter of my book. One negative about being your own boss is that there's no one to light a fire under you when there's work to be done.

Here's my best advice regarding procrastination:

·        Just do it!
·        Break larger tasks into smaller ones.
·        Complete the most difficult task first.
·        Reward yourself when the job is complete.

Now THERE'S advice everyone should follow, right? Are you a procrastinator? What do you find is your biggest distraction? And what's your best piece of advice for me…er, ah, people who procrastinate?
~~~

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Donna Fasano has written over 30 romance and women's fiction novels. You can learn more about her on her blog, or visit her on Facebook and Twitter. Donna loves to hear from her readers.

Her sweet romance novel, TAKE ME I'M YOURS, is on sale this week for just $0.99. Find it in the Kindle Store.

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Too many things pull at my attention. Thanks for stopping by, Sydell.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. The hard part for me is putting it into practice. lol

      Delete
  3. So just do it? Okay, I will go read that book that has been calling me all day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to writing. I often do all sorts or unimportant tasks to put off starting a new book or new scene. My worst time is before a new book. I find it easier to write once I have got some momentum and know where I'm going. It doesn't help that I'm a seat of the pants writer and never plot in advance--but I can't. I kill the story if I try to outline it. My brain thinks it is already written and moves on to the next story. So you are not alone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I, too, suffer from putting-things-offness. I've discovered that if I get right down to it, I do far better than I do if I allow them to slide even a little.

    ReplyDelete
  6. PS: that is one WICKeD spam-bot. NOT for folks with lousy vision :-~

    ReplyDelete