Procrastination

I am a procrastinator. I can come up with fantastic ways to avoid or delay doing the things I "should" be doing. I clean house to delay grading. (My word, there is no more tedious and thankless task.) I've surfed idly through the internet to avoid housework.

I work best under pressure and at the last minute.

Good thing I'm nocturnal. I easily stay up late to finish things. Sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. Getting up early doesn't work. As in, even if I drag my tailfeathers out of bed, my brain stays behind on the pillow.

Sometimes, procrastination even affects my writing,which is odd because there's no deadlines and no pressure.

There are writers who work best if they sit themselves down and write regardless of whims. Some work best on a schedule. Some outline. There's a flavor of writer for everyone.

I don't care much for schedules, but I do, from time to time, sit myself at my computer and try to force myself to write. Sometimes it works. I put words to page and make progress. Or at least put words to page that will be later deleted. But sometimes when I feel like I 'have' to write (perhaps because that day will be the only chunk of time in the week that isn't allotted to something else) I protest and procrastinate.

So, I've been working on ways to procrastinate but still get writing done. Sometimes, it's just a matter of writing something, anything, that maybe I can reshape later. As I get older, I'm learning ways to outsmart myself.

Are you a procrastinator? Do you like schedules and outlines?

Thursday, I'll explain how I have embraced my procrastination tendencies.