Procrastination
Mary Alt, Contributing Editor
Who's familiar with the concept of procrastination? Okay, I'll go first! I do! My husband (Dr. Dmitry) used to refer to these people as the Procrastination Society.
Something else I picked up at the West Coast Christian Writers Conference (WCCW) in February from keynote speaker Kathy Lipp is that she often hears from people that they're always planning on writing a book. But they're waiting for the right time to do it. People often say they'll write when they have time, or after they lose twenty pounds (twenty? Sister, I need to lose fifty!), or they're waiting for their kids to leave home, or they're waiting till they get the chance to borrow a cabin in the woods so they can write uninterrupted. She said to forget about the cabin because they all come equipped these days with Internet.
Some authors have to have a certain writing time and if that works for them, fine. But what about the writers who have full-time jobs outside the home? Or what if we have small children to care for or elderly parent(s)? How about pet care? Different critters require various levels of care too.
Sometimes we have to grab whatever time we can whether commuting to work on a bus or train, standing in line at the supermarket, or waiting for an oil change. Author J. K. Rowling sat in a café writing her first novel and kept her coffee cup in front of her to look like she was still drinking.
Maybe we're waiting for our lives to become perfect. Life is never perfect. Life is messy. Kathy had a book contract and she was really happy about that. Then something happened in her life to mess things up. Since life was messy she wanted to cancel the book contract and asked her husband about it. He said, "Sorry, dear, we already spent the money." We still have to push onward. No matter how messy our lives are, we still have to get that writing finished. Turning messiness over to God is helpful. But he expects us to do the hard work.
Kathy strongly urged us to get into a writer's group. When writers come together we support each other and give hope to our gifts. Procrastination gives people false hope which is the opposite of perfectionism. Instead, we need to be clear about God's message for us. We should show up for God's plan and, for us, it's the written word. This is just like when you have to show up for a regular job or an interview.
Get into a group and support each other. This is what Jesus would want us to do.
Mary Alt, Contributing Editor
Who's familiar with the concept of procrastination? Okay, I'll go first! I do! My husband (Dr. Dmitry) used to refer to these people as the Procrastination Society.
Something else I picked up at the West Coast Christian Writers Conference (WCCW) in February from keynote speaker Kathy Lipp is that she often hears from people that they're always planning on writing a book. But they're waiting for the right time to do it. People often say they'll write when they have time, or after they lose twenty pounds (twenty? Sister, I need to lose fifty!), or they're waiting for their kids to leave home, or they're waiting till they get the chance to borrow a cabin in the woods so they can write uninterrupted. She said to forget about the cabin because they all come equipped these days with Internet.
Some authors have to have a certain writing time and if that works for them, fine. But what about the writers who have full-time jobs outside the home? Or what if we have small children to care for or elderly parent(s)? How about pet care? Different critters require various levels of care too.
Sometimes we have to grab whatever time we can whether commuting to work on a bus or train, standing in line at the supermarket, or waiting for an oil change. Author J. K. Rowling sat in a café writing her first novel and kept her coffee cup in front of her to look like she was still drinking.
Maybe we're waiting for our lives to become perfect. Life is never perfect. Life is messy. Kathy had a book contract and she was really happy about that. Then something happened in her life to mess things up. Since life was messy she wanted to cancel the book contract and asked her husband about it. He said, "Sorry, dear, we already spent the money." We still have to push onward. No matter how messy our lives are, we still have to get that writing finished. Turning messiness over to God is helpful. But he expects us to do the hard work.
Kathy strongly urged us to get into a writer's group. When writers come together we support each other and give hope to our gifts. Procrastination gives people false hope which is the opposite of perfectionism. Instead, we need to be clear about God's message for us. We should show up for God's plan and, for us, it's the written word. This is just like when you have to show up for a regular job or an interview.
Get into a group and support each other. This is what Jesus would want us to do.
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