Writing and Procrastination

Hello there!

Today I want to be different than normal. I won't batter you with nonsensical diatribe and instead we'll just dive right in to a question I ask myself all the time: Am I procrastinating too much?

Now when I refer to procrastination, I am of course referring to procrastination in the face of completing a piece of literature. Whether it comes to writing said literature, I often find myself feeling guilty over not writing for several days at a time - only to feverishly turn out dozens of pages within a few days. Is this a sustainable way to read and write? Honestly, I don't know. It's worked so far, but I'd love to hear the opinions of others.

In some ways, I believe procrastination to be healthy (in moderation). Giving oneself a respite from the mental taxation of daily life is difficult enough without then forcing creative works on top of it. Funnily enough though, the times when I'm exhausted or frustrated from daily life are often when I feel most productive in writing. I'm sure there's some psychology behind the "relaxation" factor of writing and focusing creative energy into something I can call my own, but I'm no expert there.

In other ways, procrastination feels like a blatant shirking of duties - which I guess by definition it is. The question there is: Am I duty-bound to write? Sure I have some fans and people who enjoy reading what I write, but the only driving force I can truly feel is that of my own creative energy - which is sometimes lacking. Is it truly procrastination, or am I just taking a mental break?

I'll let you decide on the validity of procrastination for yourself. Just keep in mind that procrastination isn't necessarily a bad thing if you keep it in check, and if you're really against it I'd encourage you to give it a try every once in a while.