Procrastination

What Price Independence? Faith and Works

Procrastination

How is a procrastinator to deal with the pressures of life, much less the myriad things a writer must do these days? What makes someone procrastinate?

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We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

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When it comes to procrastination, I emphasize the first syllable. I’ve become a true pro at it.

I have friends who have full-time jobs and kids to raise, and all the laundry and housecleaning and meal preparation that go along with having a family, who still find time to write books and blogs, edit their work, get it published, promote it on this site and that, and all the other hundreds of things that go along with being an author. Perhaps you’re one of them.

Just thinking about all that activity gets me out of breath. It must be wonderful to have the energy, the drive, and the focus to be able to do all those things. Not to mention a sharp, young mind that can grasp all the ins and outs and nuances of dealing with Amazon and CreateSpace and Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords with all their rules and requirements—many of which are opposite at one site from another.

Several things which younger people wouldn’t understand conspire to minimize my sleep a lot of nights, setting me up to need naps during the day. Other biological twists lead me to spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom every day. This is all time I should spend working on my craft. Alas, I don’t get to.

When I do get going, the first time I hit a snag—like some requirement from Smashwords I don’t understand—I have a tendency to put the project in question on a back burner and do something else. Seems like every candle on the birthday cake brings with it a slight increase in the confusion level.

My friend Jillian Dodd can flit all over the country attending book signing events, publish books for several other authors, advertize and promote all of them, and keep it all straight in her mind at all times. Did I mention she also writes books?

Nigel Blackwell, another friend, works long hours, comes home to spend his evenings with his wife and daughter, and then sits down around midnight to write for a couple of hours. Then he gets back up the next morning and does the same thing all over again.

Another friend, Karlene Petitt, flies huge airplanes all over the world, frequently being gone from home for days at a time. When she does get home, you know she’s got all sorts of homemaking things to do. But she finds time to write books and post frequent blogs.

You may do as much yourself. If so, I envy you, as I envy them, for the clarity of mind, the intensity of focus, the drive to overcome all obstacles, and the energy to get it all done. Would that I had that.

The writing part seems to be the easiest. I’ve finished and published seven books in the past year, although six of them are novellas. But when I try to do things to make them sell, I seem to get bogged down and go nowhere.

Right now, I’m trying to get all my published books onto Smashwords, and from there onto Kobo and iTunes, but I keep running into Smashwords’ requirements which I have failed to meet. When I click to see what the requirements are and how to meet them, I might as well be reading Greek or Martian. So I go take a nap. Or get on Facebook, or work a crossword puzzle.

At times I wonder if I’ll ever be a pro author. Maybe I’m destined always to be a pro crastinator.

What things pop up to make you procrastinate? How do you overcome them?

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For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.