Procrastin–Oh, I need to…

Do you have any errands that need to be run? No? Laundry that has to get done? What about a toilet that must be cleaned? Why is it that all of these things, most of which I hate doing, I suddenly find absolutely imperative to get done right now, the moment I sit down to write?

I know exactly what I’m going to write. I know the scene. I know the characters. I know the book, and it’s a fun one that I’m really enjoying writing!

And yet, the moment I sit down at my desk I find that I suddenly need a cup of tea. And it can’t be any tea, it’s got to be that one that I bought at the flea market last summer. Yeah, the one that’s gotten pushed all the way to the back of my cabinet—which I might as well clean out since I’m there. And now that I’ve found the tea, I’ve got to decide which pot to make it in and then steep it for precisely three minutes.  

Why do I do this?

Why is it that when I sit down to write suddenly there are so many other things that must be done. Those raspberries are definitely going to die on the bush if I don’t pick them right now! As soon as they are safely picked, washed and simmering on the stove to make yet another batch of raspberry jam, I have to check my email. See if anyone has messaged me on Facebook?

Sometimes I’ll find that an hour has passed since I originally intended to sit down and write. This is not good!

Ok, so my antagonist is going mad and I’m not exactly certain how I’m going to show that, but really, picking raspberries isn’t going to give me the answer. So I move my computer to my standing desk, but before I open it up, I do a little pre-writing—figuring out exactly what minor, little thing is going to set the antagonist off into screaming at my hero and accusing him of misleading her, lying to her (which he hasn’t, naturally). And then I remember that I’d better check my… no, wait. I’m working.

I stop myself.

At my standing desk, I can bounce on my toes and fidget to my heart’s content, but once I start writing, I stop moving (all except my fingers taping away at my keyboard, and my eyes which follow the pretty words flowing on to my computer screen). Once I get started, I’m fine. I’ll work solidly for two, sometimes three hours before I realize how much time has passed and that my tea is now icky room temperature. But sometimes it takes me some time to get going.

How about you? Do you find yourself procrastinating or do you get in front of your computer screen and just start typing away and being productive?