The Twin Devils of Writing: Procrastination & Self-Doubt
My personal go-to solutions when these maladies creep up on you
If you're a writer, you're likely all too familiar with the common 1-2 punch that often slows us down from being the productive writers we aspire to be: Procrastination and Self-Doubt. As I write this, I can feel the fog enveloping my mind, making it tough to think clearly. I want you to know that I, too, am in this struggle with you. There's never a perfect time to write, and I doubt I'll ever truly conquer these issues. However, I've found some strategies that have helped me keep moving forward whenever they crop up like weeds. I hope they can help you too.
Give Yourself Permission to Write Badly
If you enjoy writing when it flows, you likely know the frustration when the exact opposite happens. Stringing together sentences becomes cumbersome, and each word feels like dragging lead out of the mud. In the past, when I hit this wall, I'd close my laptop, grind my teeth, and return when my head was clearer and my mood improved. This worked when I had no pressing deadlines. But if you need to get your writing done urgently, here's my first suggestion: give yourself the freedom to write badly. Embrace it. Just get words on the page, no matter how poorly structured or full of mistakes. Keep going until you have a paragraph or two. My writing is often littered with those dreaded red and blue lines, indicating all my mistakes. It's cringe-worthy, and you'll be tempted to fix everything before moving on. But that's the trap: focusing on small errors prevents you from capturing the big idea. Think of it like sculpting: you start with a crude lump and gradually refine it. Writing can be the same if you allow yourself to be raw and imperfect at first.
Exercising Can Silence the Little Voice of Complacency
We all have it, right? We're stuck in a rut, and that blasted little voice in our head says, "Ah well, I guess it's just not working today. It's okay, just take the day off and chill out." I'm not saying this isn't sometimes the case, sometimes, we do need the rest. But more often than not, when you hear that little demon telling you to slow down, that's the exact time you should do the opposite. So here's my second suggestion: Get out of your own head and go do something physical. And that's where exercise comes in. By engaging in physical activity, you not only get the endorphins flowing that boost your mood, but exercise can also break the cycle of inertia, helping you regain momentum and clarity and making it easier to tackle your writing with renewed energy.
Remind Yourself How Far You've Come
One of the major reasons I often struggle to get pen to paper and end up procrastinating is because I dwell on that dreaded question: "Why bother? Is it even worth it?" We can't help it. Sometimes, we feel defeated, we're out of our depth, and no matter how much we struggle to swim, the tide keeps pulling us back out, and we just can't seem to reach the shore we see on the horizon. It's in these moments of overwhelming doubt that we need to look back and realise how far we've come. Be your own biggest supporter. Cheer yourself on even if no one else will. Most importantly, appreciate all the small victories you've achieved thus far, and keep moving forward. Be proud of your progress, you may not be a best-selling author (yet), but you're writing nevertheless. That's significant in itself. Doing so can shift the gears in your mind to a more positive and inspired one. Driving you forward from feeling helpless and overwhelmed to confident and determined, ready to face any foe that comes your way.
