Me, Procrastinate?

What I learned about my process just last week.

Photo by Catt Liu on Unsplash

You know that puttering around you do sometimes when you “should” be writing? It might be serving a purpose!

Before I explain how I figured this out, I want to quickly remind you:

Writers Gather

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Writers Gather is an opportunity to come together in a safe and supportive space to casually discuss this thing we love (and sometimes hate) to do.

Writers Gather next on February 8 at 10am Pacific. Loose topic: Accountability and Motivation. I hope you’ll join me! Click here to learn more.

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Arizona with some of the most brilliant and generous women I know. They all coach writers as I do, so of course a fair amount of time was spent talking about our businesses. But when we planned the trip, we agreed to structure it loosely and organically so that everyone could make it what they wanted and get what they needed.

Turns out what I needed was a hotel room to myself. I cannot tell you how blissful this was.

Even though I had every excuse not to, I still chose to get up early enough to write for at least half an hour before heading down for breakfast. During these mornings, in this gift of quiet removal from my usual space, I realized something fascinating.

A quick side-step here: when I write at home, I always find that I need to straighten and tidy before I can sit down to write. I generally chalk this up to procrastination and feeling burdened by the daily tasks of my household, and I always beat myself up for it.

But here I was, in my hotel room, puttering around before I could sit down to write. I laid out what I would wear that day. I put things in my bag to take downstairs with me.

These were all things that could really easily have been done after I wrote. But because I was removed from my usual environment, and because it was quiet, and because I wasn’t in a hurry, I was able to notice something:

My puttering around before sitting down to write is part of my ritual. It is part of my process.

While I was roaming around picking things up and putting them back down, I was thinking about what I would be working on next. I was moving my body and somehow it was helping my mind get to work. I was mentally preparing to sit down with my writing.

I’m not sure how to effectively explain it, but it was an interesting observation. I’d had all of these negative thoughts about my puttering: I’m procrastinating, why can’t I just sit down, blah blah blah. But realizing that puttering is part of my process allowed me to relax and move easily away from it and into my creative work.

Speaking of negative thoughts, I’ve got a great Pep Talk for you this week! It’s all about those voices in your head that tear down our confidence, and how we can pull ourselves back from it with patience and grace. I hope you enjoy it…now or whenever you need it.

Remember, self-doubt is part of the process.

Recognizing it is nine-tenths of the work.

Releasing it is the rest.

Have a beautiful week, my friends!

Warmly,
Stephanie

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P.P.S. I’ll be here when you’re ready.