We discussed the dangers of procrastination and some common techniques to overcome this goblin in the previous post. In this post, I would like to talk to you about a trick that tends to work for me . . . when I think to use it. As a bonus, it can add a little sense of fun to tasks. I like to combine two concepts by adding a sense of urgency, pseudo-negative connotations, and a game all at the same time.
First, consider the visualization I mentioned in my last post. The procrastination monster will take time away from other things we want to do. Visualize this monster in your mind; make it as though it is an entity you must encounter. I know there are some people who have difficulty visualizing. However, since we are creative writers, odds are we can visualize to some degree. If not, make a collage of monster images you find online, or simply find the monster image you like best and use that.
Give your monster a name. Take time to see his/her/their features. Your monster could manifest as an imp, troll, or ogre; though you should avoid visualizing Shrek since this less than scary monster would take away all the urgency upon which this technique is built. The point is to make this monster your own. Give it a voice; one that, if you were to hear it in a dark room it would tense your muscles and activate your fight or flight instincts. This goal is what you are aiming towards with every aspect of your monster. You want to have this visual every time you catch yourself procrastinating so that it becomes a negative association, and you become less inclined to procrastinate.
What if this visualization is not enough? In this case, we want to turn the concept around so that the monster helps us avoid procrastination. How do we do this? We turn the goblin concept into some semblance of a game.
Imagine whatever spooky mystical creature seems to speak to you better. Make sure it is a somewhat negative connotation. If you choose a fairy, or talking unicorn which give mostly happy, peaceful feelings, this method probably won’t work quite right. You need to come up with an imagined sense of negative consequences, and a benevolent creature is not going to give you that.
Now, consider your tasks. What is the first task you have to accomplish? Set a time in which to accomplish it. Here is where you definitely need a balance. You need to make the time goal short enough that there is a possibility of failure.
Say you are cleaning the house. You decide you want to clean the bathroom first. Then, you will break the task into pieces. Here you might decide to start with the mirrors. “I have to get them done in five minutes.”
Next, you will consider your mischievous and sometimes malevolent creature, which you have imagined in as full detail as possible. It helps if you also consider them a bit of a taskmaster. “My creature has set me this goal and if I don’t reach the goal as they have commanded . . . I’d better watch out.” Make sure to generate this sense of unknowing within yourself. “If I don’t reach my goal, what will they do?” Then, set a timer. You have just made it a game.
Think about how many Mario mini-games or other sorts of games use this concept. You have to complete a task in a set amount of time or all sorts of bad things can happen to your character. We find this sense of urgency fun. We are trying to recreate this sense of urgency in real life minus the being smashed, shocked, or blown up.
One thing you want to do is make sure you don’t set yourself an unreasonable time frame. You also have to have the positive reinforcement of being able to reach the goal since success in itself is positive reinforcement. As you practice this, you will get a better idea of how long it takes you to do things under these circumstances. You can, and probably should, push yourself. Put your goal right at the edge of your previous successes so that you can still have the possibility of either success or failure.
If you don’t reach the goal, you have a few options. You could say, “Well, my creature taskmaster isn’t able to watch me 24/7 so they weren’t able to see me fail.” However, you also know that you have other tasks that were set for you with a broad deadline for completion of all tasks. (You can plan many of your daily tasks this way.) With this in mind, failure to reach your first goal by its deadline shortens the deadline for your next task, and so on and so forth. If you don’t catch up, your taskmaster will know that you lost time somewhere.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this for more than two hours at a stretch, or you will burn yourself out. You won’t have the energy to keep up the pace, or you will start to become desensitized to the urgency due to over use. You must give yourself breaks to come back down to a more neutral level. This is where the reward comes in. If you have mini-games you like to play or short clips you like to watch, say that your taskmaster decided to be generous and reward you for success. One thing to remember is that your taskmaster is still a taskmaster. They will only give you so much time for reward before they will expect you to get back to work. Set a timer.
I know; “Timers . . . yuck!” It is something I have struggled with since I was little, but my mom knew that the timers showed me how much time I was actually using so that I could have a reference point. Otherwise, I would have no idea how much time was slipping away from me. The problem is that you must remember to set the timer rather than just trying to get the job done. (Never have I ever.) This is where your taskmaster comes in. You know they will only give you so much time and that you can’t lose track. Besides, if you don’t set the timer during the game, you can’t tell if you are winning or loosing and the game isn’t much fun that way.
I know this seems a little strange, but you are psyching yourself out. That is the whole point of the game. There are some of us who need that psyche out. Some people call them mind games . . . and is what they are. You are playing tricks on your own mind. It is a powerful tool.
Now that I have shared this mind game, I hope it helps many people. It can shave off time here and there so that you can free up some of that valuable commodity for your writing. Plus, if you make your tasks into a game, it reduces stress.
It makes the tasks you would normally sigh and groan over, into something less of a trial and a tribulation. Your mood is lifted and when you find that you have extra time for writing you can enjoy the wonder.
P.S. There is another trick I have used. Find images of various characters and post, tape, or pin them where you can see them. I choose whichever character is the most significant to me at a given time. They become my accountability buddy since most of us can’t have a real person keeping us on track 24/7. I doubt we would want that anyway.
I have made use of images of Strider, Rumpelstiltskin, Allanon, and Dr. Nicholas Rush, (see below) . . .
One of the important points with this is to use a character that is strong-willed, determined, or driven. You wouldn’t want to use an image of bouncy playful Tigger to keep you on target. He would be more likely to encourage you to go bouncing. There is a time and place for play but not while you are trying to get work done. Seek an image of the character looking at you, preferably with a firm gaze.
What you are looking for is an image where you can imagine them reminding you to be determined, and/or focused, or chastising you for a lack of attention. It is also good if you can tap into this character’s strength and make it a part of you. It isn’t foolproof, but it can help.
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