I’m in the process of coaching one of my dearest friends to help her complete her novel. She is a highly accomplished writer and very disciplined so I don’t have to do much other than just check in with her on a weekly basis to keep her on track and stop procrastination from taking hold.
For today’s topic on stopping procrastination, I thought I’d share a strategy that is working well for my friend.
She has a very specific goal of getting her first draft and 51,000 words done before she goes away on holiday. (See the related article on goal-setting strategies here). She has figured out that she needs to write 10 pages a day. Last week her daughter was very sick with the flu and she lost quite a bit of time looking after her. To compensate, she is now writing 11 pages a day so that she can still finish on time. This is the way a professional works.
A professional doesn’t let procrastination or resistance stop her.
Stuff will happen to get in the way and then you need to compensate. Sometimes she stays up until 3:00 a.m. to get her 11 pages written. Other times she has them done early and takes the rest of the day off. Regardless, she is focused on her commitment. Not once has she asked me for a reprieve or additional time. What a pro! This is the key to overcoming resistance and preventing procrastination. Resistance cannot defeat her even when life throws her a curve ball.
What are you resisting?
Create a plan and set a daily objective, however small it may seem. It may be that your daily objective is to write three pages in a journal every day. Great! Actually, that is a really powerful way to start writing—the way I got started writing my first book, Coach Yourself to Success, in fact. Or perhaps your goal is to walk for ten minutes every day. It doesn’t matter, just stick with it and you’ll soon have resistance completely conquered.
