In the News--How I stopped Procrastinating

The New York Times opinion piece "How I Stopped Procrastinating" caught my eye last week. I shared it not only with EG members, but with my friends. It was really just an FYI of an article I found interesting, but I got a wide variety of responses, running the gamut from one friend who joked (but not really) "Why are you judging me?" to another who said simply, "But isn't this the Artist's Way? Hmm..." All the responses made me laugh (kindly) at my particular group of friends in one way or another and laugh at myself, especially the last comment. Because yes, yes, this is The Artist's Way. The idea of finding time to write, writing consistently and writing even when you don't feel like it and what you know you're writing isn't very good. I take my friend's point--that these lessons offered in this opinion piece aren't new, but that doesn't mean we all, especially, those of us who write and do so while raising families or working full-time jobs, don't need the reminder or the inspiration of someone who did it! Managed everything life throws at us, fought the good fight and still walked away with a book. Writing is hard and the very thought of writing and still managing life and all its challenges and still being able to write, still being able to produce is a personal story of triumph I'm happy to see again and again and again. Let's normalize it. It helps to know others are out there doing what we are doing or what we want to do and that in and of itself cuts down on the procrastination, lifts us up and motivates us until we're across that finish line ourselves. And perhaps this resonated with me also because I am a master procrastinator. So I understand procrastination often comes out of a feeling of inability--there's so much to do, so much you want to do that it overwhelms. How can you get it all done or do any of it well. The feeling paralyzing. Stories like these get me moving again, allow me to shake off the paralysis and remember what moving forward looks like, reminds me to keep moving forward even when I don't think I know how or when I don't think I'm able. This opinion piece is exactly The Artists's Way--a success story. And I for one don't think hearing about the success of writers can ever feel repetitive.


Consider this post this week's Sunday Inspiration/In The News two-for-one. I promise I didn't miss yesterday's inspiration post because I was procrastinating. ;-)

Stacey