Summer Writing Blues: Dealing with Distractions, Procrastination and Other Book Killers

 

Summer is here! And that means vacations, barbecues, lazy summer evenings, and bored kids at home watching the television all day and asking for endless snacks.

However, finding the time to write a book is definitely going to be a struggle.

Procrastination is even worse.  When you're writing a book and feeling just a tiny bit stuck, suddenly it seems much more important that you finish your laundry, brush the dog, or redesign your website than it is to sit down and write.  

 And when you combine the possibility of procrastination with a few of life's little distractions... well, you can see how it might take you several years to finally get the book written.  

To prevent this from happening to your author dreams work out a plan ahead of time.

Look at your schedule for the next two weeks; 

 Where can you identify pockets of time to spend even five minutes writing? This includes looking at the time before everyone's awake, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, evening, late evening.  

✔   When is your best time for being productive during the day? Are you a morning or night owl person? Write during your most productive time.  

✔   What can you cut back on or give up in the next 2 weeks? Instead of endless scrolling on social media, watching television or cleaning - open up a notes app on your phone and write your book.  

Procrastination is a little harder to deal with, because it's all on you. The key is to know what's likely to trigger procrastination, and design ways to keep yourself motivated.

Some ideas include:  

✔     Set some goals for the week whether it's a word count or page count. Sometimes, procrastination comes when we don't have a definitive goal to work towards.  

✔      Rewarding yourself with a favorite treat or trip to the bookstore after a week of good writing (or even a day if you're prone to procrastination). 

✔    Enlist the help of a partner to keep you on track.  

If you find the first five minutes to write you'll easily find more and for much longer. The reward for all this effort is that you will discover you can write a book.  

 Keep writing! 

About Rebecca

Rebecca Camarena is a Book Coach, author and editor who helps writers, creatives, authors, and entrepreneurs elevate their words with editorial and writing support and critique services.

Connect with me here, www.rebeccacamarena.com/contact