The Top 10 Ways to Overcome Procrastination

In association with the JPG Writing Challenge, a highly relevant article by Jennifer Koretsky lays out some excellent guidelines for overcoming procrastination. A few comments:

1. Recharge Daily
-- This also means don't overwork yourself. If you spend 5 hours one day but you're burned out for a week, the net progress you've made is less than if you'd worked 1-2 hours each day.

2. Get a Friend Involved
-- Thanks, JPG!

3. Reward Yourself
-- A glass of red wine after you've finished for the evening is a perfect reward for me.

4. Do Things in Pieces
-- Or as Annie Lamott says, "Think small." It's easy to get overwhelmed with the idea of writing a novel. Much easier to decide to write a specific scene within the novel. It's a simple mind trick but it works for me.

5. Use Music
-- Beethoven's 7th symphony is my favorite. Also love: Kronos Quartet's Caravan, James Booker's New Orleans Piano Wizard, U2's Achtung, Baby, Rufus Wainwright... Generally music without lyrics or music that I've heard so many times that I can hear without truly listening. Helps to drown out the whitenoise, the brainstatic, that's always in the background.