subject: Article Marketing Tips For Conquering Procrastination And Other Enemies Of Creativity! [print this page] You know you should be writing and submitting articles and that your website and business would be much better off if you did, but you're still not doing it. Why?
For most of us, it's really no mystery--we've just been putting off writing. Some of us have put it off so long that we've almost stopped doing it at all. I'm providing these article marketing tips with the intention of encouraging you and also helping you free yourself from the mental quicksand of procrastination.
I've been writing free reprint articles for several years now, and I still fall prey to procrastination from time to time. It's so tempting to give in to it, but here are a few things I've noticed about putting off tasks:
1- It's stressful! If there is a task (such as writing articles) that you've been avoiding, it is taking a toll on you. You can avoid doing the task, but you can't avoid the pressing thoughts that you really should be doing it. The longer you procrastinate, the more the pressure builds. In the end, avoiding writing articles actually takes up more energy than it would to simply move forward and do the writing.
2 - You're avoiding the inevitable. You can only procrastinate for so long--eventually you need to do the task you're avoiding. In the meantime you've put yourself through the emotional wringer.
3 - It kills confidence! Maybe you've never thought of it like that before, but when you have a challenge before you and you choose to run away from it, you're telling yourself "I'm not able to handle this." The longer you procrastinate, more helpless you'll feel.
Let's focus on the flip side to all that negativity--what are the benefits of not procrastinating?
=> You gain more energy. Especially if you tackle your writing first thing in the morning, you get a boost of energy because you know you've already accomplished your most challenging task of the day. The rest of the day is a piece of cake!
As an added bonus, studies show that creativity is at its highest in the morning, and that is when many professional writers routinely work.
=> You work more productively. Instead of taking up all the emotional energy involved with procrastinating, you train yourself to sit down and get the job done, which takes considerably less energy. An important trick for overcoming writing is doing the hardest thing first. By getting your most challenging job out of the way early in your day, you're free (mentally and physically) to take on the smaller tasks on your to-do list.
=> You also build positive momentum. Procrastination is rather like emotional quicksand--you're stuck and you can't move forward. When you tackle writing articles head on, you're moving in a positive direction. You know that it's crucial to your business' health that you market your business, and by submitting articles you are putting the wheels of your business in motion. Taking care of one aspect of your business also means it's more likely that you'll move forward in other areas of your business.
=> You gain self-confidence! You might have thought that you needed to do something dramatic, like parachuting out of a plane, to get a boost of self-esteem. Did you know that simply learning to write articles on a regular basis can do as much for your self-confidence as playing sports? Yes, anything that is challenging for you that you go ahead and tackle anyway is a confidence builder.
If you've been procrastinating writing articles, what can you do to stop?
Tip 1: Simply take the first step. Don't try to write eight articles in one sitting or even one article--just make it your goal to write an informal outline, and then call it quits for the day. Then, the next day do a little more, and so on until you complete the article.
Tip 2: Write early in the morning, before doing any other work. By tackling your hardest task first, you're setting yourself up for a productive day.
Tip 3: Pre-determine your writing topic the day before your writing session. That way, when you sit down to write, you won't be staring at a blank screen wondering how to start.
Lastly, know that procrastination is a learned habit that can be changed. Learning to write articles consistently is an ongoing process, and you'll get better at handling the desire to procrastinate the more you try. You are not "a procrastinator" by nature--it's not ingrained in you or who you are. It's a habit that you can change.
