Birds don't do it, bees don't do it. Even educated fleas don't do it. A black phoebe or peregrine falcon would never do it, neither would a snail. Yet, people find ways to do it all the time.
For human beings that non doing equals . . . Procrastination! Blame it on the prefrontal cortex that has the responsibility for complex cognitive behaviors and decision-making.
The word that causes stomachs to churn comes from Latin -procrastinatus. Pro - forward and crastinus - of tomorrow. Avoid today what you can defer until tomorrow.
What happens in the writer's mind to prevent the word flow? Most of the time it centers around frustration and fear. The product appears more important than getting there. All of a sudden nothing happens. Anxiety takes over.
In Taoist literature a concept exists called wei wu wei. It translates "doing without doing."With writing a conscious need to achieve presents at every moment. It often interrupts the process. When one relents and flows into the doing the anxiety clears and a deeper wisdom takes over. The mind and body create together without the angst about outcome. How do we get there?
Writers need a form of exercise to direct and train the mind, spirit and body. Runners, bicyclists or those who practice yoga, understand the "flow" that occurs when mind and body dissolve into movement.
One step at a time, one pose into another, one revolution of the pedals and process takes over. The breath assists to create a rhythm and the brain releases chemicals to drown the frustration and fear.
How to translate this to writing? Regardless of your mood, pick up the pen or tap the keys. Explore your relationship to writing. Discover what to say while writing to say it. The mental uncertainties will clear and you will move deeper into the experience. Suspense energizes and will reveal meaning.
For writers, the behavior becomes
more complex in the initial stages of a writing project. If we push for the
goal too soon (Goal-Tending), we miss the discoveries of ideas and new
directions that weave into the ongoing process (Creative Meandering). Staying
in the Doing of the project keeps motivation flowing and
provides thrills we would not feel by a focus with linear vision on the result.
We need to understand more about
tendencies along the journey. Then we can develop techiques and ways to trick
ourselves to push past reasons to avoid writing. Idealism and Perfectionism
become untrustworthy partners. Know when to relent and strive for excellence
instead.
Try a freewrite to examine your behaviors:
Take a look at your habits
of delay in all areas of life when deadlines loom or undesireable
tasks confront.
How do you deal with your
inconsistencies?
In what ways do you defer actions
to cope with anxiety of starting or completing a task?
Do deadline pressures and guilt
increase your motivation?
What does apprehension feel like
in the body?
How do you define failure and
recognize its effectiveness in accomplishing a goal?
What benefits do you gain by
delaying behaviors?
How does time management factor
in your choices?
What reward system do you use to
get the job done?
Creative Write: When you feel like avoiding the next pressing confrontation in
life, write about how you will accomplish it within a time limit. Right now!
What troubles you the
most about writing? Spend time in exercise, then return to the paper or
keyboard. Write for 15 minutes without stopping.
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