Fighting Procrastination and Finding “Motivation”

“You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the room.”- Dwayne Johnson

I find it hard to do all of the things I need to do. I have the awards in the prestigious field of procrastination. I’m an expert on getting things done at the last minute. Usually to my detriment.

This is a problem. A big problem.

By putting things off for later, tasks are compounded into more giant monsters of tasks that will pummel those in its path. Procrastination is the food; the very essence of the task-monster’s life.

To those he works for themselves, procrastination is the enemy. As someone who primarily works for himself, I set my own goals and deadline. I decide what I want to get done each day, and when a project is to get done. There is no one out there dictating when I get something done.

This means I must first understand myself in how do I get things done. This is essential for everyone and forgotten when people give advise. I work every day; I don’t take a day each week, I don’t take days off on my birthday, and Christmas is a workday for me. For me, this is essential because I’m a procrastinator.

I put things off until tomorrow what should be done today. During the month, I sometimes work less than I should cause “I’m tired,” or that “I’ve been working hard.” I am very good at talking myself into an excuse to be lazy and to put things off. Which is why at the end of the month, I get into a panic cause “I’m not going to make my month.”

This month is an example of this. I’m behind on my words, and I will need to write 1900 words today, the 29th, and tomorrow, the 30th. Why am I in this situation? Cause this month I have twelve days where I have written under 1500 words and many of them in the 500-word range. My one great day of 4300 did not make up for the other lacking days. In short, cause I procrastinated.

I find it easy to talk myself into working less or none at all. I find it easy to do less cause I can. This is not beneficial to me in the long run. It only hurts me.

At the start of this post, I quoted Dwayne Johnson. I found this post from a motivational speech he gave to a group of athletes, encouraging them to do better. It is only thirteen minutes long, and I encourage you to go watch it.

“You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the room.”- Dwayne Johnson

For me, this is what I have been doing all year. I’ve been working hard, getting things done cause in my circles of friends, I’m one of the most prolific writers in the group. In the groups at school, I don’t know anyone else that pushes themselves to do as much as I do. I tell them my yearly word count (382k as of today) and either they don’t believe me or think that I’m lying. Which is fine, I honestly don’t care they think of me.

But for the question of procrastination. I’ve managed to get to that goal acknowledging my problem, then combating it with hard work and no excuses. But in many ways, there is more room for improvement. There are many days where I said, “Fuck it.” There are many days where I let procrastination gain the upper hand and win.

I know that I can do better. I know that I will do better.

Knowing the problem is step one. Planing a set of goals is step two. Getting off the couch is step three.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

 

 

End of August 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of August. I’m still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

  1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
  2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
    1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
  3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
  4. Write four blog posts per month
  5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
  6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
    1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title: From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 (New Title: Rise of the Ghids) and secret short #3 (New Title: Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery).
  7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
  8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
  9. Get 1 client for editing services.
  10. NEW GOAL: Lose 90 lbs and get healthier.
  11. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

AUGUST ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  1. I wrote 49,346 words.
  2. I have written for 243 days in a row.
  3. I spent most of this month working on my VR story and have started the first draft of Des O’Neal #3.
  4. I nearing the 350k mark in total yearly words at 345k.
  5. For Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery, Rise of the Ghids and From Planet Everdark, I have received some good news.
  6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
  7. Working on the edit for Mechwarrior #1.
  8. Wrote 4 blog posts during June.
  9. Starting weight 286lbs, weight today, 274lbs. No change.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  1. I wrote just over 49k words in August. Total word-wise, it is the best that I have done this year. And once I split it into per day averages, it is one the best word counts that I have done. I managed to write a few good days of 3k words and 4k words that made up for the few bad days.
  2. This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row.
  3. For Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery, Rise of the Ghids and From Planet Everdark, I have heard back from the three markets with some good news. Nothing that I talk about yet. I expect that I should be able to release information on it soon.
  4. I am working on editing Mech Warrior #1. It is taking longer to get it done than I’d like. Due to plot holes, I had been forced to draw a diagram of the starship. Lesson learned.
  5. A local cover artist, not my wife, is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
  6. My blog posts are still happening.
  7. Mt diet had ended. Counting calories had become too difficult to do. I haven’t gone up back to my old weigh, and my habit of overeating has not come back. I’m that habit down to keep my weight in check. I’m looking for a better plan to help with my weight loss.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was hard but good. The burnt-out feeling is still there, but I’m taking my time to read books and relax. Even though I have managed to get the words done, I have not been able to get my editing done. I find it easy to put it off. I will have to correct this in the future.

My goal is to get Mechwarrior #1 edited by September 12th. I have many other I need to get done. It is going to be more difficult as school starts up in four days as I’m taking five classes.

I did get a lot of other stuff done. However, nothing published. The hold up is covers and editing at the moment. I had one book, Missed Drop Zone, ready to go. Yet, I have decided to give it another draft as there are some minor worldbuilding holes in the story. Better to correct it now than later.

I have started to edit other works, the short stories as they come up. They are a good distraction in some ways, a poor one in others. I have the feeling that I am not going to get my goal of getting all of those stories published. I’m going to run out of time and word count. But there is always next year, as long as I have manuscripts done.

The VRMMORPG story is done. It clocked in at 108k. I didn’t go over the mark by much. I expected I would have to go over by 20k, but I only did by 8k. There are plot holes in it, but that is why second drafts and editing is for.

So the plan, work on Des O’Neal #3, edit Mechwarrior #1. Get covers complete. Get books ready to publish.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

End of July 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of July. I am still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

  1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
  2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
    1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
  3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
  4. Write four blog posts per month
  5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
  6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
    1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 and secret short #3.
  7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
  8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
  9. Get 1 client for editing services.
  10. NEW GOAL: Lose 90 lbs and get healthier.
  11. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

JULY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  1. I wrote 42,192 words.
  2. I have written for 213 days in a row.
  3. I spent most of this month working on my VR story but also worked on the Secret Short #2
  4. I nearing the 300k mark in total yearly words at 295k.
  5. Submitted Secret Short #2 and Secret Short #3 to the market, waiting to hear back if it’s accepted or not.
  6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
  7. Edited Secret short #3, reading it for submission.
  8. Working on the edit for Mechwarrior #1.
  9. Wrote 4 blog posts during June.
  10. Starting weight 286lbs, weight today, 274lbs.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  1. I wrote just over 42k words in July. Total word-wise, it is in the top half of the months. However, once you split it up into per day averages, it is one of the worse word counts that I have done. I managed to write a good second half of the month to bring up my average to a better number.
  2. This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row.
  3. I have finished editing my two short stories. I had come across a short turn-around and I had put my VR story aside to work on it.
  4. I am working on editing Mech Warrior #1. It is taking longer to get it done than I’d like.
  5. A local cover artist, not my wife is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
  6. My blog posts are still happening.
  7. Mt diet had ended. Counting calories had become too difficult to do. I haven’t gone up back to my old weigh and my habit of overeating has not come back. I’m that habit down to keep my weight in check. I’m looking for a better plan to help with my weight loss.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was harder than most. I’m feeling burnt out. I need to ramp up my efforts and get more stuff done. Things are slipping away. Once this summer semester is over, the plan is to ramp up my efforts to write more and edit more. But, I need to take time for myself. Keep this burn out away before I start the new fall semester.

I did get a lot of other stuff done. However, nothing published. The hold up is covers and editing at the moment. I have the one book, Missed Drop Zone, ready to go. But there is no real rush. I want to do things right and not make mistakes.

I have started to edit other works, the short stories as they come up. They are a good distraction in some ways, a poor one in others. I have the feeling that I am not going to get my goal of getting all of those stories published. I’m going to run out of time and word count. But there is always next year, as long as I have manuscripts done.

The VRMMORPG story is going well. I’m at 90k out of a target of 100k. I’m going to be going over that mark. My best guess is 20k over the mark, perhaps more. This changes the ultimate goal of how many books I want to publish. Many titles will be pushed back to next year. I’m getting covers for them, however.

So the plan, work on VRMMORPG, edit other novels. Get covers. Get books published.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Dealing with Distractions

So most of my classes for the summer are over. I have one remaining, which runs until the beginning of August. You’d think that I’d have time to double my productivity as I have more free time.

I thought so, I made a plan on it.

In my writing endeavors, the big issue that I am dealing with now is that I have many manuscripts with a completed first draft sitting in a pile waiting to be edited. This all takes time, time which I didn’t have, and now I do right?

My brain is on summer right now. It doesn’t want to cooperate for me. It wants to play video games and watch Netflix.

My main computer is a massive time suck. Mainly Facebook and Youtube. Those two sites are one of the main reason nothing gets done until late, and I’m in panic mode. Youtube especially.

My kids are also off for the summer. They want to hang with me and do things. Outside. Like going to the beach or the skate park. Things that hamper my ability to get things done.

There has to be a solution to this problem of mine. How do I deal with the distractions?

My solution so far is to move my laptop, where I do most of my writing, to a coffee shop or library. Coffee shop costs money, while the library does not.

This solution may remove some of the distractions. At the Library, my kids can read as many books as they want at they want and I can get some work done.

It’s not the best solution, but besides turning off my internet, it is the only one I got.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

New Name: New Design

I am pleased to announce the redesign of the web page with a new name. I am happier with this new design than the last. Not to worry if you have the old site URL favourited. It will still head towards this new page, which I will be adding more features as time allows.

This change has been a long time coming as I felt the old name wasn’t working. This name tells exactly what I write. I write in the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, and that name says that.

The Atomic part is for science fiction. Nuclear power, nuclear bombs, the Atomic Age. It gives images of science that usually ends by blowing up in someones face.

The Slingshot is for Fantasy. It is a primitive weapon used in ancient times. Which is usually where my fantasy books are set.

Things to Come

I will be adding more to the site including:

  • maps
  • world information on the two main story verses
  • upcoming novels
  • and more

Stay tuned for more information.

If you like what you see and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books, buy me a coffee, or leave me a review. Your help and support are much appreciated.