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Yesterday was a day off from school. I woke up, read a book, wrote two posts, and read a few blogs. Then, I got up, did some laundry, returned a couple of phone calls, and paid some bills. I even write some notes I'd been meaning to write before ten in the morning. Sounds pretty productive, right?
Full disclaimer: my productivity was a complete exercise in task avoidance.
I was avoiding the hard part in the book I am writing. Somehow, being busy, even just looking busy made me feel more justified in not sitting down in front of the computer and writing. that. chapter.
I reminded myself of some of the students I watch in workshop. The ones who sharpen their pencil. Who get a drink of water. Who go to the bathroom. Who spend all their time looking for that perfect mentor text. They look so busy, but somehow manage to write very little.
Isn't it so much easier to find other things to do--even important things to do--when the thing you are supposed to be doing is hard? My aha moment, writing about myself struggling to write the chapter I'd been avoiding, involves my 2015 One Little Word, acknowledge. Sometimes the work that we want to get done is the hardest to get started. Maybe if I acknowledge this fact for myself, the next time I sit at this computer will be to write the next hard section.
Maybe...
Happy Writing!
I have been there .. been incredibly productive avoiding the real task! Good luck getting that chapter done!
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just need to step away and do other things to be able to free yourself for the hard task. I will bet your mind was still working and thinking about your chapter as you did the other things. When all the little jobs are done, you can settle into the big one. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWell, that's the story of my today, Melanie. Sometimes, though, ideas and thoughts just need to marinate - as task avoidance time is often more productive that we think it is. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it :)
ReplyDeleteMelanie, this post made me smile. I call this behavior "mopping the floor." When I was in college, I always mopped the floor when I had a big paper to write. Good luck with the chapter and hey, those other things needed to be done too.
ReplyDeleteSo funny, Melanie. I think you have a happier task to avoid. I've been doing some things, then make myself sit down to write one more Expo evaluation for a student. They need to be done, it's important for the students to see how well they did, but it's also past history & I have "future" things I'd rather do. You made me smile, & I hope you've started that chapter by now since I'm late commenting... Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteI love this and everyone's comments. I used to scrub and wax the floors after particularly frustrating days! Now I try to build in small successes . . . set a small goal and then a reward, another goal & reward, and as success builds I often then feel the need to finish the task.
Getting started is the hardest part!
Love your use of acknowledge!
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI love this and everyone's comments. I used to scrub and wax the floors after particularly frustrating days! Now I try to build in small successes . . . set a small goal and then a reward, another goal & reward, and as success builds I often then feel the need to finish the task.
Getting started is the hardest part!
Love your use of acknowledge!
I embrace procrastination now. I have stopped trying to resist it. :)
ReplyDeleteI can be completely productive with everything BUT what needs my attention. It's why I keep lists. If I didn't, nothing that mattered would ever be completed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else's comments: you were thinking about that chapter the whole time. Now when you sit down to write, the words will be ready and will flow. By the way, I was right there with you today. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYes! I agree with all the above. Your brain needed the work around. Sometimes when we force things the effort is futile. Avoidance may be your brain's way of giving itself the break it needed.
ReplyDeleteI think your task avoidance was productive. Some days we need this incubation time.
ReplyDeleteYour blog shows up a day late in my email. Not sure why, but I hope you were able to get to your chapter. When I started working on my WIP yesterday at 3, I didn't look up at the clock until 5:30. TIme flies when you finally get down to it. Good luck! I like your OLW. Reminds me of Acceptance which was mine a few years ago.
This is great - a reminder that writing is HARD, and we need to remember that when we see kids avoiding it. The wonderful news is that you can relate well to that kind of behavior in kids because YOU are a writer! You're able to tell them that you understand. I hope you eventually got to that chapter! :-)
ReplyDelete