CAMLIN WRITESA Blog About Creative Writing |
I'm a perfectionist with a fear of failure. To my mind, if I never start something, I haven't failed. Similarly, if I stop a project partway through, then I haven't yet failed to achieve perfection. But if I get to a point of completion in a project and it's not perfect, then I must keep going until it is absolutely perfect, or I have failed. Obviously, this is not an ideal worldview. It causes stress, leads me to procrastinate, and means that keeping up my motivation for a project is difficult. The end result is that I'm lazy, depressed, and possibly going nowhere in life. However, I haven't completely given up the fight. While I'm inconsistent about employing them, I know several ways to help myself keep putting one foot in front of the other. I've already mentioned in my first post how accountability can help improve my motivation. However, I haven't mentioned how accountability is especially effective when paired with a deadline. I dislike this method of generating motivation, because the deadline increases stress, which is not fun. Sometimes, the stress will even backfire. I end up procrastinating more than ever and avoiding the cause of my stress. However, this method works particularly well when the accountability is institutional, and/or the work that needs to be done is routine. For example, I've rarely had trouble with getting to school, classes, or work on-time. Speaking of routine, creating and sticking to a schedule helps, too. Once I've developed good habits, it's easier to maintain those habits. It's another tool that works well in an institutional setting, but I'm always reluctant to create a schedule for myself. I want to be able to spend my free time however I feel like spending it at the time, so allotting set times to do certain tasks feels too restrictive. I'm still working out how to get over that particular mental obstacle. Once in a while, I find myself naturally in a productive mood. This is rare, and I wish I knew how to manufacture it. I believe that, biologically, plentiful sleep and recent exercise improve my chances of finding this elusive willingness to be productive. This theory is generally supported by both my mother and the internet, which insist that a good sleep rhythm and regular exercise increase motivation and decrease depression. If only I could find the motivation to exercise regularly.... Basically, it takes a lot of effort to get myself busy, even if the task is something I enjoy. If I need to do anything more strenuous than veg out in bed, I must poke and prod and pep-talk myself into the task. Worse, sometimes I don't even have enough motivational energy to do the required poking and prodding and pep-talking. It's a mess, and I'm still trying to figure out what fixes work best for me. In the meantime, I appreciate my readers' patience. Written with reluctance,
Camlin
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AboutA blog all about my experiences a creative writer. Includes grammar tips, dubious writing advice, and more! ArchivesCategories
All
|
Photo used under Creative Commons from marcoverch