Constant Delay: The Unending Struggle Against Postponement
In the world of writing, deadlines loom large, and for some, procrastination is a familiar companion. Meg, an eight-time NaNoWriMo winner and freelance writer, is no stranger to this phenomenon.
Meg, the creator of Novelty Revisions, believes that tasks like writing a novel or publishing a blog post can wait until the last minute. However, she acknowledges that other tasks, such as returning edited articles and submitting invoices, cannot.
Procrastination, Meg contends, is not necessarily a negative trait. In a profession that thrives on deadlines, procrastinating might not be a bad thing. This perspective is echoed by the concept of eustress, a form of positive stress that arises from challenging but manageable situations or exciting experiences.
Eustress energizes and motivates individuals, enhancing their mental or physical functioning and helping them feel capable of coping with obstacles. For procrastinators, eustress refers to the beneficial pressure of deadlines or challenges that can trigger heightened motivation and performance in writing tasks, contrasting with distress, which can hamper productivity.
Meg suggests that if you have to wait until the last minute, make it count. By embracing eustress, procrastinators can channel their energy into focused and productive writing sessions, often producing well-thought-out words in short periods.
However, it's important to note that procrastination can lead to more stress, anxiety, and frustration. Meg advises learning to manage procrastination effectively to avoid these negative consequences.
Meg's career may exist due to the "tiny energy bursts" provided by procrastination. She has published work in Teen Ink, Success Story, Lifehack, and USA TODAY College, and her Twitter account is dedicated to tweets about writing, food, and nerdy things.
In her advice to writers, Meg offers tips on putting ideas into words, drawing from her own experiences with procrastination, which she attributes to her anxiety. Despite her struggles, she has been attempting to write a novel or short story during the month of July every year since 2009.
By understanding and harnessing the power of eustress, Meg demonstrates that procrastination can be a tool for productivity rather than a hindrance in the writing process.
Meg notably revels in the home-and-garden atmosphere of her writing den, where her creativity unfolds best. In her downtime, she tends to her horticultural pursuits, illustrating how her lifestyle continually intertwines with her home-and-garden passion.
