Square Peg

Procrastination, I'm great at it. Sure, there are hundreds of little things I get done here and there each week. From cleaning clothes to shopping for groceries, making phone calls to keeping appointments - for the most part my track record is looking pretty good.

But hidden beneath the layer of what some would call success, hides a pocket of responsibility that waits only to gather dust. Procrastination. The "I'll do it later" mentality can at times really chip away at my effectiveness.

Everyone participates in this form of madness in some way or another. A meeting that needs to take place, an item to pick up at the store, and the all too famous deadline that you ask for an extension on. Whether it's taxes or a homework assignment, having a little bit more leeway can really compliment a procrastinator's slump.

After looking a writing deadline square in the eye this morning, I decided to give myself a break. I am working through an on-line writing course. It is preparing me for magazine publication. I am learning so much through each lesson. The exercises are stretching me way outside of my comfort zone, and having me familiarize myself with the writing market.

There are a lot of things in my life that take precedence over this course. With God first, Mark second, family third, job fourth (I speak of house work for now) and ministry fifth . . . my writing is always sandwiched in between somewhere. And for those of you who have been reading my posts - blogging is where I have been depositing my writing energy lately.

I really do try and get the most important things done first. God has been teaching me a lot about prioritizing, and while I'm far from perfect, I like to think I'm making a little bit of progress.

I've come to realize today, that sometimes procrastination can be a product of prioritizing. Stay with me here. If I have project that I am trying to get to, but more important things keep shoving it aside, then maybe the project isn't as important as I thought is was. Either that, or my priorities are all out of whack.

As I read through the assignment this morning, I realized that I have come to a point in the course, where I'm instructed to begin mulling over the following questions. What kind of a writer do you want to be? What do you want to write about? Who do you want to write for?

Every time I sit to work on these particular writing exercises, I don't feel very excited about any of it. I do realize that honing in on a skill and working towards a goal takes hard work . . . but why the procrastination?

So I decided today, that instead of cramming my homework into two days, to get it in on October 1st, I am going to ask for an extension on my deadline. This will not hinder me at all (so I'm told). This way, I can really take the time and pray, asking God what kind of writer He wants me to be.

There is definitely a devotional kind of feel to my writing, but I also enjoy writing fictional stories and non-fiction articles. In peeking at the industry earlier today, the possibilities are endless. I long to be an influential writer, and one of my goals is to someday be published, but in order to get there - I must push past the giant of procrastination.

So what do you need to get done that you keep putting off? Is it some kind of an assignment or a special project you keep hoping to get to? Are other people being affected by your decisions? Is keeping it set aside adding to your character or taking away from it? If you are kicking yourself today because of something you keep putting off, I want to encourage you to give yourself a break.

Maybe the square peg of what I am trying to work on, isn't fitting so well into the rounded purpose God has destined for me. It could be that magazine writing is not my thing - and the great part? That would be okay. I still plan on completing this course, because if nothing else, it is teaching me what I'm not so much about.

Procrastination - instead of being productivity's greatest enemy . . . can also be interpreted as God's little indicator.