Im assuming that you have encountered some form of procrastination in your life. For those of you who dont struggle with procrastination. Congratulations! I find procrastination especially frustrating to handle, when it disguises itself as irritability, confusion and anger, pointing my heart and mind away from where the real causes lie.

Procrastination is a temporary solution to cover or push away intense feelings during the creative process. Some creatives feel anxiety before starting a project. Others feel depressed in the middle of creating a project. Still others struggle being unable to finish a project, especially one that comes closest to the realization of part of their artistic vision. They dont want to face the unknowns of exploring a new project.

Procrastination is a form of self-sabotage. I call it a short-term last resort. If you let procrastination go, it can take over your life. In the following exercises, I can increase your awareness of how procrastination may be interfering with your work. Remember to choose to work one exercise at time. Take your time when you write. Be patient as you start to react to these two exercises. Let your mind and heart gently guide you toward deeper awareness and desire to change.

TO-DO LISTS: Lists are easy to write in your journal. If you can write a laundry list, then you can write a journal list. Feel free to choose organization tools that work best for you. My preference is to use a combination of my calendar, some goal files (pc), index cards and my memory. When Im creating lists, I like having access to both flexible tools(cards and memory) and a workable structure ( past lists and some goal files). Remember to write a clear, easy to read, and detailed to-do list.

CHOOSE ONE AREA: Choose one urgent procrastination area. To help your focus answer the following questions about your situation:

Purpose: Increasing your awareness of your resistance:

What part of this activity, that I dont want to do? (answer in specifics)

What am I feeling about working on this activity? (There may be more than one feeling)

What would I rather be doing?

What is so attractive about resisting this activity?

Purpose: Increasing your awareness of your motivation:

What part of doing this creative project do you like?What are your feeling about this creative project? (any feelings)

Summarize your resistance statements and your motivated statements

Look for any similarities and differences (use this information to answer the next question)

Look for ways to increase your motivational actions and decrease your procrastination actions.

Congratulations! Youve chosen your new goal. Start working on it now!!

No more procrastination!

Lael Johnson

Contact Information: Ms. Lael Johnson P.O. Box 2405 Culver City, CA 90231 Journallady2001@yahoo.com 310-649-5543

Lael Johnson is the owner of Writer's Eye Advisory Service. She has a varied background in history, marketing management, psychology, community service and facilities management. She is also a trained creativity coach, writer and beader. She owns Creations Beadwork, selling handcrafted jewelry at craft shows and other community events. She is a published author whose writing interests include: haiku and related forms, devotional and inspirational material, short stories, essays, children's stories, volunteering, journaling and lyrics. She's published in inspirational material in the Vineyard Voice, Single Spirit and Children's Bible Search. She is also a published poet in Makar, Frogpond and Woodnotes. She edited copy for the Vineyard Voice, edited the weekly church prayer bulletin for four years, and edited and published the National Journal Network newsletter for six years. She's completed one basic course in children's writing from the Institute of Children's Literature.

She is currently completing several email and teleclasses in creativity coaching and small business topics. She is a member of Cassell Network of Writers, International Women Writer's Guild, and California Lawyers for the Arts (artist member only), respectively. She also participates in several other niche writing organizations. Currently she welcomes creativity coaching clients, using journaling and other resources, to help artists, small business owners and people eager to expand their creativity skills. She's authored several articles on creativity coaching and other relevant topics. She can be reached by email.

She is a member of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Westside. She currently resides in Culver City, CA. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing and listening to classical, Celtic and international folk music and taking care of her two companion parakeets.