pro·cras·ti·nate   [proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh-] verb,-nat·ed, -nat·ing.

–verb (used without object)
1. to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

–verb (used with object)
2. to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

sab·o·tage   [sab-uh-tahzh, sab-uh-tahzh] noun, verb,-taged, -tag·ing.

–noun
1. any underhand interference with production, work, etc., in a plant, factory, etc., as by enemy agents during wartime or by employees during a trade dispute.

2. any undermining of a cause.

–verb (used with object)
3. to injure or attack by sabotage.

From reading the definitions of these two words, they would seem to belie the title of this post: Procrastination = Sabotage. So let’s look at some examples instead.

Example 1: Diet and Exercise

Last November, I got super busy trying to get Ransome’s Crossing written, as well as working on a new monthly freelance editing job—on top of several jobs I’d already agreed to do by the end of November. Plus, with traveling to Arkansas for Thanksgiving, I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands. And because the weather turned unusually cold for fall in Nashville, I stopped my daily walks. I also stopped going to my Weight Watchers meeting every week. I’ll start back in December so I can be in the right frame of mind for the Christmas holidays with the family—and the loads and loads of sugary/carb-loaded foods I knew would be put in front of me at every turn. But in December, I had to start writing Love Remains—and I had my freelance projects to do as well. I won’t worry about sticking to a healthy eating plan and exercising in December. I’ll start back in January.

But when January rolled around, I not only had a book to write, I had a book to edit (Ransome’s Crossing) and a book release to promote (A Case for Love) as well as my freelance work. I “needed” chocolate and high-carb foods to get me through the stress. I’ll get back on track in February. And even though I hadn’t finished Love Remains, I did join the gym in February—Happy Valentine’s Day to me!—and rejoined Weight Watchers (to find myself up 13 pounds from the lowest weight I’d gotten to in the two years I’ve been going). And after that one time that I went (to the gym and WW), I couldn’t go the next week—because of…whatever. And the next week, my car broke down, so I couldn’t go that week—and with all the stress going on, I definitely “needed” the sugars and carbs, right? I would get back on track when I went to Hot Springs the first week and a half of March. But then there were so many places to go out to eat, and so much good food to be had when I was eating out in Shreveport the weekend of the NOLA RWA conference. So, I’d get back on track as soon as I got home.

But then the stress of more freelance work and more edits and revisions and more marketing was still there. So I’d go to the grocery store, thinking about getting healthy food. But then something would catch my eye—fried chicken, Valentine’s candy, Easter candy, hot dogs, chips, etc.—and I’d think, Tomorrow. I’ll get back onto the healthy eating program tomorrow. Well, I finally replaced the battery in my scale at home and, guess what, I procrastinated myself into regaining 20 of the almost 50 pounds I’d lost over the last two years. TWENTY POUNDS RE-GAINED because I was procrastinating.

Example 2: Writing Goals/Deadlines

At the beginning of 2009, I set the goal of writing an average of 1,000 words per day from the beginning of the year so that I could meet my contractual deadlines with plenty of time to spare—and get started writing a book I was only thinking about proposing to my publisher before I knew whether they’d buy it or not. But when I’d sit down to the computer to write, I wouldn’t necessarily feel like writing. I can do 2,000 words tomorrow instead of 1,000 today, I reasoned. Three-thousand words in one day? Not a problem. I can do that tomorrow. So what happened? Well, the last couple of weeks of June—when the weather was gorgeous and I would have loved to be out, meeting friends for lunch, walking, and just enjoying the unusually mild start to summer—I was locked up in my house frantically trying to get the last 40,000 words of A Case for Love written. You’d think that would put me on track for getting the 1,000 words per day done on Ransome’s Crossing written so that I could get Love Remains started before December 1, right? What did I spend the week before Thanksgiving doing—the week when I could have been visiting with my parents instead of holed up in their back bedroom? That’s right—trying to get the last 30,000 words of Ransome’s Crossing written. So where did that put me on Love Remains? Way behind the eight-ball. And, as you all know, I ended up being more than a month late turning that manuscript in. I procrastinated myself into an untenable situation I don’t want to find myself in again—having to tell both my agent and my editor that my manuscript isn’t going to be finished by deadline.

Example 3: Housekeeping

I’ve never been the best housekeeper in the world. I was the kid who was always sent to my room and told to clean it—and when Mom would come check hours later, the room was messier than it was to begin with, because I’d run across some old toy I hadn’t seen in a while and pulled it out to play with it—and then left it on top of the piles of stuff on the floor and pulled something else out. I envy people who have that automatic “put it back where you got it” gene (like my sister) and they don’t even have to think about it. They clean as they go. I’ll put it away tomorrow. I’ll do laundry tomorrow. I don’t feel like doing the supper dishes tonight, I’ll do them tomorrow. I don’t want to sweep the floors today, I’ll sweep them tomorrow. And we all knows what happens. Tomorrow, I’ve put something else down where it doesn’t belong. Tomorrow, I’ve worn more clothes that go on the laundry pile. Tomorrow, I’ve dirtied more dishes that need to be washed. Tomorrow, I’ve tracked in more dirt and grass and mud. The more days these tasks get put off, the more they pile up until they’re overwhelming chores that take hours instead of a simple task that might take fifteen or twenty minutes. I’ve procrastinated my way into a house into which I’d be embarrassed to invite anyone.

There’s a line in The Music Man which has been running through my head today:

You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left
with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.

So I got up and went to the gym today. I only managed 1.25 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes, but it’s a start. I know I need to do this, not just because I now have an additional 20 pounds to re-lose, but because I’ve gotten to the point where I’m sleeping between 10 and 12 hours every night—and even then not wanting to get out of the bed. That’s one of the key signs that I’m sliding over the edge into a depressive cycle (that and the compulsive overeating). The chocolate, sugars, carbs, and fats, while boosting the endorphins momentarily when I eat them, aren’t giving me the long-lasting rush that exercise and eating right and feeling good about myself—both physically and emotionally—give. So TODAY I went to the gym. TODAY I’m making out my meal plan for the rest of the week. TODAY I’m cleaning off the kitchen table, and TODAY I’ll start eating my meals at the table instead of in front of the computer or the TV. TODAY I start cleaning the house, one room per day. TODAY I start working on catching up to the word-count goals I set for myself to get Ransome’s Quest written before the end of June so that I have a month to re-read, edit, and revise it before turning it in for the August 1 deadline. TODAY I make a list of everything I’ve let slide by telling myself I’d deal with it tomorrow.

No more tomorrows. Only TODAYS.

What have you been procrastinating on that’s starting to sabotage you? What can you do to stop the procrastination before it becomes sabotage?