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Procrastination

Kit BellamyLeave a comment

Nearly a month has slipped away since my last post. How did that happen? I set reminders on my to-do list. I have ideas about what to write. I even block out time in my week for working on this blog. So why haven’t I posted?

In a word, procrastination. I’ve been procrastinating a lot lately. Despite—or perhaps because of—having a lot of projects going on, I’ve been putting things off. Somehow, I fill my hours with less important activities – watching movies, gaming, listening to podcasts.

Ah, podcasts, one of my favorite ways to pass time without accomplishing much. In fact, I’ve spent a fair bit of my procrastination time catching up on episodes of the Start With This podcast, which focuses on writing and creating. So, how ironic is it that this podcast shined a spotlight on my procrastination?

If you care to check it out, the episode is Anxiety. The hosts bring up an excellent point early in the show: procrastination can stem from anxiety about a project or deadline. Instead of facing the anxiety-producing challenge, we procrastinate by doing other activities. We then further procrastinate by justifying the reasons for our procrastination.

The process goes something like this: I want to write a blog post, but feel anxious about it – what if the readers hate it or, worse, what if there are no readers? So, instead of working on the post, I listen to a podcast about writing, which is ok, because writing relates to blogging, right? Besides, the hosts have excellent suggestions and I find the shows interesting … and so on.

In the meantime, the blog post remains unwritten, even though I should have done it weeks ago. I’ve mastered the fine art of putting off anxiety-provoking work as demonstrated by my recent lack of posts.

So, how to stop the procrastination? The podcast suggests a method I use: set aside a specific amount of time to work on the anxiety-inducing project. When you’ve completed that portion of the work, do an activity you enjoy. Repeat until done.

I’ve also learned to set aside five minutes to worry every day. During that time, I catastrophize by using a method whose origin I have forgotten (but will gladly credit if I recall where I heard it). I ask “So what if [insert worry here]?” Then list one consequence and one alternative resolution.

So what if readers don’t like the post I’ve written? Well, they might not come back. Or they might decide this post wasn’t for them and check back in with the next post.

By framing my worries with the what-if question, I force myself to think about the consequences if my worries become reality. This will either prompt a solution to the problems or, more likely, make me realize I’m making the worry more significant than it needs to be. Whatever the result, when five minutes is up, I set aside the worries for the rest of the day. If I find my thoughts creeping back toward those worries, I’ll make a quick note of the worry and promise myself to give it my full attention the next day.

So what’s worrying you? What nagging thoughts are keeping you from what you should do? Tomorrow, try giving them five minutes of your time and attention. Then go and do that thing. Even if you only work on it in ten-minute increments, you will get through it. When it’s done, celebrate the accomplishment of mastering your worries and getting the work done.

Well, would you look at that? Another blog post accomplished. Get out the balloons and confetti!

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

An Introduction

Kit BellamyLeave a comment

Ever find yourself wondering about the untold stories when you read a book or watch a movie?

Does your imagination come out to play, taking you to imagined places?

Do you believe in the power of stories to entertain, transform, and educate?

If so, pull up a chair and relax awhile. We may have a few things in common. But first, an introduction – Hello, my name is Kit Bellamy and I’m a writer cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.

A Quick Tale of this Website

On New Year’s Eve in 2014, I sat down at my desk to begin the work of creating this website. My goal: create an online space to share my passion for storytelling and writing. My fingers barely grazed the keyboard when my cell phone rang. When I answered, my doctor greeted me.

I’d like to say that he called to wish me a happy new year. Instead, he used words like cancer, aggressive, and rare. You know – all the things that you don’t want on your mind as you prepare to ring in a new year. And so began a long series of health battles, including a second, unrelated cancer.

Spoiler alert: I survived to tell the story. I survived, in part, because I don’t have the good sense to stay down when I’m knocked to the ground. I am stubborn and tenacious when I set a goal for myself. Goal number one: survive. Goal number two: launch this site.

First goal accomplished, I turned my attention back to this project. Enter a new virus that turned the world upside down. Still, silver linings appear when you stop focusing on the darkness of the clouds. The necessity of staying home during the pandemic has provided an unexpected gift of extra time. Finally, progress made!

The Next Chapter

Now that the site is up and running, what can you expect when you wander back this way?

  • Shared inspirations – The things that spark my imagination. It could be a book, a photograph, or an odd find at an antique store.
  • Observations on life, death, and all points between – Life happens while I’m writing. I’ll share the bits that I find thought-provoking or inspiring.
  • Glimpses into works-in-progress – Not everything makes it into a novel. You’ll see character sketches, world-building, and side stories from the current project.
  • Shorter works – Poetry, flash fiction, stand-alone short tales, and other brief pieces.
  • Items related to the writing journey – There’s more to writing than putting pen to paper. I’ll share some of what goes on behind-the-scenes.

So that’s it – a quick, and hopefully painless, introduction. Thank you for taking the time to check out the site. If you like to read more, kindly scroll down and hit the Follow button. Until next time!