Something that really irritates me is the way some people make flippant remarks about deadlines. You know, the especially annoying one is where they quote Douglas Adams. This gets my nanny, for two really good reasons:

1. They're trying to claim kin with a famous writer by bragging on sharing a bad habit.
2. It's really disrespectful of whoever's waiting on your copy. They might want to get their work done, too.

Why is 'letting deadlines whoosh past' disrespectful? For exactly the same reason that you lose friends if you make them wait for every single appointment. When you leave your friend standing at the meeting place for half an hour, you are saying, 'I am more important than you. Your time is worth nothing. Of course you won't mind waiting for me, because the delight of my company will wipe out the pain of having your time wasted.' Let me tell you, it ain't true. And they'll figure that out soon enough. 'Bye, 'bye, time-waster. Editors will figure that out, too.

This time of year, I get extra work. It makes me irritable and exhausted, but it's a good thing. I can use the money. Why do I get this extra work? Because the people I'm working for have tight schedules, and the other people can't meet the deadlines. Me, I'll slave away for 60 hours a week – and I'm big on the fast turnaround time. So I get the extra crumbs, like the early bird.

But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about. What I wanted to say about deadlines was twofold:

1. Procrastination negatively affects your writing style.
2. There are ways to get over this.

Do you remember those tedious people you knew at university? The ones who waited until the night before the paper was due – then woke you out of a sound sleep to borrow your dictionary? These nudniks usually waffled on about, 'I thrive under pressure.'

Baloney. You do NOT do your best writing when you're in a hurry. That's when you leave out every other preposition. Your really good writing is done when you have time to think about it. Which is early, not late.

Why is it important to plan ahead? For one thing, it gives you a chance to be playful, to experiment. You can always go back and change your mind. For another, it stops you from making quick, lazy choices. 'Oh, that will be good enough,' is not good enough. Finally, it gives you a chance to sleep on decisions you've made. A few weeks ago, I wrote one of these columns. The next day, I decided it was a mere unedifying rant, and replaced it. I couldn't have done that if I hadn't been planning ahead. But I tend to write these a couple of weeks in advance. So there's time for the Treppenwitz¹ and the second thoughts. I might even go back and rewrite this one, who knows²? Although if you see it in the Post, I probably didn't…³

How do you stop yourself from procrastinating? I have a few suggestions.

1. Keep a running list of what you're planning to write, even if it's only in your head. Update frequently.
2. Set aside times for your personal writing, and stick to them.
3. Think ahead. The June Create challenge is here. Did you make a note on 1 June about what you might want to write about? Have you started it yet?
4. Think like an antipodean. If you're wanting to submit seasonal writing to a publication⁴, the wrong time to do that writing is during the season. The right time is months ahead. Greeting card companies are collecting Christmas stuff right about now. See what I mean? Pretend you're in South Africa, and it's winter. Now, think about Santa…
5. Use your odd moments to run through ideas in your head. Waiting for a bus? Make up a story. Having a relaxing bath? Cleanse your mental palate by composing some verse⁵.

It's fairly easy to overcome the postponement bug. Just plan ahead. But the overwhelming obstacle to doing that is that, let's face it, you may not want to. In that case, I recommend the following motivation:

Doing things at the last minute is almost always disrespectful to someone. They'll feel dissed, and hurt. And they may refuse to accept your late copy.

Note to contributors: The Post will accommodate whenever possible. But we really prefer our copy two weeks ahead. That way, we can plan, possibly add art, and really feature your work.

Writing Right with Dmitri Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

16.06.14 Front Page

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