Advice on what to do about procrastination and productivity!

Hello and welcome to my latest jottings and musings about my world in general.

Well, I’ve been full time self-employed for 18 months now… and what a roller coaster it’s been!

It literally has been a ride of extreme highs and lows…

As my first projects evaporated into thin air as we entered Lockdown 1 through to the easing of the early summer months of 2020 and the glorious weather we had. Then on to Tier 3 restrictions and Lockdown 2 from November to February 2021… And then before we know it we’re in summer 2021 and the easing of restrictions again.

Sleepless nights have been aplenty…

But there’s lots of positivity too. My absolute delight has been working on some amazing projects with some inspiring ladies who are about to publish their books this year. I’ll post links to them when they’re available. One of them is the delightful Helen Fisher at https://www.helenlfisher.com/. Take a look at her services, she’s an amazingly intuitive and healing lady.

I’ve gone from absolutely no work and no income to writing a book!

In the times without any project I have used my time productively though. And guess what??

Well – I’ve only gone and written my first novel A Missing Mother, that should be available at the end of July 2021. You can follow some of the journey at https://www.facebook.com/JoyCouttsWriter

It’s an amazing feeling: both scary and exciting in equal measure to be honest. And I’m very proud of it. Here’s the spine from the cover, which I’m a little bit in love with!

Bearing in mind the amount of time it has taken to research, write, edit and proofread my own book I’ve been thinking about the distractions that I’ve had along the way. Aside from the whole Covid malarkey there’s the constant social media ‘stuff’ and the outside distractions of the digital world. How much more could I have done and how much sooner could I have done it without those distractions I wonder?

In the age of distraction, deep focus is a super skill

Just when did we become so distracted? When did multi-tasking become something to be admired? Why is ‘busyness’ glorified and aspired to? While thinking about these things I came across this captivating article https://blog.doist.com/cognitive-biases-time-management/ . Well worth a read and it will make you think about the choices/decisions you make when you spend your time…go, check it out.

I’ve also just started to re-read and revisit Cal Newport’s book Deep Work – Rules for Focussed Success in a Distracted World. Personally, I think everyone should read it, especially creatives and highly sensitive people (HSPs). Some of the effects of distraction are quite frankly alarming. Again, well worth a look at https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work

My plan of action for less distraction

Rather than doing any more reading and researching the theory of productivity and procrastination caused by digital distractions I have created a plan for my business – and writing – so as to use my time to the maximum efficiency and creativity. Sometimes we need to actually ‘do’ and take positive action. We can’t hope to have read the book, watched the tutorial or attended the online coaching session and hope to achieve stuff by osmosis and attendance!

So I’ve just completed Leonie Dawson’s course https://leoniedawson.com/marketing . What a revelation this has been for me. If you don’t know Leonie take a look – admittedly she’s not for everyone – she swears – A LOT! She speaks her mind but there is a lot of food for thought in the course. One of my best investments this year and again, well recommended.

One of my points of actions is to post my jottings regularly and to keep in touch with you by a newsletter. It will be addressed to you personally and delivered into your inbox. How cool is that in the world of impersonal advertising and marketing? You can sign up for it on the Books page on this website. To make it easy for you – here’s the link: https://prideandjoyeditorial.com/books or contact me via the Contact page and I’ll add you to my mailing list.

Let’s speak and smile together soon,

Joy x