One of many areas where my wife and I differ is that I am a habitual procrastinator. If she has something that needs to get done, she likes to tackle it right away. I, on the other hand, prefer to wait until I have just enough time before the deadline to get it done and then start.
When I wait, then when I sit down to work, I have the sense of urgency and near-panic that helps me get into a flow state, even if it is something I do not want to do, and avoid distraction. I think I work best under that situation. I don’t always have time to go back and double-check my work, but more often than not, my double-checking results in a negative outcome or, in a best case scenario, taking a 90% solution to a 95% solution. It’s really not an effective use of my time.
On the other hand, if I try to start something early, I don’t put pressure on myself, so I am more tempted to take breaks, go down research rabbit holes, or put off a work session until later. That means that I work on the project in bits and pieces and often lose time catching myself up each time I sit back down to work.
With my current coaching project, I have been able to make this system work to my advantage. I agree to take on a task with only two days to finish (my usual rush time is four days), so that has motivated me to really focus on the work when I sit down. I have also been using the pomodoro timer, which helps me focus since I know the reward/break is coming.
Now, once I’m done with this coaching project, I need to figure out how I can leverage that same efficiency in my fiction writing when I do not have an external deadline.