Day 849: Dictation, day 39 - I guess I need to form a new habit
I got up a little earlier today and got some of my “frogs” done first. I have to admit, it felt really good to get these tasks out of the way. I’d been neglecting them recently because I wasn’t feeling well and prioritizing the writing over these other writing-related tasks, but finishing these things today really relieved a bit of stress I hadn’t realized I had. These were marketing tasks that needed to be done, and it was a relief to get them done a little ahead of schedule.
I don’t think it was wrong of me to prioritize the writing the past few weeks, but it caused me to not complete the other writing-related tasks, which weren’t as important. However, even if they weren’t AS important, they’re still IMPORTANT, and it’s definitely less stressful when I keep up with all the other writing-related tasks in addition to the writing.
However, I did find myself procrastinating before starting on my dictation, and I’m not sure why. It would be easy to say that I was simply lazy, but I don't think that addresses the issue here. I need to figure out why I procrastinated and what I can do to combat it next time.
Part of it may be that I'm not feeling well — but I haven't been feeling well for months now, and yet some days I'm able to work through the pain while other days, like today, I just want to avoid working.
I have a few productivity books about procrastination, some of which I read a long time ago. I'll try to read them again to see if I can find a way to combat my procrastination.
It's ironic that I didn't have to battle procrastination very much when I was writing via typing, and yet now I have to struggle with that again. The only thing I have changed is my writing output method. Maybe it's simply that I got into a good habit when I was writing through typing, but changing the output method turns it into a completely different thing, according to my brain. And so the old habit no longer applies.
If that's the case, then I simply need to create another habit. I think I will go back to trying to do my dictation first thing. My “frogs" might not get done, but maybe I'll eventually form more of a habit and won't have to struggle with procrastination in a few months, and then I can go back to doing my “frogs" first. I hope that's what happens.
For now, I have finally sat down and stopped procrastinating. I'll go back to dictating my book. Once again, I am not doing dictation exercises. My dictation is rather slow at the start, but because I'm not entirely sure how long I will be feeling feeling well enough to work, I want to maximize the amount of time that I am writing.
***
I dictated for about an hour and my speed wasn’t bad, about 2900 words per hour. After doing the cleanup editing, I was left with 2800 words that I had written in my manuscript.
I switched my Dragon program to another computer. It’s an old one, but it’s only dedicated to Dragon, so I can work on my laptop while my dictation is transcribing. This is much more convenient than running Dragon on my laptop, since Dragon slowed it down a lot. Unfortunately, the Dragon program on my other computer isn’t as well trained as the one on my laptop, so I have more errors to clean up.
For tomorrow, I will try to do my dictation first so that I can hopefully prevent myself from procrastinating. I will also try to get up a bit earlier, because I think it makes it easier for me to get to work right away.
Writing streak: 328 days
My takeaway for today: Try to do dictation first thing to form a new writing habit again and combat procrastination.
I don’t think it was wrong of me to prioritize the writing the past few weeks, but it caused me to not complete the other writing-related tasks, which weren’t as important. However, even if they weren’t AS important, they’re still IMPORTANT, and it’s definitely less stressful when I keep up with all the other writing-related tasks in addition to the writing.
However, I did find myself procrastinating before starting on my dictation, and I’m not sure why. It would be easy to say that I was simply lazy, but I don't think that addresses the issue here. I need to figure out why I procrastinated and what I can do to combat it next time.
Part of it may be that I'm not feeling well — but I haven't been feeling well for months now, and yet some days I'm able to work through the pain while other days, like today, I just want to avoid working.
I have a few productivity books about procrastination, some of which I read a long time ago. I'll try to read them again to see if I can find a way to combat my procrastination.
It's ironic that I didn't have to battle procrastination very much when I was writing via typing, and yet now I have to struggle with that again. The only thing I have changed is my writing output method. Maybe it's simply that I got into a good habit when I was writing through typing, but changing the output method turns it into a completely different thing, according to my brain. And so the old habit no longer applies.
If that's the case, then I simply need to create another habit. I think I will go back to trying to do my dictation first thing. My “frogs" might not get done, but maybe I'll eventually form more of a habit and won't have to struggle with procrastination in a few months, and then I can go back to doing my “frogs" first. I hope that's what happens.
For now, I have finally sat down and stopped procrastinating. I'll go back to dictating my book. Once again, I am not doing dictation exercises. My dictation is rather slow at the start, but because I'm not entirely sure how long I will be feeling feeling well enough to work, I want to maximize the amount of time that I am writing.
***
I dictated for about an hour and my speed wasn’t bad, about 2900 words per hour. After doing the cleanup editing, I was left with 2800 words that I had written in my manuscript.
I switched my Dragon program to another computer. It’s an old one, but it’s only dedicated to Dragon, so I can work on my laptop while my dictation is transcribing. This is much more convenient than running Dragon on my laptop, since Dragon slowed it down a lot. Unfortunately, the Dragon program on my other computer isn’t as well trained as the one on my laptop, so I have more errors to clean up.
For tomorrow, I will try to do my dictation first so that I can hopefully prevent myself from procrastinating. I will also try to get up a bit earlier, because I think it makes it easier for me to get to work right away.
Writing streak: 328 days
My takeaway for today: Try to do dictation first thing to form a new writing habit again and combat procrastination.
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