You have to write 2,000 words before midnight for publishing in order not to lose your rights to MGS but the page you've been staring at for the last forty minutes is still blank. As the minutes count down, you feel a sense of helplessness and cry as you lose the MGS for the month for not making the deadline.
Does it sound like you? It must really suck. While it has never happened to me, I've seen it happen to many other writers who want to know how I cope with my creative deadlines on top of working freelance with more jobs than a regular full-timer has.
Hence, I decided to cover some Aitsuji tops to cope with the pressure of it all before it all falls down.
Patreons to credit: -This could be you. Join now.-
#1: Set Milestones
The best way to eat a cake is to cut it into smaller pieces. For projects, this is also the best method of coping. By breaking down a huge goal into smaller goals, the task becomes less daunting and more manageable.
Setting milestones can be in the form of words, chapters, and paragraphs that can be measured by time. Pacing yourself when you write gives you a solid guideline for how much you can accomplish without burning yourself out.
#2: Plan to Rest
Don't laugh. I laughed at this initially because of how stupid it sounded. However, if it works, it ain't stupid.
Planning to rest is almost as important as planning how much work you wish to accomplish. When humans reach a certain age, they discover that they were no longer as physically capable as they once were. Things start slowing down and breaking. Resting to recover is a strategy to fight the deadlines more efficiently. Without proper rest, focus drifts and time is meaninglessly wasted.
#3: Do Research and Preparations Before Writing
Doing research and plotting what you want to write can save you a lot of trouble. The biggest reason for taking too much time in writing is because of distraction. It doesn't matter if the distraction is because of your stomach, your cat, your mother calling you to do laundry or even homework. Distractions remove time from productivity.
In writing, it is always the research that sends us writers down the rabbit hole of never-ending information. We think and then overthink until nothing gets written. To avoid this, it is more logical to get the rabbit hole out of the way so that when we start our creative engine, we hit the productivity highway, avoiding obstacles swiftly so that we can meet deadlines without breaking a sweat.
#4: Allocate Spam Time
If you are not a full-time writer earning enough to pay bills or have a rich lover to support your endeavours, chances are, you can't stay past midnight to write or you'd face the wrath of sleep deprivation for work and school tomorrow.
Set a time limit for writing. Allocate a time to spam words and once that timer goes off, stop. I don't care if it took you all hour to finally find inspiration, you have to stop. This will train your brain to become disciplined in writing and in the long run, it will help you achieve your deadlines much easier.
#5: Reward Yourself
Lastly, rewarding yourself after the battle is a must. It doesn't have to be grand if you're broke. Things like getting an extra hour of sleep or eating some chocolate can be considered a form of reward. Pamper yourself, because if you don't, who else is going to treat you right?
In conclusion...
There are many methods to reduce the dread with a deadline drawing close. There was a blog I found written by someone else that might be helpful should none of the five tips I mentioned above work for you.
Alternatively, if you require peer pressure to support you in the tough times, you are welcome to join my discord server to do sprints together! I also stream some writing progress for those who need a pre-recorded virtual work buddy. Be sure to check them out!