3 Proven Techniques To Help Writers Overcome Procrastination - Corey Mandell
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- Опубликовано: 23 дек 2019
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Check out Corey Mandell's two full video interviews on RUclips here:
ruclips.net/video/cj5tlCDEdcE/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/hZgWw5juPJ8/видео.html
i'll watch this later
Perfect response
@@filmcourage this channel is extremely helpful, thank you for doing these videos
I will still be laughing tomorrow
This was on my "watch later" list until today. lol
Lol I was literally procrastinating watching this
Best anti-procrastination advice I ever heard was from Ozzy Osbourne. He visited the Howard Stern radio show, for the first time, in 1993 (later re-aired on the E! show in February 1994 on TV). Howard asked him what he thought of all the musicians who cannot release music unless the astrological signs are in retrograde, the moon is aligned, and so forth. Ozzy simply replied something like: Don't waste your time worrying about alignment of the moon, *or you'll be living under it.* My take: Forget art and perfection or you will be homeless.
but haste makes waste. Art cannot be rushed into bloom - it's ready when it's ready.
Ozzy rules 🤘
Haste may make waste, but you don't have to release everything you make. You're a maker of things, so make!
Quantity makes quality.
Now this is excellent advice! Thank you much, Dan.
Happy Trails, cowboy.
3 ways to avoid procrastinating
1. Breaking the glass. (avoid doing something because they have a fear), imagine the glass is already broken
2. List out different things that you could be writing, not scripts, nothing with stakes, that would be really fun an really engaging.
3. Breaking the routine. A space only for writing. In your writing space you HAVE to be writing.
Thank you. Seriously.
Thank you!!!
2. List of different things that you could be writing: LONG COMMENTS ON RUclips AND YAHOO.
@@defiverr4697 LOL, can lump that in with commenting on twitter, facebook, youtube or your choice of social media interaction that gives you a positive feedback loop :D
Touko Mizu he does talk a shit load
That last bit at 16:24 spoke to me so much. It's these moments when you are procrastinating so much and are so exhausted that you have to take a break
I found that I've been scared of the writing experience - that has been the core of all my procrastination - I have return to experiencing the enjoyment of of my own writing - importantly to enjoy the rough drafts, the mad scrawls, the doodles, that are the basis of my best stuff - the mad stuff matters - this too is writing - keep it, work on it...enjoy it once more, all of it.
This guy's the most well rounded writer on film courage.
Corey was in the zone from the opening of our interview until the end. In all this interview was about 2 -3 hours. Pretty amazing. Excited to finish this up soon and have it up in its entirety.
Oh my gosh! I want to hug you, people! So often you my think that you're the only person in the world that is struggling with those things! And when you realise that is "just" fear, that it is more common than you thought that it would be.... it's a great relief! Makes you keep moving!
Thank you 💚!
The biggest source of "writer's block" is actually interruption. Being interrupted can be a fear for some writers, so much even, they will procrastinate without knowing why.
Disable bell notifications for new RUclips videos.😆
So true! Joyce Carol Oates says the same thing. The biggest enemy to writing isn’t lack of talent, it’s interruption by other people!
It’s even worse when your family or the people you live with are the ones interrupting you
@@SpiritedHeart94 I soooo relate to that 😬
Its a great relief to know that it is not my lack of talent !! 🕺🕺
My problem with procrastination isn't fear but a phenomenon I call the Tree of Distraction. I can never really focus on one project because I'm thrown of course by other ideas that come up while writing and I end up putting my current project off while I begin world building and sometimes starting the first draft on this new project. Then another idea might branch off from that one and the tree grows even more branches, getting bigger and bigger until I have so many projects that have been started and have yet to complete that I overwhelm myself and get frustrated because I have no idea where to start now or how to just stick with one project until it is complete.
I also make music as a second hobby that is supposed to be a story writing workflow strategy but I feel like it's now just a procrastination tool.
I have no problem writing everyday, just need some advice on staying with one project to the final draft.
I had the same problem with writing ... and music, and coding :) Dabbling away at lots of ideas - notes, demos and prototypes, respectively - but never seeing any project all the way through to "completion."
It is procrastination, because it's about avoiding committing to any one project long enough to finish it.
The key to cracking it - for me, anyway - was seeing an interview with a major film director (I forget which) who spoke about the trouble with selecting what film project to pursue next being that it needed to be a project that he could stay in love with for the 3 or 4 years it takes to bring a film from the initial pitch to the final release.
It made me realise a couple of things:
1) That simply "liking" an idea isn't enough; you've basically got to love it and marry it. If you don't love a particular project enough to commit to it for as long as it takes to see it through then you've already chosen not to do that project and need to identify another one that you do believe in strongly enough.
2) That the 3 or 4 year commitment it took to get a film all the way made was a lot longer than the amount of time that I would have to commit to see any of my own projects through to completion. If that filmmaker could devote 3-4 years of their life to each film project then I could sure as hell commit to spending 6 months on one of my own offerings.
Ultimately it's about selecting a project that you love enough to commit to for the amount of time that it's going to take to finish - and which you're going to be able to *stay* in love with, even during the times when it stops being "fun" and requires some real work to keep it going ... when simply starting over with some other project seems like it would be so much easier than working through the problems with the current one.
If that sounds more like relationship stuff than writing stuff, then that's probably apt because in order to finish a project you do have to consent to live with it and be faithful to it - forsaking all other projects - for months or even years, i.e. longer than most actual Hollywood marriages last :)
@Medifro Except one has to both be explicit in the note, and return to the note soon or one will forget the impetus and potential of the idea. Nothing more depressing than dusty, dog-eared post it notes with incomprehensible scribbling strewn across one's desk.
Your videos featuring Corey Mandell are by far my favourite. Thank you Film Courage for continuing to share them with the filming community.
watching the series of videos, I'm finding I really like this guy
also, I'm genuinely grateful to you guys for uploading all these
Other tricks that can also be used.
1. Listen to music, preferably those with no lyrics otherwise you might just end up singing along and not get any writing done.
2. Set up a time to write just like setting up a dedicated space to write in.
3. Set up your own deadline, have a calendar with a time table of activities and what chapter(s) should be done by a certain date.
Especially agree with #1 as a work-time starter. Ambient music works best for me, something repetitive, no significant rhythmic shifts, and as soon as I'm effectively working I turn it off. It's not a musical genre I'm especially fond of, but it gets me in the mindset required for steady application.
@@hd-xc2lz Same here, I've recently started listening to Dave Porter's score on Better Call Saul's final season. Works flawlessly, specially when I find out half an hour later that the video had stopped to ask me if I want to continue.
I went to one of his seminar at UCLA, he was very good professor.
He is good. I like what he adds.
As I sit here procrastinating! 🙃
Looks like you found the right video
That first tip has been extraordinarily helpful for me. I don't know about anyone else, but I've found there is something _profoundly_ cathartic about physically getting your fears onto paper, and realizing how small or manageable they are in the grand scheme of things.
Deeply comforting. Not so much the techniques, the 1,2,3, but simply listening to someone who has been there and is honest about it. That's all I needed really. Than you, FIlm Courage, whoever you are.
Thank you, not 'than you'.
Thank you for this. I was going along just fine on my latest book and then I decided to start a podcast as a promotional thing. And then I got to thinking about the reception, the potential controversy, the criticism for all the little things that our current culture of right-think has created to sew seeds of doubt. Just crazy self-crippling paranoia. As if I my work were even that visible! Gee whiz. This really helped and I appreciate it.
Social media is treacherous. It creates an intermittent reinforcement schedule that addicts you. Most of social media is harmful, then you run across a gem like this. Then you're back on it, taking up your precious time.
It also feels so real, somehow. It is the least real real-feeling thing we have.
"in my mind it's already broken" -- most brilliant line of the day. Thanks!
It really sucks to be afraid. It takes a lot to really move on from your fears. What helped me was the realization that what I have to lose is basically nothing compared with what I can gain. And also the understanding that you'll never, ever, will be able to please everyone. Some, probably a lot, of people won't like your stuff. And that's okay, because it's not you they don't like, it's only one thing. Great video!
Feels good to be watching this AFTER a productive day.
I procrastinate because I can't figure out where to take the story next or how to get from here to there. I don't know how to define that as fear.
Mine is fear... 100%. Fear that I'm not yet a good enough writer to do this project justice. Fear that I'm going to finish it, it's going to suck, and I'm going to be so disgusted with my work and demoralized that I give up writing completely live the rest of my life in misery. Wow. I didn't realize how far I had spiraled. Thanks for these tools, Mr. Mandell. I'm going to go cross some irrational BS off this list.
This video was incredible. I'm five minutes in and ready to "crack the glass."
Great to hear from you Jim. We wanted to get this one up before the New Year. Hope it helps writers improve their productivity.
I have a kind of a "go-to" that's a variant of this "break the glass" exercise... I've always called it "blow your g** d*** foot off!" .... BUT while there are exceptions to where it's even feasible, let alone a chance at successful, I've had marvelous luck in changing my attitudes and loosening up to undertake a task I've been dreading.
SO here's the basic principle... Instead of imagining the glass being broken, pick the thing up and sling it straight at the wall... HARD.
Writing a screenplay? Fear it being irredeemably rejected???
Okay, sit down and get an old fashioned notebook... ( I love hand-writing. It FEELS organic.) AND proceed to write the absolutely MOST atrocious god-awful pile of crap you can possibly crank out... bad characters, uncomplicated villainy, stupid premise... whatever it takes to turn out a piece that doesn't have a single redeemable value... Get it down in black and white. Go ahead and edit, the draft, and while you're double checking the punctuation, make sure you've created something completely awful down to the most unsatisfying ending you can create...
NOW... have someone read it. You can warn them, "It's pretty awful." BUT just ask them when they take the figurative plunge. "Alright, I don't need told it's bad. I can smell garbage when I see it. I just wonder, is there anything that works for you?"
AND take notes... Chances are (as I've found out the hard way many times)... It takes SKILL to create something completely irredeemable. I mean, Tommy Wiseau is a g** d*** GENIUS in his own right for that horrible thing... and it STILL made it to "cult classic".
Scared to death about girls? (OR a certain girl?) Okay, I was too... Until I found myself in the Navy and thinking... How can I be so scared of what a female's going to think or say??? I'm trained to go to war on the ocean... ffs!!!
SO I went to a club. I usually stick to pool halls, but this time... nope. I go to the club, a decent sort of atmosphere... no sign of gangs or "turf"... AND I walk in, buy a beer... and sit at a point where I can watch the door... I look around and get kind of used to the atmosphere... and then make the decision, "This ain't going to screw itself up"... SO the very next girls that walked in consisted of an obvious bubbly type, probably anything would get pleasantry out of her, so her friend... She had darker hair, combed discretely forward to shade her face and I could just make out enough of an expression to see she DEFINITELY did NOT want to be there... SO up I stroll as if I'm some kind of pop star, and I look her over from about six feet ahead, blocking their entry, making a display, and as my eyes come back up to meet her face, I straight up said the following,
"Nice shoes, wanna F***?"
I was braced... My heart (of course) was pounding like I was about to die, and for a moment, time slowed down. Then she smiled and her head straightened from glaring at the floor to meet my gaze. Eyebrows raised, and her friend (the bubbly one) shot me a look as if she might implode. It was absolute horror. I'd figuratively drawn a hand-cannon and just blown my own foot off right in front of them... Then the girl I'd spoken to started to giggle. Then she started to laugh... and she laughed hard. Her face turned red and tears started rolling down her cheeks she was laughing so hysterically. I actually had to help her to a seat at a nearby table. The bubbly girl invited me to bring my beer over, since her friend hadn't shown a smile since they'd left the house... and the WORST PICKUP LINE EVER was somehow a comical success.
Now, obviously, you shouldn't go harassing people, or making a complete ass of yourself in public on a routine basis... BUT do it once or twice in a great while as an experiment, and you realize, it's never EVER as bad as you think it's going to get.
SO when I'm truly dreading something... especially an artistic or creative project... I try a "dry run" wherein I "Blow my g** d*** foot off ON PURPOSE" just to see how it really would play out. The truth is, you can make a joke out of just about anything... and you can learn to laugh. You can still teach others to laugh, too.
Allan Watts once said, "The true DEEP humor is when we laugh at ourselves." ;o)
LOl... as soon as I saw the title and Corey guilt kicked in and I was like "time to go back to my re-write on my desk".
Solid advice. Thank you, Corey.
Apart from the I'd say, "typical" writer's block, often times my problem is to have just too many ideas in my head and being unable to sort through them and/or decide what I should go with. As a result, I get a lot of unfinished stories or even outlines because I just jump back and forth between everything in my mind :(
Thanks for this. I procrastinate terribly and always feel like shit because I don't get anything done. And this feeling compounds daily. Don't get me wrong, there are other reasons and responsibilities that interfere but I find myself taking shelter underneath them and stretching these 'reasons' out of all proportion to shield me from doing the things I need to get done.
I'm gonna try the 3rd suggestion. ...I have to clean out my office first, but I think the whole 'baby steps' nature of this method will help.
Trying to be a writer, I truly needed to hear and see this.
This is some of the best advice ive ever gotten on the problem, havent even tried yet and lisyening to the video alone made me eager to sit and write! Thanks!!
Thank you, Corey Mandell and Film Courage!
Thanks Mickey, hope one of these strategies helps if you ever need it.
Protecting your space like that is pretty brilliant. Thanks so much!!!!
The advice here is the most direct and practical I’ve ever heard (and I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to overcome my own procrastination).
This was absolutely brilliant, thank you so much!
Best way to overcome procrastination is FEAR of approaching deadline.
spec has no deadlines from the outside world
There were maybe a couple of months of my life when that worked for me.
haha I have this fear but that's actually what keeps me frozen, I don't know why it just happens
That's absolutely right. Back in school, I used to rattle off a 4-page fiction short story in the 15-minute break before English class. I just sat down and did it, because I had no choice but to hand *something* in. The trick, in the absence of real deadlines, is to create your own deadlines. Ask a friend if they'll read something for you and give you their opinion on it, and - if they will - tell them you'll send it to them Monday. That's your deadline. It might not be as "hard" a deadline as a commercial deadline with contractual penalties, but they're doing you a favor and that obligates you not to mess them around. Obligate yourself, basically.
Just what I needed...Thank you!
Fantastic and clear. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
thank you so much sir this was so helpful
Great advice Corey. I'm going to try these. Many thanks!
Hope they help when needed.
this channel is so great, it's full of gold nuggets like this one! thank you !
Cheers! Great to see you finding value here.
Thank you so much!
Love it! Thank you so much! :D
Super sound tips!!!
What he’s describing in 4:40 is identical to a technique my therapist taught me to help with my GAD. Changed my life, actually.
Great points
The rare vase in Dostoevsky's The Idiot.
Unforgettable.
Have you tried any of these techniques? Have they worked for you?
I'm going to try the third one and the first one, mentally for me the third will be challenge to see if I can write than I am taking that five minute break.
Thank you so much I really needed this.
1000th like! And I can see myself using the third technique. Gonna try when I'll stop procrastinating :)
Thanks!
Very helpful
It’s so funny because on the 8:06 part he is explaining exactly what I would typically do. I’ve been much better but I’m watching this to keep myself from procrastinating. If anyone is reading when you do have time try looking at meaningful videos (not all day) to keep you afloat even if your not going through that situation at that particular moment I feel like it helps ☺️😁 make today a great one!
I'll save this on the 'watch later' list.... it's better than just bookmarking it.
Being a suscribed member of the channel, I don't know how I did not find this video sooner. I am definitely trying the third one. Luckily, I live on my own and I can choose among different places.
Great to see you still finding value here Ivan. And don't beat yourself up, we've now posted thousands of videos (which is thousands more than most people can handle 😀).
Added to watch later
Thank you
Wow, this is interesting. I don't really think the first two will work for me though, because I really don't do anything at all when I procrastinate, and I also don't really think I have anything to lose. I guess the only fear I have is that I'm wasting time, which I already know I do when I procrastinate. I spend hours thinking about if I should write or not, but I also do this with video games, reading, watching movies or series etc. I might try that third one..
He has the best advice
Amazing tips! Thank you!!! There really is a part of me that doesn't want me to write XD Godda fight it!
I haven't finished the whole video but I thought my procrastination was lack of time but since I just got laid off I haven't done anything that I should be doing. In my head I want the script to be 'right' so it could get picked up by an agent and network so I get stuck outlining and writing ideas and seldom work on the script itself. I've made improvements but still need to work on it. Especially if I take a break it's difficult to get back in the groove of things.
Great vid. I think there is a connection with the chemical Dopamine in our brains too. Some activities stimulate Dopamine like web surfing, telephone talks, tv watching, eating, etc. Our human minds are fascinating...
This vid is in my Watch Later queue.
Makes sense.
Thanks a million , they are functional and practical . I was wondering if you could give me more consultancy about overcoming other obstacles . Specifically , I've been suffering from lack of privacy for writing due to living in a small house ( even not personal room ) . Additionally , noise pollution stems from my brother that strum the guitar nonstop . What's the key for concentration , practically ?
I appreciate you beforehand
I’m watching this while I’m procrastinating from writing. I’ll try the first one tonight!
I was gonna watch this video but I spent 20 minutes on TikTok bc my friend sent me smth and I saw an edit on TikTok and that got me to edit for like 4 hours and since I was doing anike edits I got distracted on anime and whached anime for another 2 hours. I really needed this video
When I procrastinate, I watch Film Courage videos; especially Shannon the Shaman.
I am watching his first video and I can directly see the soul of this guy. Not any bullshit ideology of him but him directly, what he is. It's very difficult to put forward your fears in front of everyone for them to judge. The truth is, he knows no one does it. I want to be a writer one day. I hope I do. Even though I don't believe in any god, God bless me.
I think this might save me. Ill update when I put it to the test after Breakfast
On the first point in this video, as a writer, you don't know if or when another next idea is going to come. So when you have a script or a film, there's fear about it failing because you don't know when you'll be able to redeem yourself if it doesn't go to plan.
Many are afraid of making a long term commitment. When things go bad, we want to get out. We all have the ideal senecio but that’s not real. It takes strength to stick it out to the very end.
The first tip (listing things and whatnot) wouldn't work for me because I'd just keep putting it off. But I like the latter tips a lot!
The "break the glass" has an interesting analogue.
I was having a recurring nightmare having to run away from something trying to kill me.
I learned how to lucid dream, and once, I noticed I was dreaming, and I got enraged. Here it was again, but it's my turn mofo!
I said, "ok, this is MY dream, I am a god here."
So I stopped running, turned and ran _to_ whatever was gonna kill me screaming, "Do it, do it, f'ing try! I rule here!" I made myself HUGE.
There was nothing there.
I was free. I never had a sense of lightness of being as great as that.
And even the once in a year or two nightmare of various types, I immediately took control and "broke the glass."
Gone again. I don't have nightmares anymore.
I taught my son's this technique too and I think it has saved me many nights of having to calm them from a nightmare and empowered them to remove a source of stress most ppl never get to remove.
I managed 20 years of procrastinating. I should get a prize. The story scared me. It was too good to be true.
When I procrastinate, I watch videos like this.
The third one psychologically works pretty well. Use your writing space only for writing.
The only thing that has stopped me from procrastination is fear of missing a deadline. without a real, unmovable deadline I struggle .
Simple tips but inspired. Did he get that dance with Jenny, BTW?
I like to write on the train in the "quiet car" to and from work. No interruption but that's only 40 mins each way. Before writing I have a habit of checking my emails, Facebook notifications and IG.
I relate to this comment lol
12:27 TRUTH
I saw the clip to this video and I hit watch later
lucky for me i don't have an agent, so there's nothing to fear
9:55 listen to his videogame example and tell me what you hear
16:38 MAKE IT HABITUAL⚓️
I'm glad this video is 17 minutes long.
ight im gonna save this in my 'watch later' and procrastinate on watching it
12:52 the best advice he's ever given and he doesn't even realise it. If He'd had only stopped to say "say that out loud and you'll see how ridiculous it sounds." But he missed the opportunity. I don't think much of this guy honestly. but it's the little things that stand out to me. So it's valuable, just not in the way he explicitly means.
THIS GUY wrote Battlefield Earth!
I face this as a fear of not being good enough and not having a chance at my dream
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was already broken the moment Prince Myshkin entered the room.
Did it take anybody else three days to actually watch this once you clicked on it the first time?
End procrastination tomorrow!
I'm procrastinating right now by watching this video lmao
🤣👍
It's kind of comical how we're all affected by this same exact struggle
"Shoot ze glass."
Going for a 20+ min walk works really well for me.
9:10 Every drama channel on youtube took this path basically XD
I wish I had a writing room. Sucks being poor and having no space.
I use an old laptop that refuses to connect to the internet :-) #JobDone
My fear is that I'm just a not good enough writer.
“PUNCH THE KEYS FOR GOD’S SAKE!”