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This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about procrastinating, framed as a story about moving pianos…
Many writers I work with tell me they don’t have enough TIME for writing.
But a recent post on Steven Pressfield’s blog, suggests a reason why they might be lacking the time. They are moving pianos rather than writing.
Here’s how the story goes:
A friend of Steven’s once had the opportunity to work with Frank Sinatra and, after watching the singer for several days, he noticed something important:
“Frank Sinatra does not move pianos.
“Frank does two things and two things only: he sings and he prepares to sing.”
While Frank might have needed a piano for singing, he knew it wasn’t his responsibility to move it. In fact, it would be crazy if he were to do something like that because not only might he injure himself, but it clearly wasn’t where his talent lay.
Similarly, as a writer, you need to protect your time for writing.
If you’re procrastinating, examine what you do and figure out what you can delegate to other people. Could you hire a researcher to help you? Get someone to make your meals? Have someone else do your books?
I frequently remind myself, Daphne not only doesn’t move pianos, she doesn’t write about anything except writing. This mantra helps keep me focused on what I do and where my talents lie. Allowing myself to focus on anything else would be a mistake.
What pianos are you moving? Who else could move them on your behalf?
