Productive Procrastination · Wordsmiths’ Guild

Shawn Helgerson

2d • General discussion

Productive Procrastination

One of the hardest lessons I've learned as a writer is that not all inactivity is procrastination.

There are three distinct states in the creative process:

Working: You're actively writing, editing, outlining, recording, or otherwise moving the project forward.
Fermenting: You've reached a point where more effort won't improve the work. The manuscript needs distance. It needs time to settle. Your subconscious is still processing it even though you're not touching it.
Avoiding: The project is ready for your attention, but you're finding reasons not to engage with it.

Suddenly, every other project seems more interesting. New ideas appear. Side quests multiply.

The challenge is that fermenting and avoiding can look identical from the outside.

In both cases, you're not working on the project.

The difference is how the project feels.

When a manuscript is still fermenting, returning to it feels muddy. You can't quite see what needs to change.

When fermentation is complete, something shifts. The project starts quietly asking for your attention. You begin to sense what needs to be done, but the work itself may feel difficult, tedious, or uncomfortable.

That's often the moment writers mistake avoidance for inspiration and run off to a shiny new project.

I've also learned that productive procrastination has value.

While one project is fermenting, I might write an essay, critique another author's work, record an audiobook chapter, or work on a lesson for the Guild. Those activities keep me engaged with the craft without forcing a manuscript before it's ready.

The key is making sure productive procrastination remains productive and doesn't become a permanent refuge from finishing.

Sometimes the most important question isn't:

"What do I feel like working on?"

It's:

"Which project is actually asking for me right now?"

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