Productive Procrastination for Creatives
Most writers battle resistance from time to time, and it comes in many forms. Maybe you’re working on a project with a looming deadline, which is the perfect time to clean your kitchen.
Just ask Agatha Christie.
“The best time for planning a book is when you’re doing the dishes.”—Agatha Christie
I realize I’m bending her quote to serve my purposes, but who am I to argue with greatness?
© agathachristie.com
My most recent battle with resistance happened yesterday. After being away from a project too long due to other writing deadlines, I struggled to find my groove, which culminated in my spending nine hours trying to get my arms around a manuscript. My characters refused to behave, and a section of the second act sagged like a neglected hundred-year roof. The final pin dropped in the form of my losing several thousand words due to some sort of file syncing error. I’d spent all day trying to nail Jello to the wall and wondering why it refused to stick.
I called my sister-in-law, who sagely suggested I needed to step away from my computer. Get some fresh air, go for a walk. I felt a bit better after but still defeated. I spent the rest of the evening with the gritty dust of failure stuck to my skin. I then reminded myself that this, too, is part of the process. The only way out is through. Tomorrow is another day.
I decided to start this morning with some writer support. After a two mile walk while listening to Brandon Sanderson discuss writing with Tim Ferris, I then read J.T. Ellison’s Substack on resistance. There was something about listening to other authors discuss their craft and the struggles that come with it that helped me refocus with a fresh perspective (and an attitude adjustment, which was sorely needed. I was very salty).
If you’re struggling with any sort of creative project, consider taking respite by listening to other creatives discuss how they do their thing. Here are a few of my favorites:
The Tim Ferriss Show: Episode #794: Brandon Sanderson on Building a Fiction Empire…
Buckle up, loves, because this episode is 3.5 hours long. It took me several walks and cleaning sessions to get through it, but I promise it’s jam packed with some fantastic advice and discussion related to both the art and business of writing. Few writers have accomplished what Brandon has while also so freely sharing his expertise with others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zzzjLKuFZA
Work Life with Adam Grant: Your Insecurities Aren’t What You Think They Are
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist with a curiosity superpower that translates into countless benefits for his audience. His WorkLife podcast is a regular listen in my feed. This episode is also how I found Taylor Tomlinson, which some might think is a strange way to discover a comedian. Their discussion about how to handle insecurities when your job is centered largely on external feedback and validation (hello, writers!) is one that you may listen to more than once.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worklife-with-adam-grant/id1346314086?i=1000523780269
J.T. Ellison Substack: The Creative Edge
If you’re a Substack fan, I highly recommend giving J.T Ellison’s newsletter a read. She gives us an inside look at her life as a bestselling author juggling multiple projects for both traditional publishers as well as her own imprint. Her advice is practical and specific, and she mixes in a generous amount of empathy. Here’s the post that pulled me out of my latest bout of writing resistance.
https://jtellison.substack.com/p/interim-step-two-facing-down-resistance
#AmWriting: Substack and Podcast
The author collective of the #AmWriting enterprise deliver some of the best stories, guidance, and interviews related to the business and craft of writing. Regardless of genre or publishing preference, they have you covered. Their Substack is well organized and offers tons of shovels to help you dig yourself out of any writing hole you currently find yourself stuck in.
https://amwriting.substack.com
James Clear: Atomic Habits and Newsletter
As someone who receives far too emails, James Clear’s newsletter is the rare one that I make sure to read as soon as it hits my inbox. His 3-2-1 format (three ideas, two quotes and one question to consider) are thoughtfully considered. Every issue provides a valuable takeaway, and his recent Master Class covers the concepts he outlines in his mega-bestseller Atomic Habits. Here’s what he shares with us about resistance:
“If you feel resistance before you begin, it’s usually procrastination and you need to get started. If you feel resistance after you begin, it’s usually feedback and you need to make adjustments.”
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Ono is an 85-year-old sushi chef and proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. Some of the top critics believe he is the world’s greatest sushi chef. This documentary follows his passion for continued mastery even at what he sees as the final years of his career. “A thoughtful and elegant mediation on work, family and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father.”
I discovered this documentary after my last visit to Japan and was moved by both the constant pursuit of mastery as well as the price it exacts on those closest to him.
I’d like to leave you with a quote that I revisit so often that I should have it tattooed on my forehead.
“If I waited for perfection, I’d never write a word.”—Margaret Atwood
The world needs your stories more than ever, so I hope that if you’re battling resistance, you’ll find some support from the creative community. Storytelling, at its heart, should be something we enjoy, and if it isn’t bringing that to you right now, I hope it soon returns. And when it does, readers will be waiting for you.
–Laura Oles (https://lauraoles.com) is the award-winning author of the Jamie Rush mystery series. Her debut mystery, Daughters of Bad Men, was an Agatha nominee, a Claymore Award finalist, and a Writers’ League of Texas Award finalist. Depths of Deceit, her second novel, was named Best Mystery by Indies Today. Her novella, Last Call, won the Silver Falchion award. Her work has appeared in crime fiction anthologies, consumer magazines and business publications. She lives in the Texas Hill Country with her family.
Austin Mystery Writers 
✅ I really appreciated your take on resistance — especially how you framed it as part of the process rather than something to eliminate. That shifted something for me too. I read Atomic Habits with high hopes, but it wasn’t until I took a free execution quiz through Archetype6 and realized I’m a Maven that I understood why I kept pausing right before starting. It wasn’t laziness — I just needed inner alignment first.
Here are 3 takeaways that helped me reframe resistance as a signal, not a stop sign:
Lately I’ve been trying to figure out how to distinguish healthy hesitation from avoidance — has anyone found a cue that reliably tells them the difference?
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