Self-Imposed Deadlines
One of the lessons I have learned about myself is that I need deadlines– my tendency to procrastinate combined with my propensity to say “YES!” to way too many projects and impulses sometimes adds up to many half-finished projects, all with lots of potential, but too many withering on the vine. Over the years, I’ve really been working on how to approach this tendency, so that I still get to tackle so many different projects, but also commit to a level of energy and dedication that will result in success.
One of my coping strategies has become deadlines, either seeking out projects that have them or trying to impose them on myself (much trickier). Teaching lends itself to deadlines, especially the kind of teaching I’m doing these days where I don’t determine the schedule and am on a quarterly grading system. As a writer, I did well with nonfiction deadlines and revision because I had an editor holding me accountable, but as I’ve blogged before, I’ve had to struggle more with that in my poetry. So I’ve tried to give myself deadlines and structure whenever I can.
Current case in point: last year around this time, I remember reading about Menu-poems, a project of Alimentum’s for National Poetry Month for the past few years. The food-related poems will be printed as broadsides and distributed free to restaurants, who will then distribute them to diners, free with their menus. Alimentum is a journal I’ve long wanted to be published in, and I have more than one poem-in-progress about food, but couldn’t make one work last year.
This year, though, I’m determined to at least try, so as soon as the announcement email dropped into my mailbox, I sent my friend Marnie a Facebook message, asking her if she was interested. Marnie and I met in my first BMA poetry workshop and have kept in touch since, attending a few readings and workshops together and sending each other poems and messages, and I had a hunch she might be game. She wrote me back quickly, leaping on board and setting a Valentine’s Day deadline, since the poems are only being accepted in the month of February. I accepted with glee, even though my colleague and I had set a similar deadline for some of our article drafting.
So the next few weeks will be crunch time, but I’m thrilled about both projects, and I think that fire will keep me going. Renewing my poetic practice is a very important goal to me, and motivation-wise, I’m at a good point since I managed to complete NaBloPoMo in January. Why not keep it going, right? Wish me luck!
- Posted in: calls for submissions ♦ personal goals ♦ poetry ♦ writing
I think your old poem about leaving the girls to go waitress would be good.
LSM, I had forgotten about that poem–it’s been published once though, in China’s book, so I don’t think it would be eligible. But I could certainly use that version as inspiration for a new one–thanks for the suggestion.