Macros, Procrastination, and Toddlers

Well, the website design has come to a standstill. I'm being overpowered by a macro that came with OpenOffice. What it's supposed to do is open a file when I click on the push button I assigned it to. Does it do that? Sort of. The file opens, but only after I get an error message telling me the macro has the wrong number of parameters. How can I have the wrong number of parameters in a macro written by the people who developed the software? After trying to find a solution on my own, I gave in and posted my problem on the OpenOffice.org forum. I'm still waiting on someone to respond, even though 37 people had looked at my post the last time I checked.

Big sigh. I'm sure the people who read the message are either as lost as I am on what to do or they're just too busy to respond right now. It's frustrating, but hopefully I'll get some help soon. In the meantime, if anyone reading this knows about writing/editing macros in OpenOffice and can help me out, please post a comment and let me know how to contact you. This macro thing is driving me nuts!

It's also giving me a way to procrastinate. Like I needed another one. I'm running behind in just about everything I need to get done, but a lot of that has to do with a certain two-year-old who wants to help, get into everything, and basically provide endless distraction. I love the girl though, and will get caught up even if I have to start writing, revising, and editing in the middle of the night.

This brings me to something I've been thinking about today. How do you overcome procrastination? Or maybe I should say "revision block." I know, you're wondering what revision block is. Aside from being something I just made up (As far as I know I made it up, anyway. If you've seen it anywhere else, let me know and I'll edit this post accordingly), it's kind of like writer's block except it hits when you're in the process of revising. I'm working on revising a manuscript, and every time I open the file I want to close it. I much prefer the creative part of writing, but I know how necessary revising and rewriting are. My way to overcome this block is to just force myself to revise whether I want to or not. This might not work for everyone, but it's the best thing I've come up with for me. Once I get into the revisions, the initial reluctance to work on it usually goes away and I wonder why I was so reluctant in the first place.

When it comes to overcoming procrastination, the same type of method works (sometimes, anyway). If I think "Eh, I'll just do it later or tomorrow," I remind myself that I said that yesterday. Therefore, I have to do it today or risk getting WAY behind on whatever it is. Since running behind is the last thing I want to do, the only option is to work on it whether I want to or not.

Here's a question for you: How do you deal with the urge to procrastinate?

Leave your answer in the comments section, and if enough people admit to being procrastinators we'll consider starting a Procrastinators Anonymous group.