Under the Gun

I've pretty much figured out that the mind is a contrary thing. Especially mine. Give me too much time, and I get nothing done. Give me a month, a few weeks, and I've written sixty thousand words.

Why is that? 

I wish I knew. But I've learned I have to set deadlines to be productive. Earlier in my writing career they were my own limits. Now, most are dictated by my publishers with my input, securing release dates and furthering my workload.  

I'm actually very happy to have deadlines. My last one was September 1st. I happened to have two projects due on the same day, so I'd retro-planned my summer to handle the work. My next looming deadline is Dec 1st. Same two publishers, same planning to ensure I make the magic happen. I'd intended to take September off, as in, write whatever I wanted to write then return to deadline work in October, but after talking with a good friend, I decided against that.  I'm giving myself some cushion by starting up again on Monday. 

Now I'll have 2 and a half months to make goals. No sweat. Except that I've cut short my free time. Yet, in the two weeks I've been free, what have I done, writing-wise? With the exception of finally updating my Quickbooks (thank you Trudy!!!) I've puttered here and there but haven't finished any of the projects I wanted to have done. I had too much to complete, so instead of picking any one item, I did nothing.

Sigh.

So frustrating, and another reason I look forward to resuming my schedule. Oddly enough, I'll probably end up finishing other projects in between my deadlines. Why? Because I'm weird like that, and I wish I wasn't. But under the gun, I'm much more productive. Go figure. 

Just wondering if I'm the only one or if others work best this way as well. Hmm...