Artist advices on procrastination

This post is really a very long comment I made for @palien - as she suffers from a bad case of procrastination. You can see the tread here.

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So procrastination is your enemy... hmm. I think that learning to work is a thing that not only can be learned, it has to be learned. No one is born with it. Of course you might have learned it at home.. but I know many siblings that are very differetn when it comes to work-discipline.

The following is some of my own and other artists advice that I have gathered - I am sure I forgot some golden tricks, but these are the ones I could come up with right now.

0. Never write too long comments on Steemit!

1. Always start the day by cleaning the atelier (this is from a sculptor. Their workshops are always messy) that way you are already working and the next task will be funnier. (might not be the best advice for people drawing - as I know a lot of artists that use cleaning the desk as an excuse not to get to work.)
2. Save the most funny or interesting things for the morning (this was a graphic artist) I think this rule is good for illustrators. If you like to ink, that's it, if you like to sketch that's it. The woman in question said she always made the intermediate copper-prints in the morning. When you have worked a lot on the copper-plate you will like to see the result. So she stopped in the evening without taking the print...
3. Take time off - this is mine. If you make a drawing challenge give yourself the weekend free. Of course you can draw on Saturday, you just don't have to.
4. Have your coat and shoes ready by the door (my advice too). Then the second you realize that you are wasting time on DeviantArt, Youtube, Trump's latest adventures etc. you rise put on shoes and coat and go out in the street (or fields or mountains if you are in the countryside) - then you walk - if it's a nice day go for it, if it is raining you will soon regret being such a bad procrastinator. Sitting in front of the screen or just being in comfy homely surrounding is often like a trance - walking in the rain or sun gets you out of it.
5. Alarm-clocks - well I never did this, but I know a guy who did. Must be pretty annoying, but it did the trick. His problem was not only procrastination, but lunch-breaks and exercise and accounting so he had this alarm-clock schedule that put his day in shape, and reminded him constantly if he was off track. If you want to punish yourself this is effective.
6. Never clean before you work - always do it afterwards (if you have the strength) (this is my wife's trick) - cleaning and tidying the atelier is one of the worst and most sneaky ways to not get to work. Simple as that.
7. Don't regret the things you did not make yesterday - just say "fuckit" and focus on the work at hand. (from a musician) Felling guilty is a very bad because it is unproductive as hell.

If you compare advice 1. and 6. you will see that they are complete opposites. What work for one artist doesn't work for another. But try them out and see.

And then there is of course all the boring common knowledge advices that are true, but maybe not that effective for a sensitive artists soul: plan, set goals, feel guilty, keep away from Steemit.. some authors have a full screen writing application that has to be closed to do other things on the computer...

I never really did these things and I know not many artists that do. If a method take away from the pleasure of actually making something as delightful as art - scrap it. Of course you need to force yourself all the time, but always try to enjoy it too if at all possible.

I have advices too for what to do if you work too much, but that might not be most peoples problem...

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