I’ve been thinking about procrastination a lot lately, mostly because I’ve been doing so much of it. Okay, maybe that’s not fair—it’s not that I’ve been procrastinating, I just accidentally constructed my life to constantly generate interruptions in my writing.

Whoops.

It turns out that being a wandering author isn’t the best thing for one’s productivity, at least for me. Seeing my friends (and staying for cheap) is great, but every time I get into a groove, something shakes me out of it.

For one thing, it’s much harder to turn down social events when you’re going to be gone soon. I didn’t beat myself up about this too much in the first city, nor when I was overseas, but I’m four places in and it’s still happening all the time. That’s a problem.

There’s also the matter of control. Too much of my lifestyle is suddenly outside of my control, and it trips me up at odd times, such as having to wait to use the kitchen or having to put a shirt on while I work out. I know. The horror. This wouldn’t be a problem if I could tweak my environment, but because I’m only in one place for a month or so, I can’t.

Setup isn’t bad. I’ve gotten to the point where I can arrive in a new place, unpack a few things, shop for groceries on day two, and I’m good to go. The main concern is travel time. That eats up more productive days than getting settled ever does.

But perhaps the greatest problem is expectations. I feel like I’m behind, but who’s to say if that’s true? I’m behind where I wanted to be in late May, but maybe those expectations were unrealistic. I have no idea.

What I do know is that I’ve confirmed something I suspected before I started wandering. Living in new places and seeing friends is fun, but it’s killer on my productivity. I’m a man of habits, and while shaking yourself up occasionally is good, many of my habits are there for damn good reasons. Without the framework that supports them, my productivity drops.

Turns out I’m more of a vacation guy, not a wanderer, even if I do have a job I can do from anywhere. That’s not as exciting, but I can live with it. More importantly, I can work with it, which is what I need more of.

The good news is that I’ll be staying in one place for the next few months starting in June, and it’s a small town, so it will be boring. Which is great! I need more boring. Boredom is what makes us create, and I’ve got some serious creating to do.