This isn't so much a writing exercise as an exercise to help you write more often, but it's in tune with the theme I've been having this week (more on that tomorrow).

We all procrastinate, writers especially. For any number of reasons, whether it's to do with feeling too tired, uninspired, worried that we can't do justice to the idea in our head, or feeling that the job is too big to start. If you're anything like me, you may watch entire days go by that you'd intended to spend making progress on your project, that instead get spent with a hundred other things that probably didn't need to be done on your day off, that could have waited for a spare moment another day.

We know that just "forcing ourselves" to sit down and work only works some of the time; for the rest of the time, you really need to understand why you're flabbering around. The point of this exercise isn't to stop procrastinating, but rather to start understanding how and why you do. It also doesn't have to be about writing - if you're procrastinating learning a language, getting a report done, even doing the dishes or the laundry, just substitute your activity for "writing" in this exercise.

It's very simple: make a mental note of the times you intend to write. When those times come around, if you're not writing, note down the time, what you should be doing, what you're doing instead, and why. For example:

• 11:49: writing the big fight scene from chapter 5. Tidying desk because it's too cluttered to work
• 11:58: writing the confrontation scene in chapter 6. Got up to get a drink, was up to hard part in scene
• 12:17: writing the escape in chapter 7. Checked email to see if Jim had responded because I really need to know about that cheque.

This is best done over a about a month, whatever time scale fits with your schedule. You want to record at least ten attempted (or supposed-to-be) writing sessions, preferably closer to thirty. The more you do it, the easier it will be to spot when you are procrastinating (which is also part of the exercise) and recognise the reason why.

When you've got a fair number, try to find a patterns in your procrastination:

• are there common times or situations that cause you to flit away, like at the start or end of a session, whenever you finish or are about to start a particular thing, whenever it's late at night or early.
• are there common reasons you procrastinate, like feeling you don't know what to do next, or being unhappy with your environment, or too tired, or thinking about other things
• are there common things you do to procrastinate, like tidy things, check email, play with the dog
• are there pitfalls in your project that cause you to procrastinate, like trying to write something when you're not sure what happens?

Recognising these pattens is the first step to addressing them. You won't be able to eliminate procrastination entirely, but you'll be able to start addressing some of the reasons - whatever they are - that you're not letting yourself work.