I went to a talk on procrastination yesterday.
Yes, that's right. I attended at talk... did not GIVE the talk.
I am pretty good at procrastinating. But actually, what I took away from the talk is that I'm nowhere near as good at it as I think I am. I careen through an enormous list of self-assignments every day, and while they do distract me, I'm getting superhuman numbers of things ticked off my list.
The list is key. A list is concrete. Vague notions don't get done. Concrete ideas help. Even aggressive terms help as opposed to wishy-washy terms. And why are we so into procrastination?
Distractions. So... many... distractions. As I type this, I've stopped to check Facebook, send a note, take a vitamin, and think about what to post on Roberta's Facebook page for her birthday.
Humans are instinctively programmed to procrastinate. We hate change. We like what we know. I am well aware of this and you can see it in your own actions as well as in the loony actions of the masses. I have, same as everyone else, occasionally chosen familiar misery over potential pleasure. I have railed against other who do this, especially exes, when they prefer the comfort of their disappointing status quo over moving forward and trying to overcome their self-imposed limitations.
And that's where I learned that I am doing all right on the procrastination front. I have, ironically, been trying to reinstill some kind of appreciation for routine into my own psyche for the last few years.
It is working. Just slowly. By the time I really appreciate it, I'll be renewing my passport.
Anyway, I left the procrastination talk, picked up some sewing materials, came home, did laundry, went to the supermarket, cooked dinner, then thought about slacking off the rest of the night.
Instead, I taped up plastic over the windows for the winter and re-coded an old website for a friend. I couldn't stand the idea of letting my procrastination instincts win.
Procrastination will win, but I can fight it. Starting now.
2 comments:
I'm sorry, Marie, but you fail the procrastination test. Anyone who accomplishes as much as you do in any given week cannot don the lowly mantle of procrastinator.
I've put off reconciling bank statements for 8 months. I haven't drawn or painted anything new in 6 weeks. It's been a year since I swore I would look into a new cell phone plan. It took more years than I'm wiling to type to switch to a (slightly) less costly and more sensible health-care plan.
I am the procrastination QUEEN.
Unless I'm getting paid. Then I get stuff done on-time or early. Mercenary, that's me.
I depend on lists too.
I procrastinate on some things, seems like a lot of things. Sometimes I can tackle a long-overdue project only because a more odious task is looming (like income taxes) and I want an excuse to put off starting it.
Post a Comment