I'm "bored."
It's not exactly that I don't have anything to do. I have plenty to do. Plenty including securing my identity from theft, creating 3 syllabi (for which I need to read no less than 4 books), a pilot at work to get in motion, an apartment to clean, a 3 year filing project to finish, stories to get published, a novel to write, a subject test to study for, and schools to search for.
And yet...
Here I am. Fantasizing about all the things I should be doing and all the things I could be doing and all the things that I would have fun doing but that I probably couldn't or shouldn't.
I had an excellent epiphany about procrastination the other day while driving in the car and I told myself that I would blog it as soon as I got home, but I put it off and now I can't quite remember what it was...
Oh yes! It had to do with how the mind of the procrastinator works. Here it is:
Some people, we'll call them the Doers, when they see a task list that is over whelming their immediate response is to organize, schedule, get started- in other words, Do. They labor under the philosophy that if they do a little bit NOW they'll only have to do a little bit LATER. Thereby ensuring enough time to not only complete everything, but always have an extra hour or so for leisure.
It is not that the Procrastinators are unfamiliar with this philosophy. In fact they are quite familiar with it. Indeed each one of them at some point has moaned about how that is exactly what they probably should have done, should be doing, and/or perhaps will next time do. But, whether they are willing to admit it or not, they see what we will call (for lack of better term) a flaw in this philosophy.
When the Doer hears the phrase: "a little bit of work everyday" their brains decipher the phrase, picking it apart and translating it thereby hearing something that ensures them of all the good that will come of it, perhaps even seeing the flip side of the statement as "a little bit of play everyday" or "more play later."
When the Procrastinator hears the same phrase, their brain gets latched onto the "work everyday" bit of the equation. The Procrastinator is then able to rationalize in one or both of the following ways:
A.
"If a task takes X amount of time to do, than I should begin said task X amount of time before due date as to leave my current time open for other things that I need/want to do." This reasoning convinces them that by waiting until later they are providing themselves with a more flexible schedule and more time to enjoy the now or perhaps complete a belated project they have already used this reasoning on.
B.
If the list of tasks seems too over whelming the Procrastinator may be thrown into a "panic" mode which to them will feel like a logical analysis of their situation. "I MUST relax now. Now is my last chance before I have to start doing all of that work. I must enjoy myself now because later there will be all that work." You see, they are very aware that it must at some point get done and, since they are prone to option A line of reasoning, waiting until later and enjoying the now really does make the most sense because they know (have come to accept as fact) they will indeed be working their ass off, in a finite set of time, at some later point in order to get it done.
Looking at life tasks in such terms, you can consider that should a Doer and Procrastinator, with similar tasks and yet-some-time-off due dates, suddenly up and die that the Procrastinator would have "had fun/relaxed" fully their last day and the Doer would have only "had fun/relaxed" in part of their day, as the rest was spent on work.
Moreover though, because we do not up and die every day, the Doer is able to spread their work and pleasures out more evenly. Meaning that should the same two example Doer and Procrastinator die near or on a due date it is the Doer who would have had a better day, as they at least "had fun/relaxed" part of it, and the Procrastinator likely dedicated the whole of it to worry, fret, and work.
I for my own part, though I fancy myself capable of being a Doer and know a few of their tricks and have even on rare occasion completed a task EARLY and know the relief and joy of such things, am a Procrastinator to the bone.
No matter how hard I try I just can't start early. Or if I do, said task is left untouched until X amount of time before due date approaches.
Along with option A and B line of reasoning I sprinkle on a few ideas of self to make me feel ok about my decisions:
1. I like to continue to work on things until the last possible moment, so if I start early I may be doing more work.
2. I take pride in the papers written the day before, the stories created hours before class, the all nighter that got me an A-. I am capable of great things and with more time I could be even better!
3.It has made me a good person to have around when you need some on the spot thinking.
4. It makes me feel that I am finishing tasks in less time.
Despite the fact that I know I wouldn't throw myself into a full throttle constant state of work on a project for a long period of time, that my work actually would be better quality if I spent more time on it and that I shouldn't really be proud that I did "acceptable" work in less time, that being able to plan is just as valuable as being able to change your plans, and that I am likely not really spending an more time that wouldn't have been useful on any given project, does not matter.
I see the holes in the Procrastinator logic and I yet I see a still sturdy structure. Like a chain link fence.
And so I sit, on Friday night, bored, with "nothing" to do, because this is MY time and damn it if I'm not going to enjoy every second of it possible, even if it is as dull as hell.
It's not exactly that I don't have anything to do. I have plenty to do. Plenty including securing my identity from theft, creating 3 syllabi (for which I need to read no less than 4 books), a pilot at work to get in motion, an apartment to clean, a 3 year filing project to finish, stories to get published, a novel to write, a subject test to study for, and schools to search for.
And yet...
Here I am. Fantasizing about all the things I should be doing and all the things I could be doing and all the things that I would have fun doing but that I probably couldn't or shouldn't.
I had an excellent epiphany about procrastination the other day while driving in the car and I told myself that I would blog it as soon as I got home, but I put it off and now I can't quite remember what it was...
Oh yes! It had to do with how the mind of the procrastinator works. Here it is:
Some people, we'll call them the Doers, when they see a task list that is over whelming their immediate response is to organize, schedule, get started- in other words, Do. They labor under the philosophy that if they do a little bit NOW they'll only have to do a little bit LATER. Thereby ensuring enough time to not only complete everything, but always have an extra hour or so for leisure.
It is not that the Procrastinators are unfamiliar with this philosophy. In fact they are quite familiar with it. Indeed each one of them at some point has moaned about how that is exactly what they probably should have done, should be doing, and/or perhaps will next time do. But, whether they are willing to admit it or not, they see what we will call (for lack of better term) a flaw in this philosophy.
When the Doer hears the phrase: "a little bit of work everyday" their brains decipher the phrase, picking it apart and translating it thereby hearing something that ensures them of all the good that will come of it, perhaps even seeing the flip side of the statement as "a little bit of play everyday" or "more play later."
When the Procrastinator hears the same phrase, their brain gets latched onto the "work everyday" bit of the equation. The Procrastinator is then able to rationalize in one or both of the following ways:
A.
"If a task takes X amount of time to do, than I should begin said task X amount of time before due date as to leave my current time open for other things that I need/want to do." This reasoning convinces them that by waiting until later they are providing themselves with a more flexible schedule and more time to enjoy the now or perhaps complete a belated project they have already used this reasoning on.
B.
If the list of tasks seems too over whelming the Procrastinator may be thrown into a "panic" mode which to them will feel like a logical analysis of their situation. "I MUST relax now. Now is my last chance before I have to start doing all of that work. I must enjoy myself now because later there will be all that work." You see, they are very aware that it must at some point get done and, since they are prone to option A line of reasoning, waiting until later and enjoying the now really does make the most sense because they know (have come to accept as fact) they will indeed be working their ass off, in a finite set of time, at some later point in order to get it done.
Looking at life tasks in such terms, you can consider that should a Doer and Procrastinator, with similar tasks and yet-some-time-off due dates, suddenly up and die that the Procrastinator would have "had fun/relaxed" fully their last day and the Doer would have only "had fun/relaxed" in part of their day, as the rest was spent on work.
Moreover though, because we do not up and die every day, the Doer is able to spread their work and pleasures out more evenly. Meaning that should the same two example Doer and Procrastinator die near or on a due date it is the Doer who would have had a better day, as they at least "had fun/relaxed" part of it, and the Procrastinator likely dedicated the whole of it to worry, fret, and work.
I for my own part, though I fancy myself capable of being a Doer and know a few of their tricks and have even on rare occasion completed a task EARLY and know the relief and joy of such things, am a Procrastinator to the bone.
No matter how hard I try I just can't start early. Or if I do, said task is left untouched until X amount of time before due date approaches.
Along with option A and B line of reasoning I sprinkle on a few ideas of self to make me feel ok about my decisions:
1. I like to continue to work on things until the last possible moment, so if I start early I may be doing more work.
2. I take pride in the papers written the day before, the stories created hours before class, the all nighter that got me an A-. I am capable of great things and with more time I could be even better!
3.It has made me a good person to have around when you need some on the spot thinking.
4. It makes me feel that I am finishing tasks in less time.
Despite the fact that I know I wouldn't throw myself into a full throttle constant state of work on a project for a long period of time, that my work actually would be better quality if I spent more time on it and that I shouldn't really be proud that I did "acceptable" work in less time, that being able to plan is just as valuable as being able to change your plans, and that I am likely not really spending an more time that wouldn't have been useful on any given project, does not matter.
I see the holes in the Procrastinator logic and I yet I see a still sturdy structure. Like a chain link fence.
And so I sit, on Friday night, bored, with "nothing" to do, because this is MY time and damn it if I'm not going to enjoy every second of it possible, even if it is as dull as hell.
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