Going round in circles?
I’ve been on the point of starting this post for over an hour now. I’ve checked my messages, read the news, had a look at the latest sports stories, decided I needed a snack from kitchen, watered the plants while down there, tidied up the recycling box, observed the neighbours returning from their shopping trip, and then come back to the PC and checked my messages and read a bit more news.
I had no concept of what procrastination entailed when I worked as an optometrist. My working day was divided into 20 minute segments and each one was filled with a task (testing a patient’s eyes) that would take approximately 20 minutes. No time to waste, rest or contemplate a higher meaning to my existence. I wondered why people would take years to write a book: you want 100,000 words? Write at least 750 words an hour (easy); that’s 6,000 in a day and the book done in 3 weeks. And you even have your weekends.
Since those days I’ve discovered that procrastination comes easily to me. I have a wandering mind, get bored easily and have always found difficulty concentrating on small details and repeating monotonous work. I guess that’s why optometry was never going to be my dream job.
But I wonder: amid these hours spent waiting for a spark, where nothing seems to get done and the day’s to-do list remains untouched, is there something of value actually occurring? Or is it really just wasted time? Those unproductive hours certainly don’t provide a sense of achievement. Contrast them with the days when my list is long and the deadlines are immediate, when I need to focus on nothing but the task at hand and produce those 2000 words before a 5pm deadline. Does it feel good when it’s done? Of course. Do I enjoy my evening knowing that I have completed what was a sizeable project and sent it off in time? Naturally.
But what about a month of days like these, one after another? Perhaps those dreamy days may be necessary in another way. We all need time to think in our work. Some of us have more control over this than others, and as a freelance writer I know that I can determine my own work schedule more than at any time in my working life. Those bouts of ‘thinking time’ often yield ideas for new topics and suggestions that trigger an immediate urge to revise posts or articles that I thought I’d finished. Whether I’m randomly reading other people’s blogs, poking around in the garden or raiding the chocolate stash in the cupboard, allowing that opportunity to think creatively is something I wouldn’t want to lose to an all-consuming workload. After all, for me the pleasure gained from a creative idea is greater than that from a deadline made.
So while procrastination can be a negative force in getting a job done, I’m pretty sure that removing it entirely can prove even more destructive.
Anyhow, that’s enough of this. I’m off to check what’s in the fridge. After I’ve checked my Facebook page again…
Tell me about it. I am so easily distracted unless every part of my mind is in gear, which is why Twitter is evil. If I go for periods of time without having much to do (as sometimes happens in my job) I feel even less inclined to do it as it requires immense motivation. At university my personal procrastination favourite was staring our of the window. Damn interesting when you should be writing a dissertation.
Goodness! I thought for a moment someone was observing me while procrastinating in my daily chores on a usual day working from home (aside from checking any sports events
)! but alas, I wonder about the same. I lived a life of deadlines, stress, and extremely hectic work hours and now sometimes when I procrastinate, when I hang out in the kitchen talking to my husband and go the length of my living room 3 times doing nothing in particular, I allow it to be absorbed as time NOT wasted and as life lived as fully as when I am writing or doing yoga or anything else from the list of millions we all have! So no – not a foe – although I keep procrastination in check and it does not occur when it comes to TRAVELING the world because I plan to do it while in my earlier years in life! THANK YOU for this post!
Thank you Farnoosh and Sam, it’s comforting to hear I’m not alone. As you suggest Farnoosh, the key thing is to keep your procrastination in check. And yes Sam, Twitter is the ultimate procrastinator’s tool!
I think procrastination and indecision are sometimes confused.
Sat in a farmhouse in France I was reassured by a writer/ publisher friend of mine. He said, “Some people are busy people. Don’t worry if you think you are lazy, you’re not, you are busy enough in your mind.”
More recently I heard a quote – forgive the inaccuracy- that noted, “to be organised is small-minded, to control chaos takes genius”.
I think the point I’m making is that we need to have time for reflection, to loose the order of things; procrastination can be indecision or just as easily be the mind delving deeper into memories and ideas, the ones we took the time to collect.
Best wishes, Mp
Sounds like an average day in my life! Great post. There’s a lot to be said for letting the mind wander – it gives your subconscious the chance to sort out all the stuff that needs figuring out. I say let the subconscious do some work for a change.
Thanks Mark and Bebhinn for your wise words. You’ve both offered words of comfort that I’ll turn to when I’m next looking for inspiration (my inner genius merely control the chaos of my mind)
I can certainly agree to almost everything you said ! Even though you meant it for yourself it’s mostly conclusions that are valid for pretty much everyone. It’s not procrastination that’s the problem, it’s our own attitude towards it, I think. If you find it a bad thing you’ll naturally try to avoid it, but then again that would make you a workaholic.
Very good post, made me think
It’s like my story Andy!
haha
I like it this way. Hehe
What I like to do is, get numerous things doing at once. I don’t meat literally, write some, edit some photo, make some tea, check inbox, think about what should I write next, and repeat.
And somehow all these things done at last.
So,, why not?
I know the feeling. I’m having a shocker today – I got in late last night and I don’t seem to be able to string two sentences together. Time for admin jobs and planning rather than writing, methinks…
Days like this are perfectly natural though. I couldn’t write 2,000 words flat out every day, and it’s days like these that make those super-productive days possible.