Procrastination, ah, in other words, the art of
putting off today what you can do ....later. How much later? I'll figure that
out sometime today, or tonight, or perhaps even the day after tomorrow. Maybe
by next Christmas, I'll have the answer figured out. Hmmm.
Sounds about right. But let my
ramblings on the sacred art of putting things off begin.
Firstly, one
usually procrastinates for various reasons to avoid doing various necessary or
important things , which usually fall into the category between "mildly
annoying" to "painful" or
"revolting" Now, there is the wherefore and why of it all. Let's move on to the "how" or we
could discuss this later, as the dog needs walking, the laundry needs to be
done, and there's a mah jong game on the computer is just asking to be played
and oh, there's a re-run of Star Trek Deep Space 9 on just now.
Now that I've illustrated my point on the why and
how, let's move on to the justification for procrastination, shall we? For one thing, we stress the lack of importance
or urgency: Oh, those dishes will still be there tomorrow, won't they? I can
get to them then. Of course, but shall I point out that the water in the dish
pan with be ice cold and greasy, the soap bubbles long gone having lost the
battle against the unidentifiable particles hardening on the porcelain surfaces
of the dishes and sticky metal utensils?
Sigh. Yep, that is one such example.
Let's talk about another.
The lawn won't need to be mowed for a while. Easy to say when the green green grass of
home is still relatively short. But by next week, it will have grown. Let two weeks go by, and it will begin to
have acquired split ends not unlike a messy hairdo. Another week sees it grow
into a veritable jungle and a hiding place for all manner of things including
discarded candy wrappers, lost baseballs and dog droppings. Let me say one thing, eeeewwwwwwww!!
I am sensing that you, by now have gotten the point
so far. Or, maybe not. Maybe you'll decide to put off reading this
and head straight for the fridge where the leftover pizza is, making a mental
note to dispose of the box another time.
Either way, I have some more to say on the subject of
procrastination...AND IT IS NOT GOING TO WAIT!
Deadlines can be stressful. I should know, I've had
many of them during my lifetime both for work and school, even in my home
life. They can be a proverbial pain in
the derriere and sometimes intimidating and unattainable. But in the end, they are good for us. The
structure around which we build a goal. A measuring stick for our progress, the
routine and rules that keep us from lapsing into a slovenly, mediocre
existence. But if we know that certain things need to be done at a certain
time, we grab up our proverbial socks, kick ourselves ever so gently in the butt
and move towards the required achievement. Even if it is only dishes.
