It never ceases to amaze me that I paint myself into a corner by delaying delaying procrastinating and delaying some more.
I do it with everything. What I can put off, I will. What I cannot put off, I will do, until I realize that I can probably put that off, for a while, too.
I think that's the worst lesson ever learned - that you can put shit off for-fucking-ever [or what feels like it] because unless you are in charge of a shuttle launch or are giving birth, you can delay pretty much everything so long as you have a valid excuse and actually end up doing what you say you're going to do. I'm not saying I put off everything all the time [maybe 90% of the time], and I'm certainly not saying I will miss a deadline, because unless I am dead, I will have something to you when it's due. But what I am saying is that I will tell myself that I can fuck around in the evenings and not work on something because I've got DAYS AND HOURS left to dawdle.
It's the self-imposed deadlines that are the worst for me. Next come the deadlines that are other-imposed, but which you know you can reach so long as you make a big push right before the end. I am facing both of those right now.
I'd like to be at least half done with writing my novel, but I've given myself until the end of this year [Yes! 8 days!] to have it half done. And also having a sample chapter of my memoir done. I've got no agent, no publisher, no deadline. Except for the fact that I want to be a writer and am realizing, as time passes, I need a job where I don't deal with people.
And sure, my life would be infinitely easier if I spent 10 or 15 minutes each day for the past week or two getting ready to have everyone at my house on Christmas day, but what would I do on Saturday? Relax?
HA.
As if.
So instead, I'll be frantically finishing up gift shopping and wrapping and cookie baking and food making and cleaning and decorating the tree. And sadly ignoring the holiday cross stitch [Happy Fucking Holidays] that I neglected to make again this year. And, hopefully, writing.
Procrastination. I think that may be my holiday tradition and my New Year's Resolution all wrapped in one. It's an ass kicker and a monkey on my back at the same time.
Do you procrastinate? Is there something you haven't finished yet? Tell me I'm not alone.
Damn it get the frig out of my head! Stalker! Yep, I am here with you. Except I have a crap ton of stuff to do that needs the whole day throughout this whole week to get done. I also want to be a writer, but I don't have any deadlines. I leave myself enough stress during the week. I figure I am NOT killing myself over a desire I'll most likely procrastinate on too O_o
ReplyDeleteOMG - Can you please cross stitch one of those for me too? I won't even give you a deadline. ;)
ReplyDeleteI procrastinate all the time. Hell, I procrastinate for a living.
ReplyDeleteWhen my oldest daughter was in first grade she asked me to write a book for her. I promised I would before she was in second grade. I started the book after she started second grade and promised she'd have it before third grade. When third grade started I promised she'd have it before fourth. She's in fourth grade now and just asked me YESTERDAY when I was going to get to her book.
ReplyDeleteI told her she'd have it by fifth grade.
I started revising a novel I wrote a few months ago. I got to the last three chapters and I just haven't finished them. It's been months not and instead of finishing revising that novel, I've started another.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot to tell you about how badly I procrastinate.
ReplyDeleteAnd I promise I will tell you too, either later today or tomorrow...
Is there any other way to do things??
ReplyDeleteIf it werent' for panic and terror and shit in my pants deadlines, NOTHING WOULD GET DONE.
Sunni I am the Queen of Procrastination. I'm still trying to lose the baby weight and he's 9. I took a class 9 years ago to advance my career & I've yet to implement what I learned. I have a box yet to be unpacked from when I moved in in 1997. I haven't written much in his baby book.
ReplyDeleteI find it sad that at least in my life, the mundane things are the more time sensitive ones and they get done. The big things we're here for wait for us, watching us run around like idiots spending all our energy on washing our car, returning things at Target, and the like!
ReplyDelete@Grande Mocha --- hey I killed myself losing a huge amount of baby weight FAST both times and the result = no big whoop. My life I think is exactly the same as it would've been as my bigger size so don't sweat it. Plus you were probably nicer to be around! = )
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, my mom told me that in college my procrastination would catch up with me. It didn't. It still hasn't. The last minute and I are BFFs.
ReplyDeleteI definitely struggle with the same thing. This is the first year I've had my xmas shopping done before xmas eve. and i'm still wondering if daughter needs just one more thing...
ReplyDeletebut i hate to nag or be a douchebag but...I really want to read your books. which means you need to finish them. do you want me to give you a deadline? my birthday is april 25th. and you can give me one for my play. deal?
i usually have so much to check off my list that i end up procrastinating living life...
ReplyDeleteand right on about the memoir! wanna hear more about it.
I finished my Christmas shopping this morning, so you know my answer. No, nothing is wrapped. And yes, I am going to buy ingredients for Christmas Eve dinner now.
ReplyDeleteAmateurs.....I'd procrastinate BREATHING if I could. That's just how much I....
ReplyDeleteI'll finish this later.
I was able to finish my degree with an extremely low procrastination rate, but I was a total freak about it...Hermione, even. Now? I assume that I have used up ALL my get-it-done mojo.
ReplyDeleteI was able to finish my degree with an extremely low procrastination rate, but I was a total freak about it...Hermione, even. Now? I assume that I have used up ALL my get-it-done mojo.
ReplyDeleteI'm much the same way . . . although I fear my college roommate nearly failed out of school because of me. I'd, routinely, stay up all night & pull an all-nighter the day before a paper was due. This might have been a 2 pager or a 10 pager . . . didn't matter. I'd get it out, usually with a half-assed job, and do just fine.
ReplyDeleteMy roommate, though, well, he admired my ability to do absolutely nothing all day and still get by, so he tried the same. And he couldn't . . . it was bad. I actually had to take a call by one of his instructors and pretend to work ahead on stuff, just to see if, maybe, he'd follow suit. Well, I said that I would . . . I just learned to pretend that I was actually going "real work" while playing computer games.
Because I'm awesome.
You kill me....and that's why I ADORE u......2012is our year right...James Lipton here we come!!!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI will be your new writing group. You owe me some pages, bitch.
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take me to write one fucking sentence to say I am so, wholly, completely WITH you on this one? (Procrastinating since 1964 isn't my subtitle for nothing, baby.
ReplyDelete