It’s been said that if it weren’t for deadlines, nothing would get done. I’m supposed to write these articles every other week, but it seems like life finds a way for me to do other things. The sad thing is, it’s not always worthwhile things I end up doing instead of writing my article.
Sometimes, I put together a couple of online jigsaw puzzles before I get started. I’ll play some spider solitaire. I might even watch an episode of Bones or (heavens!) do the dishes or fold laundry. It’s amazing what things can get in the way of doing what I should be doing first.
There have been scores of books written on the subject of procrastination. As I look it up, there seem to be countless magazine articles and essays too. This is going to take a while to get through, and I’m going to need a glass of tea before I hunker down to write. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s no tea made.
I don’t do the instant tea thing. As far as I’m concerned, any self-respecting Southerner will steep it, mix in some sugar (probably too much), and drink it cold, and this process takes time to do properly.
After going through the rigmarole of making tea, I poured a tall glass, ready to tackle this article. I recently purchased a new set of glasses and they look wonderful. When you think about a photo of a glass of iced tea in a magazine, these would be the glasses. They are simple, with just a slight flair in their shape, but not overly elaborate. Best of all they are easy to clean. Speaking of which, did anyone do the dishes after dinner? No time for that, I have an article to write!
I went online and searched Google for relevant information about procrastination. Of course, I got the standard wiki articles, but I want to write something unique. Maybe a new and artistic take on the subject. The idea of procrastination has been around for ages. It has inspired artists and poets. I managed to find the work of one of these talented individuals in the form of a slightly abstract video. It wasn’t long, about five minutes.
The film was a study into the art of putting things off (graduation film from the Royal College of Art, 2007). In the video, they said procrastination was a cup of tea (I swear I did not even plan that!) or smoking a cigarette. Procrastination was doing eight things at once and not getting any of them done. It was starting something and not finishing it. It is not knowing when to finish something or not knowing HOW to finish something.
That reminded me I was in the middle (really the beginning) of writing my article. As I stared at the wall contemplating my mental thesaurus to find the most perfect prose, I couldn’t keep a thought from creeping into my head. Can I finish this later?
Oh, before I go, I wanted to remind you we will be celebrating our birthday Wednesday, April 29 at lunch.
By: Wanda Campbell
Center for Lifelong Learning – 121 South Marion Street, Athens, AL 35611 – 256-233-8262
