Comments | dvlspencer: The Insane Pull of Procrastination

dvl_spencer in dvlspencer

The Insane Pull of Procrastination

May 14, 2009 14:07

I'm starting to feel like I have some kind of procrastination gene. I can't seem to function unless I'm pushed against the wall of a deadline. This is bad enough, but it forces an additonal complication: if I have no deadline, I never get anything done ( Read more... )

Comments 19

jasmineskie May 14 2009, 19:34:25 UTC

Oh good god, yes. Procrastination 'r us. I'm not sure why I do it to myself either. I hit my deadlines, but usually with little time to spare and much stressing out about leaving myself less time to do the work than the work reasonably takes to get done. Weird. :/

dvl_spencer May 14 2009, 19:46:18 UTC

Isn't it crazy? It's like, do we need elevated blood pressure and panic adrenaline to stir our creativity? It seems insane to know what you're doing is completely counterproductive, but yet you do it anyway.

Sometimes it almost feels like it's some kind of adventure-junkie response--how late can I leave this and still get it done? I remember my crowning achievement in college was that I wrote a children's lit paper in pencil and slid it under my prof's office door at like 10pm the day it was due, and I still got an A on it. This of course reinforced the idea that I could leave everything to the last minute...

I wonder if we would do better if we took more time? Or do we need the thrill?

jasmineskie May 14 2009, 22:07:15 UTC

I don't know about the thrill, but I do suffer from Bright Shiny Thing Syndrome. Whatever I have to do on deadline is not the Bright Shiny Thing of the moment. The crush of a deadline is what gets me to focus on the one thing I need to do rather than the new thing that's caught my eye. And self-imposed deadlines don't work. I've tried.

dvl_spencer May 14 2009, 22:55:49 UTC

Ohh, augh, BSTS, yes I know it well. And what happens is I know I shouldn't be working on the new thing, but I don't feel like working on what I should, and so I end up not doing anything. *sigh*

I've realized I can't do only one thing at a time, but I try to limit it to two or three, and just keep cycling through them. At least then I have a chance of making progress on *something*.

erastes May 14 2009, 19:46:58 UTC

It's not a gene, it's a genetic disease. I sit at the PC all day. literally - and if i manage 1000 words, i'm lucky. I should write a "what else I did" diary one day, the way some people write food diaries, because i know it would frighten me all the other things I do instead of write.

dvl_spencer May 14 2009, 19:50:39 UTC

LOL...I think I'd be frightened too. Tons of writing to do and then here I am organizing paper clips by color or some other nonsense. Sometimes I need a bit of mindlessness to formulate ideas, and that doesn't bother me. But when I know I'm actively putting writing off with stupid things I could do later, it drives me crazy--but doesn't stop me.

When I'm focused, I can write 1000 words in an hour. Unfortunately, like you say, it takes me the whole day to get in that hour of writing--even if I'm at the PC. Gah.

sheldrake May 14 2009, 21:55:15 UTC

I think all my genes are procrastination genes.

dvl_spencer May 14 2009, 22:53:58 UTC

LOL...but wait, you answered this post in a very timely fashion. :)

sheldrake May 29 2009, 15:38:46 UTC

Ah, but commenting on posts is actually one of my procrastination aids. I do it to avoid doing other things. Answering comments, as you can see, is not.

nieninque121 May 15 2009, 01:04:30 UTC

There's a reason why I have this icon.... =P
seriously.
I have a flight early tomorrow morning...I haven't started packing yet.

dvl_spencer May 15 2009, 01:39:09 UTC

Hee...I'm sure you'll have time if you get up early...hahahahah...oh sorry, these are just the lies I tell myself.

It seems I'm in good company then--we can all use that icon! :) Good luck with your packing and have a good flight!! xoxo

nutmeg3 May 15 2009, 02:24:32 UTC

They could name the procrastination gene after me. Seriously. I have a 10-15K word short story due by the end of the month, and I haven't even started it yet. (Not to mention all the other things I need to do and am clearly not doing, since I'm here on lj instead.)

dvl_spencer May 17 2009, 07:15:09 UTC

Eeek! That is a big project! *cracks whip* Get started, lady!

I'm sure it's probably something you could easily write in a few days, but that's always the problem with procrastinators. We know what we're capable of in our best moments, so we tend to push it up to that last possible cut-off.

There are so many distractions...I'm always surprised at how often the laundry needs to be taken care of when I've got something due. :P And yes, LJ, email, blogging...those are all wonderful procrastination devices.

But I think you can't cut yourself off from distractions entirely. Sometimes the best stuff comes to me when I'm doing something else.