Mystery of the universe
April 26, 2004Why is it that I choose to spend days, weeks and, sometimes, months procrastinating something that only takes 5 minutes to actually do?
Yesterday morning, I brought some winter things to the garage. I’d boxed them up a few weeks ago but hadn’t had the time — or made the time — to store them until this weekend. The garage, only 100 or so yards from my back door, seemed like a grueling several-mile-long hike until I actually stepped outside and walked down the driveway. That part took half a minute. It took another minute to unlock and open the door. It took 2 more minutes to run back to my house and get the box I wanted to put away. After another minute or so, I was back in my house marveling that the chore was so quick and painless.
All too often, the tasks that seem the toughest are really a cinch. Of course, I could say that about a lot of things.
I'm Christine, and this is a slice of my life—a sweet, rich, wildly indulgent slice that would taste really good with a scoop of Breyers vanilla bean ice cream. Read more >>
I run a darling, friendly, little graphic design studio.
I look on the bright side.
I take photos. Lots of photos.
I wish on stars and on websites.
I built my first web site 7 years ago and got 15 seconds of fame. (It changed my life.)
I launched, then relaunched, an online magazine.
I admitted to several embarrassing crushes.
I consumed more bacon than any human should and lived to tell the tales.
I could say that about cleaning my desk, or finally sorting through my pants and skirts and deciding which to give away, or any number of small tasks. It’s so true.
i’m trying a new strategy when it comes to dealing with my procrastination. i’ve decided to plan for it. i know that a non-procrastinating person will clean their office in a hour. i need a week. six and a half days to think about it and then the hour to actually do it.
putting away winter things??? i was scraping ice of my car yesterday dude. grrr. spring better SPRING soon!
i have two examples just completed today:
1. the air conditioning cover on the inside of our house has been broken for, oh, 14 months or so. it was just repaired by yours truly. actually, it didn’t even need repairing. i just needed to hook it into the right slots. this, after asking my better half forever to just “try again” to fix it. his response?
i too did a few things this weekend that i have been putting off for a while. one was cleaning the fridge. i skirted around it for a while, cleaned the top, the sides, the front (of course not in one hit), but had thought that cleaning the inside was too arduous a task. but this weekend i was in a major cleaning mood and now no more soy sauce rings, or bits of broccoli flowers, or splatters of tomato paste (i have no idea, the gremlins must get in and go wild at night). it took all of 15 minutes, yet i put it off for so long. so now i look down the rest of my to do list and try and estimate how long it will take to do the things and i think… yeah, maybe next weekend ;p.
“All too often, the tasks that seem the toughest are really a cinch.”
How true.
I’m wondering that myself. It happens to me all too often!
hi christine…
okay this is really random…i love your page…have since it started…love getting your goodthings in the e-mail-box! but the funny thing is, i always see you write about rama…and i think “i knew a rama in college once” so i finally looked at his page this morning…same rama:) i didn’t know him well, but we had a few very mutual friends…and i liked his work alot…small world, huh?
xoxo
hollie
hi hollie,
wow, it is a small world!
I’m glad I’m not the only one, but man! There’s gotta be a way to battle this.