Thursday, May 16, 2013

Procrastination


I have mad skills in that!  I cleaned the fridge to avoid editing that chapter which lurks like some monster on my to-do-list.  And now I write this completely unnecessary blog post for the same reason!

Astonishing how good I am at finding excuses for not doing the editing (which I hate):  Better to start in the morning when the whole day is empty of other stuff!  Better to work at it at the end of the day when the energy is calm!  Better to make sure all bills are paid first!  That window is dusty!  Perhaps I should book the dental checkup?  (No.  Not going that far.)

Then the deeper level procrastinator steps in and gives logical-sounding theories to prop up the delays:  Time may not be ripe for this editing.  Your brain is still digesting, working on the best phrases, analyzing the right tone of voice (snarky, snarky or snarky). 

Even those work who procrastinate!  Just as the tulips slumber under the snow-cover in the winter so do your thoughts need that slumber before being torn to pieces by the Fierce Editor.

These pains of procrastination are part of the creative process!  They make it better, the outcome more nuanced!

If none of that works, the Cynic steps in:  What does any of this mean in a hundred years time?

And what's on the other side of this battle?  Only the Kick-In-The-Pants Echidne.  She's losing right now.