“Procrastinatio odiosa est, sed procrastinatio meus modus vivendi est.”
One of my resolutions for 2009 is to stop procrastinating. I seem to have this idea in my head that if I tell myself I won’t do it anymore, I simply won’t, and life will be grand. Unfortunately, procrastination is a habit, which means that it is difficult to stop. The nature of habit is also such that I don’t always realize I’m doing it. Different people procrastinate in different ways, but I think most of us have patterns of procrastination that we repeat and can recognize. I’m probably avoiding doing something that needs doing, if…
• …I’ve checked Facebook fourteen times in the last two minutes.
• …I’m reading about things that seem vaguely relevant to the task at hand but are in fact not going to help me at all. For instance, I had to write a paper on Richard Nixon’s quality as a president, and ended up reading about his grades in college and his relationship with his wife.
• …I’m cleaning the kitchen. As a matter of fact, I think every time I’ve cleaned the kitchen this past semester, my explanation to my bewildered roommate has been “I’m not doing calculus.”
• …I’m spending more time eating than necessary, by cooking or eating out with my friends. This only works because I can’t work and eat at the same time. I can eat a bowl of Rice Krispies in five minutes, but then I’d have to get right back to work, and I just can’t have that, apparently.
• …I’m checking Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal, deviantArt, all of my email addresses, FOXNews, and the Drudge Report, over and over again, until something catches my attention and my time.
• …I’m trying to organize my papers. More often than not, this is my way of “accomplishing something.”
• …I’m watching all of the music videos that I can find for a particular artist on YouTube. One time, I had a Mandy Moore marathon.
• …I’m having an impromptu dance party with my roommates.
You get the idea. It’s going to take some real effort (and probably the help of God above) to quit procrastinating, but I am optimistic. I’ll evaluate my progress at the end of the year.
Oh, and the translation for the opening phrase? “Procrastination is hateful, but procrastination is my way of living.”
