My Plan to Take on My Habit of Procrastination Didn’t Turn out as I Wanted It to Be
Expectation vs reality
I’ve mastered the art of procrastination. You might say that’s not something you haven’t heard before. But I bet I can do it better than anyone else. I’m a pro — trust me.
Procrastination unravels the creative genius inside you and helps you make better decisions. Many researchers agree that it can actually be beneficial. Distraction can provide the mind with a break and help in creatively thinking through problems.
Mostly this habit of putting off tasks until the last moment has worked in my favour. No better time than the last minute — isn’t it right? ‘Last-minute panic’ is what Bill Watterson calls it.
“ You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.”
This time around though, I might have gone overboard with my procrastination. My mind went away for a long vacation instead of the intended break that was supposed to give birth to mind-boggling epiphanies.
I waited for a masterpiece to come out of my brain, but all I heard was radio silence.
So I’ve decided to lock myself up and not come out of my room unless I get some work done. I need to write something — anything would do at this last minute.
Writing has been my escape from the hustles of everyday life, but the past few months have been a blur. I’ve moved back home after years of living abroad and it has taken a while for us to settle down.
And I’ve procrastinated more than I’ve ever done before. I’ve struggled to write. I’ve barely managed to meet my deadlines.
Here I am, sitting at my desk, staring at the screen in front of me, trying my best not to let my thoughts wander off again.
Expectation
I sit down with my mug of coffee.
There are no distractions.
I get hold of my headphones and play my focus playlist on Spotify.
Fabulous ideas bombard my mind.
I drift into the creative genius zone.
I smile as I churn out brilliant pieces of writing.
Reality
I sit down with my mug of coffee.
I can’t find my headphones so I go out looking for them.
Nobody knows where the headphones are. Nobody’s seen anything even remotely resembling one.
I go back to my room, fuming. I would have to do without one today.
My daughter brings my headphones — they were miraculously found.
I get hold of my headphones and play my focus playlist on Spotify.
I realise my coffee is cold, but I still drink it anyway.
I stare at the blank screen in front of me, wondering what am I supposed to write.
My mind is devoid of any ideas at all.
My son knocks on the door, asking if I’m busy.
“I’m working”, I answer.
He tells me to take off the headphones while I answer. I’m supposedly yelling.
I stare into space as I wait for an epiphany.
“The ideas will come”, I tell myself. “Just give it some time.”
I check my Instagram as I wait.
I play Gardenscapes on my mobile.
Still no ideas; my mind is as blank as the screen in front of me.
I open Netflix.
I end up watching two episodes of ‘New Amsterdam’.
“This is bad”, I tell myself.
I try to focus and concentrate on the task on hand.
Finally, something that I can start working on.
My son knocks again. It’s urgent.
He has last-minute remembered there’s a History project due tomorrow.
I’m supposed to help now.
“I’ll continue later”, I tell myself.
‘Later’ doesn’t come.
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