Procrastination
What do you do when you’re procrastinating and finding all sorts of displacement activities when there’s a job you really can’t get down to doing and a deadline looms tomorrow morning?
So far, I have:
woken up at midday (telling myself it’s the jet lag)
scrubbed every saucepan in the kitchen to get them shiny and new again
called friends and had long conversations
trimmed the wicks on the paraffin heaters
tidied every room in the house
eaten lunch made by somebody else at 2pm
thought about polishing all my shoes and boots and decided against
watched the Song for Europe videos on YouTube
watched the Mintoff docu-drama
spent a lot of time on the internet
tried to find some old photographs and didn’t succeed
spent a lot of time looking round the kitchen and working out what sort of hand-built cupboards I’m going to have when my ship comes in
posted stuff on this blog
replied to comments on this blog
told my friend that I couldn’t join her and some other people at the festa ta’ San Pawl because I have work to do
made and drunk many cups of tea
considered having a glass of wine and decided against (work to do)
emailed some people to catch up
had a bath and used it as an excuse to read the rest of my new David Sedaris
And now it’s half past midnight and that morning deadline is still there and I really have to get a grip because the maths homework isn’t going away.
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Daph – you could have been writing about me. In my case, I put it down to lack of concentration and the onset of old age but that doesn’t apply to you, so I don’t know the answer.
[Daphne – Well, the good news is that I got the job done at last. I started at 1.30am and finished at 4.45am and trotted off to a meeting at 9.30am. Maybe I’m just nocturnal.]
How about sleeping ?
I hope you managed your deadline.
[Daphne – I did, though it cost me my sleep.]
At first I thought you were OCD-ing.
You know, scrubbing the saucepans, polishing all the shoes, trimmed the wick, tidied rooms. David Lynch would make a marvellous character of you in what could be his weirdest film ever. Hope you have a better day today gal!
x
[Daphne – It’s called displacement activity. There’s a job you have to do and you clear out the cupboards instead. Fun activities are not displacement activities, because they’re bad for the conscience when other demands are pressing. I’m the opposite of an OCD person, but when there’s something bothering me, my wardrobe suddenly becomes very organised.]
A nightmare I can identify with. Good luck.
Maths homework? Pray do enlighten us.
[Daphne – The adult equivalent of…]
Now even the president of Malta is on the gravy train – due to visit Australia in February, two months before his term expires.
A glass of White Horse whisky should give you the energy to do the task at hand.
David Sedaris on Letterman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y
[Daphne – I actually watched this while procrastinating yesterday.]