Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Procrastination 101 and 2009 Pics

When I was in 3rd grade I got a "3" in "Time Management" on my report card. "3" stood for "Needs Improvement". (I also got a "3" that year in "Works and Plays Well With Others" but that was an isolated incident *cough*)

In high school and college I was STILL getting 3's and 4's in time management. I'm a hard core procrastinator. I would absolutely NEVER do a project or study for an exam until the day before it was due. I was ALWAYS behind in reading and doing homework. I would stress like crazy about it beforehand but not actually do anything. Then, in tears, I'd stay up the entire night before in a frenzied focus and get everything done. I usually did well - I had a fairly high GPA in hs and college.

To this day I'm STILL getting 3's and 4's in time management. I have gotten a bit more responsible and I rarely let it affect the work that matters (read: the work that I would get fired for or "written up" for if I didn't d0) but it still affects me in every aspect of my life. If I know I have stuff to do, I end up doing everything possible besides that specific thing. The litter boxes are in desperate need of cleaning? Uh, I'll do the dishes. The cabinets from our basement reno (over a year ago) still need painting? Um, I think I'll do some laundry and then read blogs. Those examples are not exactly what I'm trying to convey though...

Yesterday I had a project to do at work. It was not imperative that it be done until the end of the day so I put it off all day long and did other work (and read blogs). Which meant, last night, I COULD have been free to relax and go to bed early but instead I stayed up until 12:30am to finish this project. The project was just fine - it was done well and in plenty of time to meet it's deadline.

Right now I should be doing something for work that is due at noon. But I'm writing this post instead. I know, even if I don't get it done (which I won't) it doesn't really matter, so I don't do it. When it really matters I'll have to spend hours focusing to get it all done.

I do this all the time. It's the story of my life. I feel stupid for doing it over and over again but it's who I am. I have always been like this. Can someone change something that's so ingrained in them? I feel like the obvious answer is, "Yes, you lazy bitch. Just DO something about it." I SHOULD be able to change this. sigh
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Work is evening out a little. I'm still busy but not like I have been the last three weeks. If I could manage to just do everything I needed to do while I was at work, with this amount of work, I wouldn't have to do much from home unless a client email came in or a new project was requested.

I'm down to 88 new posts in my reader! Yay! I was so behind it wasn't even funny. It almost hit 300 a couple days ago. Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful comments to my last post. I'll be sure to check out all your blogs in the next few days (or weeks if work goes crazy again.)

In addition to work slowing down a little, I am going on a mini-vacation this weekend. I took this coming Friday and Monday off and will be flying to TX on Friday morning to visit my dad, his wife, my brother, and his fiance. I'm kind of stressing right now about all the stuff I need to do before I leave on Fri but I'm excited to be going. I love to travel and I can't wait to see my dad and give him a hug.
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In response to a comment - there is no story behind the flower pic in the last post. I took it while at a wedding I attended last summer. R was annoyed with me for stopping and clicking all the beautiful flowers but I got some good shots :) Here are some other pics from last year:


C (my sister) and I went strawberry picking in early July '09. The strawberry fields are in the far right distance in the pic and to the left of where I'm standing.


Strawberries!

For my birthday (also in July '09), my mom, and C and I went canoeing on a lake. It was a beautiful day. One of my dreams is to live on a lake and own a canoe. I love the sound of the paddles in the water.

11 comments:

  1. I am a huge procrastinator...and it makes no sense. Why do we stress about stuff that we know we have to do, rather than just doing it? I would figure it out...maybe tomorrow.
    I do love the pics! Have fun on your trip.

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  2. I love your pictures and your dog River looks so very cute! I am a huge procrastinator myself and I wish that I wasn't.
    ICLW

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  3. I totally get the procrastination part of your post (am in fact commenting here instead of importing client data right now). What's really bad, is I make lists of stuff to do, I organize it and make timelines and plans then do nothing until the last minute, pull it through at the last minute by the skin of my teeth and start the whole cycle over again. It's so frustrating. If you find a magic fix for this unfortunate habit, please do let us know :)

    Your photography is awesome. I love your pics.

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  4. I'm a selective procrastinator, so I totally understand! And it gets to be a habit!!

    I hope you have a great time in TX! Make sure to take some more pictures of flowers - I thought it was just lovely!!

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  5. You have described me to a "T" - we are very similar procrastinators!!! I am the queen of last-minute! Don't feel bad - you are certainly not alone :).

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  6. You're obviously not alone. :) I am also a procrastinator, but I have gotten a little bit better about it. I still feel like I procrastinate, but what I consider last-minute has gotten a little earlier.

    I miss being near lakes! I used to live in upstate NY, but now I live in an area of the midwest where lakes aren't all that common. I would love to live on one!

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  7. Guilty here, too. I have to make myself do things.

    ICLW

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  8. I'm the same way. I always wait until the last minute to do just about everything. Wish there was a cure!

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  9. Oh my gosh, you just described me to a t!! I'm exactly the same way with procrastinating and I have tried so many different things to try to help but it doesn't matter what I do, it's just me. Like you, though, I never miss a deadline.

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  10. The top part of your post on procrastinating described me as well. Strangely enough it is something that I have been thinking about how I will work myself out of that mode and teach my kids how to be proactive. MrBeep is not a procrastinator, so maybe I'll make him teach us all! Ha ha ha!

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  11. I'm a big time procrastinator too. It drives my (type-A) husband crazy. Deadlines are good for me, because I'll always make them, but I don't always do it in the easiest way. :)

    ICLW

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