I am a procrastinator. I wish I could say that I wasn’t, but I can’t. It’s very much a part of who I am.
No matter how much time I have to accomplish something, I always end up putting it off until the very last minute. I was like that with school, and decades later, I’m still like that with work. Even with tasks that I love.
This column is a good example of that. I have all week to do it, and because of its slice-of-life anytime feel, I could write a different article every day for ten days and build up a collection to pull from on deadline. But do I do that? No, I don’t.
For years now it’s been suggested that I do. I have friends – organized people who are cool as a cucumber because they’re so darn organized – and they have told me to write at least one or two extra stories to alleviate some of my anxiety. They explain how much better I would feel if I knew I had an article or two waiting in the wings just in case I got sick, or one of my kids got sick, or I couldn’t think of something to write about at the 11th hour. I nod my head and I agree with them completely. I then vow to start on my first backup column immediately, but something more pressing always comes up that I end up doing instead.
Years ago I asked a psychologist friend for his advice in the hopes of fixing myself.
He asked me why I didn’t like leaving things to the last second, and I told him I didn’t like the pressure, particularly when I was overwhelmed with too many other duties at the same time. He then asked if I was still able to get my work done under that kind of stress, and I said yes.
“Sounds like it might be working for you,” he replied. “Maybe you should just relax and accept it as a method to your madness.”
I guess I did, or I would have changed by now. But going forward, do I want to keep working exactly like this when I’m as busy as I am? The answer is no.
Eager for help, I decided to consult Google for some guidance. What was I looking for? A couple helpful suggestions, that’s all. What did I find? Well, the first thing that came up was a list of “101 ways to get organized.” Yeah, okay. That’s about 100 more than I wanted.
What I was really needing to see in that moment was one word: Simplify. Once I saw it in that huge Internet pool of information, it’s what stuck out for me most.
I have now printed this lovely word out and tacked it to the wall above my computer.
After years of my daunting to-do list getting longer instead of shorter, I am about to get ruthless with it and truly prioritize. Some items will get pushed down the page and some will get pushed right off.
One thing I know for sure is that writing a backup column will finally be added to the list. And the only other thing I know right now is that it will be placed somewhere near the top.