my friend Ali and i had dinner together and were talking about the un-productivity of our days...
why do we postpone the inevitable? Like dying my hair redder instead of painting for my show and spending hours at office depot searching for the perfect folders?! i found this little quote by Joseph Ferrari who wrote "Procrastination and Task Avoidance":
"We like the thrill of time pressure; we're unable to choose; or we fear failure and would rather be seen as lazy than imperfect". (or all of the above?)
"Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up". Ferrari says, Instead he prescribes the following: "Be specific about your goals. Break a given task into steps, thinking in terms of drafts instead of one final do-or-die product. Always strive for acomplishment rather than perfection, and reward yourself each time you make a decision you've been avoiding. Also drop as many unfulfilling obligations as you can, and channel the extra energy into tackling the projects on which you've been stalled".
Does surfing the internet count? blogging? Yep, it is almost midnight on a Friday night and I am sitting in front of the computer and about to return to my studio and follow this advice:
"To actually get started, decide to spend just five minutes on one onerous task; if it's going okay: continue for another five, etc."
I'll have to try that.... later:)
6 comments:
i am the same way mati! i hate this about me. but the post is very true! i am not too far from ali's hometown. just a couple of hours [i checked out her site ] and
i would love to have a tree house!
she looks like a very cool chick!
happy saturday!
I feel ya. I do the same thing and it's maddening.
How many paintings are you hoping to do for your show? (i love the card for it, by the way)
I love how chance intervenes... I've always had this problem with procrastinating, and recently I've become more consciously aware of it - mostly because I am so unhappy with my professional situation, but also because I am actually lazy and it’s something I don’t particularly like about myself. It's maddening! And I do feel most productive only when I have so much else to do it’s overwhelming.
But it's funny how, because of these realizations about myself, I've already made these little changes - and step by step they are making a difference! I started participating in Illustration Friday... which has led me to draw a little bit every day... which has led to working on projects I've been thinking about for years... which has led to ACTUAL accomplishment! It's amazing. It feels good.
I’ve made these changes gradually and increasingly over the last few months. But I’ve really started to notice a difference in the last couple weeks. Then I happened upon your post while updating my blog links...
Thanks for your blind encouragement! It’s truly appreciated.
ha!!! That's totally me! I'm procrastinating so much right now, I should be knitting earrings & grading papers, but instead I'm on flickr & reading blogs & debating taking a bath. I hate rushing things! Are you excited about Tuesday!? Because I am!!!!!!! Want to go to Yerba together?
Ha!! ..your "try that...later...made me laugh! me too! I think I am getting better though, by very tiny increments :)
sometimes it feels like i have to procrastinate, like my mind needs the time to mull, and i'm still being productive in behind-the-scenes way before i can create. but sometimes i'm just procrastinating because there's something i'm afraid of, like too many possibilities, perfection, etc. i can usually tell the difference, though: the first one is more free and relaxing and the outcome has these wonderful connections i never would have realized otherwise, and the latter is more restless, distracted, and afterwards i ask myself, 'what was the big deal?'.
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