Procrastination

You know the old adage "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can get done today?" Yeah, me either. From what I can recall, it goes like this "Put off until tomorrow what you don't want to do today." Some may call it being lazy. I say, that's the spirit! Some may say procrastination is a bad word. Not me! I embrace it. I prefer to call it an art. A skill if you may. Not all can successfully procrastinate. Some put off until tomorrow but don't do it tomorrow. And then they fail. I procrastinated my way through college and somehow managed to bang out some pretty amazing work and grades for that matter. And when I say that, I mean all the years after my first two. Those were the days I procrastinated and failed. Then I fine tuned the art and honed in all the skillz to successfully procrastinate.

Most of the time this strategy works. Sometimes it fails miserably. I'd say it's 75% success, 25% fail.

For arguments sake, let's start with the fails. This is for all you hard workers, those of you who put your nose to the grindstone, who make a huge effort. Here is a list of times procrastination and waiting until tomorrow have failed me:

1. My garden. I had all intentions of having a successful garden this year. But, it was hot. I don't like sun all that much and despise humidity. I loathe humidity. So, when we were under a heat dome for what seemed like 800 days, my garden suffered. Hardcore. Not only did it suffer, it was tortured. First, the sun had it's way with my garden. It burnt it to a crisp. Next, gale force winds from massive storms blew my produce over. Mostly, Japanese Beatles ate their way through all the leaves and blooms before they could turn to vegetable. And finally, weeds moved in like a bum on a bologna sandwich. They took over that plot of ground like locusts during the second coming. There were weeds. But there were also Morning Glory vines that wove their way around every stalk, stem, or leaf. So, during this first week of August, I am winterizing my garden. One could say that I procrastinated at maintaining and developing a glorious garden, but BUT I am one step ahead of the rest of you! My garden's already cleaned up, ready for the snow. So take that you eager beavers!

2. Painting of bedrooms. We spent an entire day painting Avery's bedroom before we moved in. Trust it needed it. But we didn't finish. I said, I will totally finish that. It will be NO problem. Pshh. Those walls haven't been touched in exactly four years. The base boards still need a coat of white. Touch-ups aren't finished. And now, we are about a year or less away from the girl's joining forces and sharing rooms, which will result in a new paint scheme. So, yet again, maybe my procrastination of four years has paid off. Since I didn't waste my time painting then, I don't feel like all my efforts are pointless when I must re-paint. And when it does get a shiny new coat, we will just pull off the unpainted base boards and start fresh with new trim. When that happens, and the new trim gets bought and not installed, the blame falls off me because that does not fall into my list of duties. Anything involving power tools gets handed to the man of the house. I like my fingers. I don't want to cut them off. And I totally would.

3.  Painting of kitchen. Refer to number 2 but replace bedroom with kitchen. Only two full walls are painted in my kitchen. The other two are all ready to be painted but are not. AAAAnd again, yes, procrastination happened. Paint was bought and sits unopened. It's destiny was not filled. But in my defense, I don't think I want those colors anymore. I think I want to head in a totally different direction. Just like with the bedroom, no time was wasted painting when I could have been doing nothing or something cool.

4. Random other procrastination fails: bought canvases for artwork yet to be painted, a few ideas for books that have slipped my memory now, various sewing projects that have a step or two left, and books that I have started never finished.

BUT...but there are many times that procrastination is a great thing.

For instance, I have no problem leaving a sink full of dishes for tomorrow to do something fun today with the girls. Last minute trip to the zoo? Sure! I don't care if the laundry needs to be folded. A few wrinkles add character. A walk to the park? Absolutely. The dog is just going to keep shedding hair anyway, so we can just vacuum later.

Also, I work best under pressure. I create my best work at the last minute. If I have too much time, I obsess over whatever it is I am creating. Whether it was a paper in college or an art project at home, I need to make it/write it and be done. Totally done. Otherwise I pick out every flaw, I question sentences, or just redo the entire thing. And I have learned that that is the WORST idea ever.

If we recall Avery's Dorothy dress from a few months back, I decided to start early. It was the death of me. I should have waited until the week before and pounded that bad daddy out and never looked back.

There are somethings that I am a hardcore early bird for that makes up for my lack in preparation in other areas. Christmas presents are always bought ridiculously early, mostly because I just get so excited. Much thought is put into birthday presents and the party that accompanies. I have been planning for the girl's ladybug party since March. Gifts were bought last November for Avery and in April for Kendall. I meticulously plan the decor, cake/cupcakes, and food. The Easter Bunny's got nothing on this girl. I will beat him in awesomeness any year. Who really wants a hollow chocolate bunny anyway? Not me. Geesh.

The lesson here is a simple one: do what you want when you want. You never know when procrastination will be worth it or turn into an ultimate failure. Practice makes perfect when it comes to procrastination. And better time to practice doing nothing than right now. And go.