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Procrastination Will Be the Death of Me



I've been putting off writing this blog. A little birdie (actually an Angry Bird) told me I could do that. He keeps saying, "Why write a blog today that you can write tomorrow?" Well guess what? It's now just after 2:00 AM and here I am writing this blog that I should have already written and scheduled to post at my appropriate time. All this for some silly golden eggs and three stars?

Like Tracey and the others, it's not just writing that I find myself procrastinating at. Every task in my life has been bit by the procrastination monster every so now and again. The bill that I kept avoiding to pay, the essay I had to write for my college history class, the incident report for my full time job. I could go on and on.

I've often wondered why this habit keeps rearing its ugly head. Do I like setting myself up for failure? Do I thrive on panic as I scramble to finish my taxes? And trust me, that panic isn't good when you find yourself owing Uncle Sam either. Maybe I can put off paying them? Just kidding. Tax evasion is a crime after all. I've come to the conclusion that procrastination should be added as an eighth deadly sin, because if I continue to procrastinate, it certainly will end up being the death of me.

And seriously, I don't want to die. I've got books to write. Time to put the procrastination temptation where it belongs... and it's certainly not with birds with kamikaze tendencies.

What about you? What sort of temptations lead you astray down the path of procrastination? Three lucky commenters will win a free pdf copy of my short story, AN ABSOLUTE MESS. One random commenter will win a $20.00 Amazon gift card.

Comments

  1. Yes, I do suffer from procastrination.....lol....I find myself putting off things until the day before they are due and then panicking that I won't get done in time, mostly at home not so much at work. I put off reading a book that looked interesting but turned out to have slow parts that just dragged on and on....but I know I have to finish it because I just won't start a new book without finishing the old one....lol...TV is a great distracter for me...as is sitting on the porch on a nice sunny day:)


    junegirl63(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. Research often leads me astray. I can get caught up on the origin of a word, the exact placement of a Mayfair town house, best conveyance for an afternoon stroll, or an endless number of other historical details. Sometimes, before I realize it, I'll have spent 45 minutes on something that should have taken 10.

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  3. Procrastinate is my middle name. I'm on this blog procrastinating right now. I don't want to do dishes.

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  4. Ah, procrastination. Sometimes I feel like it's what I do best! What leads me astray? Let's see, knitting,reading, the Internet...yeah, that pretty much covers it!

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  5. I've actually had to LEARN to procrastinate. I never liked having things hanging over my head, so I tended to do them asap so I didn't have to worry. Nowadays, there are so many things I simply don't have the time to do, I have to pretend I don't see them.

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  6. Reading is my main temptation. Laundry and chores will sit for days if I am reading a good book. The Internet is another thing that helps me put work on the back burner.

    StacieDM
    User1123 AT comcast DOT net

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  7. Remington makes a one dose pill that will knock that procrastination bird right out of the sky and you won't have to deal with him ever again. Shhhhh....don't tell PETA that I own a gun or that I've got it sighted on that P-Bird!

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  8. I am a procastinator and so is my husband - not a good combination lol. A good part of it is that it's things I just don't want to do. Such as the taxes - we owe so definitely in no hurry to hand over our money. Housework - another thing I hate doing. Shopping - don't care for that either (unless it's books). Now if someone said I had to have a book read by a certain time I would have no problem lol.

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  9. Like Tracey, I can get caught up in research. I also try to do too many things at once and then nothing gets finished.

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  10. What doesn't distract me? The computer, televsion, books everything is a time suck for me. For me the worst is the computer. Somehow I will find something to occupy my time whether it be Bejewled Blitz, Texas Hold 'EM, Twitter, Facebook or even just listening to music somehow time manages to just slip away.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  11. Everything distractes me! I'm really bad with planning things. I will always do them the very last minute, no matter what! That drives my husband crazy, let me tell you. :) I'm always thinking, yeah, you've got time left to do that and that...and whoops suddenly it needs to be done! But I have always been able to do it in the end, that's all that matters. :)

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  12. The siren call of internet surfing wreaks havoc amongst my responsibilities. I break away just a breath away from destruction, time and again. Still the seductive song of it lures me away from my projects.

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  13. Looking for great deals on clothes and other things on the web is probably the leading cause of procrastination for me. Watching TV and DVDs is also another.

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  14. Emails are a great distraction for me, but guess so is the great Scot Gerard Butler. He drives my muse since my heroes are Scots, and I use this as my excuse for watching his movies over and over.

    I am not by nature a procrastinator since I've always worked jobs that had deadlines - like tax returns and financial statements. I guess I just got into the habit of getting 'it' done and then doing what I wanted. I feel your pain, though, since when it comes to doing those blogs, I usually conveniently forget about them until I realize I am on the spot and have to do something.

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  15. Sydney, I am the queen of procrastination. Yes, I've been putting off the taxes. Not intentionally. I had been working on them then something more important in my life interrupted. How many days do I have left? ;)

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  16. Procrastination...I think I must have an advanced degree in that by now! LOL. My drug of choice: daydreaming up new stories/scenes. Second would have to be Mahjohng, Spider solitaire and other such games. Third would be reading/tv/music. Hmmm...no housework listed in there at all...I wonder why!

    ~Roni Lynne
    perisquire30@comcast.net
    YA Adventures in the Paranormal...and Beyond!

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  17. I think Paisley has the best excuse. Watching Gerard Butler movies for research! That's good!
    As for me, hubby asked me very nicely this morning to hand over my expenses for taxes. Have I done it? You know the answer.

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  18. I procrastinate a lot. I can always find something to do instead of what I should do. I hate housework so I can look at the computer and say I have e-mail to do and blogs to read and once again I put the housework off. Give me a good book and, you're right, I'm procrastinating. Oh, well, it will get done eventually.

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  19. So many things lead me down the procrastination path. Twitter, email, housework but I think it all comes down to fear. Ugh did I just say that?

    Kwanawrites@yahoo.com

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  20. Well, you found one of my worst weak spots. It would take too long to explain my procrastination in my previous career -- plus I'd likely put off writing it (ha) -- but I'll tell you what ails me now that I'm writing full-time.
    Even though I took an early retirement from my day-job and presumably have "ALL DAY" to do whatever I want [ LOL ] ... guess what. There are still numerous obligations, places I have to be, errands, appointments, exercise sessions, etc. And on many days, these interruptions (somewhat improbably) appear on a time line line in just the way to condense my available writing time into small chunks.
    [I know ... someone with more dedication would just use those small chunks of time to dive into a ms. and type like a madman/madwoman. But ... I procrastinate.] I think to myself, "by the time I open the file, get settled, remember where I was, pick up the thread, find my groove, etc., it'll be time to dash off to (whatever). So ... I procrastinate.
    I rationalize it by saying, "this 3/4 hour would not be productive anyway, so I'll just check Facebook again."
    And, that -- by the way -- is where I kill a LOT of time.
    << you're either groaning now ... or smiling >>>

    Please register me for your prizes ... you can see I'm a procrastinatin' basket case and really need an external boost.
    LOL
    Jeff

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  21. You are not alone when it comes to procrastination. I do the same thing and I truly can not think of any reason..I am retired and just recently lost my part time job as well but I still put things off. I do have an excuse right now which is also why I lost my job of over ten years. I have been in the hospital and nearly didn't make it..I am recovering which can take four months or more yet. I was in the hospital in Feb. Now you would think after this scare..I would dig right in and do what is needed to be done..right aways. Wrong..I still put things off. Maybe one day we will shock ourselves and overcome this habit...will think about that tomorrow. ha ha susan Leech garysue@dejazzd.com

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  22. I procastrinate every little thing, weather its a book I want to buy or a house that needs cleaning. Just about anything I go to purchase I will procastrinate on it a while before I buy. I have some cabinates right now that need to be cleaned out and i have been putting it off for weeks, I always manage to come up with something else to do. Oh and clean closets is even worse. My attic I have been cleaning out for years and its either to hot up there or to cold. I am the worlds worse when it comes to procastrination.

    lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com

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  23. Hey all! Sorry I'm getting back to you all so late. I had a hectic day with family today.

    I'm amazed at all my fellow procrastinators and your methods of procrastination. I'm glad I'm not alone (although I probably shouldn't be!)

    The winners of the free books are:
    ClaudiGC
    perisquire30
    and
    Virginia

    The winner of the $20.00 Amazon gift card is:
    Kwana!!

    Congrats everyone!

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  24. Playing online seems to be the biggest thing I do to procrastinate right now!! Seriously, I have a mountain of laundry to do ... and a floor in my son's room to un-earth ... yet, here I sit. :)

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  25. Hi Sidney! Great post, and yes, we need sequels to your books, so don't let procrastination kill ya. :}

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