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:)