Procrastination Is a Great Tool

Procrastination is a great tool for getting things done.

I know that goes against conventional wisdom. But I’m finding that many many things that I had been ignoring are suddenly getting done now that I have this BIG THING looming over me. The Big Thing is a fun thing. It’s a happy thing. But it’s BIG. Lots of little things are getting done while thinking about the Big Thing.

So, the solution? Gotta break down the BIG THING into lots of small, attainable things.

I’ve participated in two NaNo competitions. Both times, I finished my book. The reason I was able to do it – I wasn’t looking at the big picture. I was looking at right now, today. Get 2000 wods written today. That’s all I want to do. Once that’s done, I can putz around the house.

Perhaps that’s what keeps anyone from being truly successful is the big ideas that make it seem impossible to move from where we are to the next moment. It’s so far from here to “the end” where everything comes together. But without those millions of very small gestures, that move us quietly from this moment to the next, we can never make it to the Big Thing that we’re working for.

Another interesting thing about the Big Thing, is the more concrete it is, the scarier it is. What if we don’t make it? What if we fail? But if the Big Thing is variable, and we are open to the possibilities of what the Big Thing might end up being, it seems less daunting. Just keep plugging along, until it happens.

That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing up to this point. Moving bit by bit without a specific plan for the Big Thing I’m headed for. But now I have one. And it’s tripping me up. I gotta get rid of this concrete idea of what is supposed to happen, and just move forward, somewhere, a little everyday. And if I keep doing the little bit that I can right now, and do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day – I’ll get somewhere. Where, I don’t know for sure. But somewhere good.

Getting freaked out about the future can be easy to do when it seems like we have only one possible end goal. That’s all in our head though. The one goal we think we have, is actually just one of many possible goals. We can head that way, but there might be something better along the way – perhaps even disguised as a distraction.

That said, back to work for me! Must keep moving. And where that takes me – who knows! But one thing I know for sure – I’m going to damn well enjoy the journey. Throw my arms in the air and say, “Whee!”