Weighing the pros and cons of procrastination while writing on a deadline

It’s a wonder I ever get anything done, not that I have that much to do.

Unfortunately, I’m a born procrastinator – and I do mean born. Even after nine months, I was willing to wait a little longer. I was dragged out by a country doctor in his office at night in the midst of a snowstorm when no one could get to the area hospital.

So maybe it’s not all my fault that I still have to be dragged into most things I do.

Like procrastination, it always seems that the things I am best at aren’t particularly helpful. Recognizing old rock tunes as soon as they come on the radio actually has helped at a few trivia contests, but you don’t make a whole lot there. My other specialty, forgetting a lot of stuff, also hasn’t paid off very often.

Procrastination really doesn’t pay either.

Oh, sure, it helped Sir Alexander Fleming discover penicillin when he and his people never got around to sterilizing some cultures and they found some mysterious substance killing mold. But that is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

I hate to make decisions, of any kind. Procrastination, such as putting off decisions, actually is a way of deciding, usually in the negative. If you don’t reply to an invitation, you’re probably not going.

Of course, it can be costly. If you put off paying bills there are late fees. Or if you hesitate to buy a hot product, it may have sold out before you’re ready to act. Or you will get the models with oddball colors that no one else would buy.

It can irritate your wife when you put off things like fixing stuff around the house. It’s a never ending cycle, especially when you’re good at it.

Before I retired, I was always prone to avoid writing until the very last minute. I got to like writing against a deadline every day. I still do it, every two weeks or so. It’s kind of a rush and if you do fail, no one gets hurt.

Computers have made it worse because there is always something entertaining to look at rather than write.

There are many other distractions. There are always cats looking for a lap. If they just laid still it wouldn’t be bad. But there always are demands for attention as well.

I actually started this a couple of weeks ago but put it off until the night before the deadline. Then I went to bed and told myself I would get up early and finish writing. When I woke up, I told myself I would just put it off until the next week.

Now I find myself up against that deadline again and I have to write or I don’t get paid. That has always driven me before and it still works.

This is proof.

Maybe I should try artificial intelligence. But that wouldn’t be much fun. The process of writing can be a pain, but the exhilaration of actually producing something makes it worth the while, when I can convince myself to start.