Archive for the ‘Procrastination’ Category

Some thoughts about starting

The water isn’t going to get any warmer. You can step into the pool slowly, or dive in, or jump in, or sit at the edge and splash yourself for a while—all fine. (Splashing first—my favorite.) But if you want to go in—today, this week, this month—know that the water won’t get any warmer while […]

How the yuck-o-meter got my to-do list back on track

A couple of projects have been stalled lately because my Inner Toddler has refused to settle down and work. One look at the to-do list, and the Inner Toddler screams! she kicks! she pounds her fists on the floor! Then she runs off to read still more recaps of Mad Men and Project Runway. From […]

Procrastination, anxiety, and the ugly truth about “just starting”

Lots of people insist that the way to deal with procrastination is just to get started. “Once you sit down and get started, it’s never as bad as you expect,” they’ll say. Well, not so helpful. Not for me. Because sometimes, depending on the creative project, the sitting down is unpleasant, the getting started is […]

The pre-deadline that worked

TurboTax sent around a catchy press release today naming San Francisco the “Most Tax Procrastinating City in America.” We file our online tax returns at the last possible minute—moments later than Houston, New York and Chicago. It could be fun to speculate about the reasons—we’re so wired we can afford to be lackadaisical? We’re such […]