Yesterday morning I became really irate after an off-hand comment was lobbed in my direction… The gist of it was something like this: “Now, you know we can’t be procrastinating on this deal; we’ve got to get moving on it, have things underway out there before next week.”
As if.
A wave of heat rushed through me, bringing me to an abrupt halt in mid-stride; I turned around and confronted the offending party… “Exactly who do you think has been goofing off or messing around? Because I can assure you, we haven’t been wasting time. Nowadays I don’t have any downtime to speak of, unless you count when I’m asleep.”
The commenter had no reply…
As we drove off, John waited a beat, and then quietly suggested that I may have overreacted, just a little… What I interpreted to be an accusation of slackness, he simply heard as a lot of meaningless chatter…not a challenge…not an insinuation…
While I don’t believe I misunderstood the intent of the statement, I suppose it is possible…
I’m obviously sensitive to any suggestion that I’m not busting my behind all the time, given that despite my best and concerted efforts, I cannot seem to catch up on anything and keep it that way. I’m always running behind. If I have two days to review a report, I finish at midnight the night before it’s due; I almost always get to my speaking engagements early, but then I can’t manage to compile the comments and statistics for weeks (lately months) afterward; I’m three chapters behind in my pre-licensing class with the midterm exam scheduled for a week from today; dishes and laundry are about all I’m able to stay on top off…
Maintaining some level of order in the various facets of my life requires that I adapt and shuffle my priorities depending upon the demands and circumstances of any given day. When you’re working exclusively for your spouse, researching legal issues, learning a new trade, running a nonprofit and renovating property all at the same time, every workday flies by without enough getting done… The so-called lack of accomplishment is not procrastination; it’s priority management.
If you put forth the effort to make progress on your tasks daily, isn’t that basically the exact opposite of procrastination?
Ultimately, the tortoise won the race, and eventually, I will too…
“If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do.”-Samuel Butler
Wishing you many blessings…tg
Tammy will update her blog twice weekly…
