The Benefits of Procrastination

I have 4 categories that I divide my daily activities into:

1. Things that will help me reach a goal – Such as taking a writing class and writing a set number of words per day to move towards completing a book, or learning how to hitch up the horse trailer and backup so I can take Luke to a park and trail ride.
2. Things that I love doing – This includes all kinds of activities, such as trail riding, going to a concert, bike riding, hiking, gardening, meeting up with friends, etc.
3. Things that are a necessary evil – These are all those things that fall into the category of have to do or should do, such as working, cleaning house, laundry, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, etc.
4. Things that I would never go out of my way to do but will do because someone else I care about enjoys it – This includes things I feel too busy to add to my schedule, things that are not high on my enjoyment list and things that are done with people I feel uncomfortable around. Examples include golfing, watching a sport event, hanging out at a bar, sitting around with people you don’t know where you just can’t seem to get in on the conversation, and just sitting in general (I suck at sitting unless it’s with a good book but then that’s not very social is it?).

Number 4 is especially hard for me when number 1, 2 and 3 are curling their fingers around my arm.

If I’m feeling really behind on something, which is pretty much a constant state of being, it’s especially hard to be a willing participant in number 4. But that’s rather selfish isn’t it? And short-sighted too, as I’ve found that some times activities I’ve dreaded have actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Like the Twins game I last wrote about. I told you I’d manage to make baseball introspective somehow.

The point is that I’m learning to let go of this need to have everything I do have a purpose and to not worry so much about what I could be getting done while I’m goofing off.

Maybe that’s part of the aging process, discovering the benefits of slowing down a bit, knowing that there is enough time in life to get the important stuff done.

I’ve also come to believe you don’t get to leave this earth until you are done with what you were sent to do. Therefore, by procrastinating, I’ll actually get to live longer. That’s only a theory, which probably wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny but it helps me relax a bit.