September
2017 Blog
Best Laid Plans: A Tale of Gross Procrastination
Okay,
the year is two-thirds over. My only accomplishments so far are my
daily Haiku writing and posting my monthly blog. (And that only
barely).
Best
Laid Plans: A Haiku
Having
spent so long
On
the dreaming, I must be
About
the doing.
Time
groweth short, and I’ve not nearly done enough for a person whose
life is waning at an ever-more alarming rate with each passing day.
Maybe it’s my way of defying the inevitable. If it is, I really
don’t think it’s going to work.
Okay,
so I haven’t died yet. Truth be told, I’m not even prepared to
die. There’s so much more I need to do. My ducks are in total
disarray – and that’s all of them – my writing ducks and my
life ducks. They are scattered willy-nilly across the surface of an
ever-shrinking pond. They aren’t even paddling anymore, they are
just floating on the surface.
I
have lost sight of the admonition to “Do what you need to do when
you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not!” I don’t even
remember where I heard that, but it stuck with me. Too bad I haven’t
embraced it. I could be a prolific (if not best-selling) author and
the person who (if she dies tomorrow) exits this earth leaving a
plan behind.
Were
I to write an autobiography or a memoir at this stage of life, it
would be well-titled: “How Not To Live Your Life.” Maybe it
could be a self-help book. I really, really know how not to do it.
Not sure at this point I’m ever going to get it right.
I
get the feeling that I can’t go on as I have been, knowing that if
I do, I will rejoin the stars of the galaxies with my song unsong on
this Earth – not even a footnote in the annals of time.
What
do I do to recover (if I can)? I need to make lists – a plan for
even such a limited future – without making the plan my goal and my
only accomplishment. I must plan and I must execute it.
However,
I have gone down this road before and gotten lost on it. I could go
without the lists, but the older I get, the less that works. I even
need lists to do the little things I need to do in a day. I forget a
lot, or I get distracted by shiny objects.
The
only thing it seems I don’t need a list for is to take a nap. I can
do that at the drop of a hat or the sight of a soft place to snuggle
up on. I think it’s the fault of my dogs. Seems I’m emulating
them. They love to have me take naps with them. Not sure anymore who
the bed belongs to. I think it’s theirs – at least I think they
think so.
But
even here I digress. Back to my lists. I need one to get all my
daily, weekly, etc. mundane stuff done and I need one to get my
writing, editing, publishing and promoting under control. Maybe a
chart that I can check off with dates (if not deadlines) on it. Oh,
and I need a decent filing system. Okay, I have one, but it doesn’t
help if I say “I’ll file it later” and then never do.
Have
I used the “P” word before? Procrastination? I am the High Queen
of Procrastination. If there is a deader-than-deadline, I will push
it. I’ve always been that way. Not sure I’m going to overcome
that in this stage of my life, but I’ve got to find some kind of
answer, some kind of work around.
I’m
even discouraging myself writing this. I hope I’m not discouraging
my readers. Not sure what I’m trying to accomplish here – maybe
just think out the situation and see if I can come to some kind of
answer. You know, it was a whole lot easier to effect change when I
was younger and closer to the sharpest tack in the box.
My
points and my will seem to have dulled a little over the years –
either from disuse or (probably not) from overuse. So, it seems, I
need to find a way to sharpen my wits and plunge ahead.
There’s
still one-third of the year to go. Surely I can accomplish something
more. Of course, there’s always next year… Wait! That’s not
true! There are no more guarantees. Guess I better get that file out
and start – like now!
Until
then, I welcome your reactions and responses to my current rantings.
I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter
and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me
there:
