Friday, September 1, 2017

Best Laid Plans


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:



No comments:

Post a Comment