I could have easily written this post about how I missed blogging yesterday, but that would be too easy. To my credit, I thought a lot about what to write about, but couldn't decide affirmatively enough on a topic that was different enough from all the other things I've written about so far (I apparently have a very limited interest span).
Instead, I will write about what is most likely my biggest weakness ever: procrastination. Case in point, I came up with the topic, read an article about people who didn't become famous until after they were 30, started writing, got distracted by Twitter and will most likely end up watching an episode of Heroes before I'm finished.
I blame my procrastination on high school. Not to brag, but I'm pretty smart. The classes I didn't get As in were the ones I just didn't care much about, and I took all honors classes but was still pretty bored and not challenged enough. As a result, I started finding other things to do, and put off the mundane stuff like school work. Lunch time was for finishing up homework due the latter half of the day and getting started on homework due the following morning. My class was primarily filled with others who did the same, and you know what they say about the company you keep. We all graduated a bunch of slackers.
There are some things that can keep my interest. I've worked for hours straight while editing and can go all day on set without checking my phone. When I left my full time job last June my days were full for the two weeks up until I flew to Texas and California. I know how to be productive. Some days are just easier to be than others.
I believe there are a few reasons. The most common for most people is just not wanting to do it. For instance, I've had a giant bin full of books in the trunk of my car for over a week now, but haven't taken them to a place I know buys books. 1. I haven't felt like going through the books to take out what I want to keep. 2. The place is really far away on a side of town I have no reason to go to otherwise. 3. I doubt I'll get much for my books, so I'll feel like it wasn't really worth my time. When effort < return, I usually opt to just sit and play solitaire on my phone.
The other reason is similar yet opposite at the same time. These are the times when I'm not confident my effort will be enough to yield the potential return. And this is a result of negative speak. A lesson it took me a long time to learn is that anyone who does anything worthwhile has to face a lot of obstacles to get where they want to be. The biggest disadvantage of my high school experience is that I never had to work hard at anything. Everything came easy to me, and when something became challenging, I just moved on to the next thing. And while I could definitely work harder, if I know what I need to do and just need to work for awhile to get there, I have no problem. When I get lost and don't know where to go next, that's when the temptation to pause comes in.
I used to write a blog that was filled with life lessons. I'm resisting the urge to turn this post into one of those, since I don't really have one. I know what I need to do, but I don't have the answers to fix why I don't. If I did, this wouldn't be my topic for today. If any of you can relate, know you're not alone. Perhaps we can even encourage each other. I hear that helps things be a little less stressful and lame.
Although I'm happy to say I finished this entire blog post without deciding to watch Heroes instead. Part of that is because the battery on my laptop is dying, but I still consider it a small victory!