I procrastinate a lot. I mean I have a plan. In this plan are several detours already prepared for my procrastination. I figure out how to use my procrastination to work as efficiently as possible. I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out.
My life is crazy ,and by crazy, I mean it is completely boring but completely full. I have a full-time job for 35-40 hours a week. After work, I have class 2 nights a week in downtown Jackson. I spend around 20-25 hours teaching myself to code and build software around all this. Not exciting at all, but it is time consuming. I also spend multiple hours a week watching television. This Is not going to change. I thoroughly enjoy watching ‘my stories’. I now also now feel the need to write everyday. Something has got to give. They don’t just give away Master’s Degrees.
All of these things are very important to me, so when it was time to write my 14 page paper for my Diversity class, I simply built in procrastination in my plan to allow myself to do everything I love as much as possible. All while still getting the paper turned in on time. At times, success appeared bleak.
At first, I thought my paper was due on Tuesday. I started planning the Thursday before on how I was going to finish it on time. This started with me going to Cups to be distracted by the baristas and my writing after work. I spent no time on my paper. I figured I would be able to start over on Friday. My distress level was still relatively low.
Friday and Saturday were much of the same. No progress was made. I was ready to work on Sunday after church. I got to Cups and realized I would feel so much more comfortable at the Mississippi College Library. I had to tell my barista friends good-bye and make my way to the library. On the way, I took a phone call and had to talk for a solid 20 mins. This phone call made me laugh, and a story began to form in my mind. When I feel a creative spark, I do not want to loose it. It would be foolish to not write it down right now. I’ll still be able to get my paper done. Everything will be ok. Sunday came and went…no progress.
I woke up Monday morning starting to think that I was in trouble. How was I gonna get this terribly long paper done? My distress level was growing by the second. I still had confidence in myself though. Surely, the universe would throw me a bone. I needed a break and got one. I got a text from one of my classmates, that told me the paper was not due until Thursday night right before midnight. Dang it feels it good to be a gangster.
To celebrate, I decided that I should go to Celebrate Recovery and get a little feel good. I could go write after this and get started. I had 3 days; I’ve easily busted 14 pages in 3 days before. As a matter of fact, I’ve done 14 pages in two days. I decided I could go and watch the Good Doctor, and (if my mom wanted to) maybe watch an episode or 2 of Grey’s Anatomy. I do not trust someone who says they are too busy for TV. Seriously, its great too lose yourself in an episode or 2 of your favorite action show, every once in a while. TV is important for that. You show me someone who is “too busy” for TV; I’ll show you someone who is probably doing something illegal, immoral, or just takes themselves too seriously in general.
I knew I had to go to class Tuesday night, but I would have a chance to work on my paper after class. In class, my classmates and I were able to talk my teacher into giving us until Friday at 11:59 pm to turn the paper in. This was not part of my original plan, but I will take what I can get. When my teacher says Friday, I hear Bardin you don’t have any work to do tonight; you can write a story or two. Thats exactly what I did. Towards the end of the story, I remembered that New Amsterdam came on that night. I had it recorded, so I got another episode of Grey’s in after. I mean, my mom talked me into watching an episode after. I still have not written or read a single line of research.
When Wednesday got here, I did get a my title page done right before group class as I prepared myself to act like a normal human (I failed). Towards the end of group, a story began forming in my head. Don’t blame me; I cannot control these things. I felt it was best to get it written before it left my brain. I prepared myself to really perform on Thursday and Friday.
Thursday was a bust. I got off work at my job, and got to work. No, not on my paper. I wrote a story, which I said I wasn’t going to do. I did get one more paragraph of my paper done. I am not sure, when I had the rational thought, that it was time to make sure I kept my 4.0. It obviously didn’t last long, though. After 200 words, I thought it was perfectly logical for me to get the final 4000 in on Friday. I was losing rationality but not confidence.
Friday did not begin as planned (surprise). There wasn’t a seat in Cups, and I had bought a cold ‘Mississippi Honey’. The only seat was one outside; the wind was blowing hard. It was cold. I thought I could handle it; I hunt in the winter (told you I was manly). Why can’t I type a little in the wind? I’ll tell you why; after 5 minutes, I could not feel my fingers anymore. I decided to go in and get a hot drink. When I got back outside, I was setting my cold drink on the ground and dropped it. What was left, splashed up and got all in my eyes. You know how hard it is type, when you can’t feel your fingers and have coffee all in your eyes? It’s basically impossible. I knew this wasn’t going to work.
I knew I had 4000 words to go, and I had to warm up and dry off. I left and went to the basement of the library. At this point, my plan finally came together. I started writing, and reading, and researching like a mad man. Sentences became paragraphs, and paragraphs became pages. I was flying. Eventually I looked down and had written 13 pages. All that was left was the abstract, outline, and bibliography. I was coasting into home; just like I knew I was all along. All said, I wrote 17 pages on Friday, my plan all along.
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