Paperwork sucks. That’s the title of this Flickr photo and it’s a sentiment I share. I’m not as dejected as the dog though..I believe in creative procrastination. Which means even though I’ve been putting off paperwork, I’ve done a lot of other chores and have written several future posts. It relieves the pressure. Sooner or later I will have to face up to the paperwork, so when the time comes I’ll pick a project that is even more onerous and will convince myself I really have to do it. Then I’ll procrastinate on that and do the paperwork instead.
This method probably wouldn’t work for everyone. I’m exceptionally gullible and easily manipulated. Even by myself.
Thanks to bikehikebabe, Evan, rummuser, David, Conrad, Cathy, Evelyn, Lori, Scott, Square Peg Guy and Alik for commenting on lasst week’s post.
21 comments ↓
I agree. Administrative BS — once called paperwork before we went paperless (cough, cough) — was the thing I procrastinated the most about at work. It was always easier to find something else (more interesting) to do.
Mike Goads last blog post..The Sun Has Lost Its Spots
I agree too! I just don’t like paperwork all that much! I take a long time to open up my letters!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..My Makeover
I cannot think of anyone on earth who will disagree with the personal problem being ubiquitous and the solution too ditto!
rummusers last blog post..Start Telling All The Truth Now. Pakistan – Afghanistan War.
Jean,
I cracked up reading your description of how you trick yourself! How many different selves do you have running around inside that being you call Jean? I get this image of a bunch of mischievous elves doing work and playing tricks on each other in there.
Maybe that is what you have: s-elves!
Everybody,
Next week’s post was going to be Not a Job For Control Freaks about how I got interested in the project and even enjoyed part of it. However, it will probably wait for a week. Instead next week’s post will probably be The Joys of Procrastination, which I wrote yesterday. Creative procrastination is a powerful tool.
Conrad,
Thanks for picking up on the humor. Yes, I do have many “s-elves”. They have wonderful conversations and I’m never bored or lonely. After I wrote To Tell the Truth I asked “Will the real Jean Browman please stand up.” You wouldn’t believe how many of my s-elves jumped at the chance. “That’s me! That’s me!” It’s all of them, of course. Plenty of topics for future posts.
(Notice they’re still little kids who don’t know about grammar.)
Funny!
Laugh! Laugh!
Have some with it!
Diane,
Yep.
well there is paperwork and then there is paperwork…..some of it get’s put away for another day but much of it has a deadline!
recently it has been my Limited Time application and my Studylink loan stuff which means I have to get it done otherwise I will have problems with the University Financial Office!
If the loan stuff doesn’t go through in a timely manner the Financial Office starts sending me reels of ‘wall’ paper to a point where I want to scream….even if you go into the office and they promise no more – the COMPUTER is not listening!!
if the Loan stuff also doesn’t go through properly the gov’t department that give me a hefty grant each year delays to getting that done so that I have to keep making appointments to see my case officer!
this is Year 3. Year 1 was a problemo all round. Year 2 was more or less seamless
Year 3 now! Some new idea of providing some other garbage errrrrrrr paperwork had me running around 3days of last week. I await the outcome. Studylink freephone people insist I have had to provide this ‘new2me’ paper every year, duh (NO I HAVEN’T)!
I have cut down some of my other running around by using as much as possible online ordering services…..this last few weeks I looked online for a ‘bin’ company as I need to send a lot of garbage to wherever that goes. I inadvertently discovered a book-a-bin website – plug in a few details and the best deal is there in a twinkling! So much easier than calling many places.
BUT of course my negative nosey neighbour gets all horty torty about the $ I’ve decided to spend…..saying why didn’t I ring around. To me that is as bad as shuffling paperworkf! I did it in less than 20mins when I finally ordered it and I’m expecting said 6 cubic metre bin tomorrow!
On the plus side of PAPER it is much cheaper now to have a ream of paper…….i remember a few years ago that a pad have a nice cover and a stiff backing which after you had used all the paper you still had these 2 useless things to dispose of!
Cathy,
I can sympathize with you on those deadlines. Fortunately I usually have plenty of warning about my paperwork. That means I can plan ahead and allow time for the procrastination. I very seldom wait until the last minute.
I agree with you about shopping online. It saves an enormous amount of time.
“…a project that is even more onerous …”
Is there one? Even emptying the cat litter is better!
Lori, back when I used to actually work – before I just complained about it – I worked my way through college in the summers at a feed mill. The grain would fall to the bottom of what they called the boot and water would gather down there. They (the older guys who could now just complain about the work then send me to do it) would send me in there with a shovel to scoop it out. So, I am standing knee deep in rotten grain and water with a shovel!
I’d have paid you to be able to empty cat litter at that point!
Jean, Lori, what are the worst, nastiest jobs you’ve ever had?
Lori,
I just started looking at a reasonably complicated Sudoku. It made the paperwork look simple by comparison.
Conrad,
I worked in a factory during summer vacations when I was in college. It was hot and noisy, but not that bad. We were making business forms and there was a lot of variety. I liked the people. I still remember once when I was looking forward to the weekend and one of the women almost yelled, “Don’t wish your life away!” Great advice, at least as important as anything I learned in college.
Cathy in NZ-That’s so interesting. Conrad-You crack ME up.
I’ve never done paperwork. Tom does the finances. I was getting a job at Yale (name dropping) when Tom was in school. Chemistry Dept. he asked me what pH was. I said there’s PhD. He said “I’ll wash my own bottles.”
bikehikebabe,
Thanks for the chuckle.
Now if we could only locate the guy who invented paper, we could ……!
Raj Krishnaswamys last blog post..Thermal spray cash flow
The rest of the story:
The next day I saw the professor that wanted to wash his own bottles because I didn’t know what pH was. There were crowds of people on the street because Adlai Stevenson, who was running for President against Eisenhower, was in town.
Tom told me what to say to the prof. “pH is the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration.” I ran off so I didn’t get the job. tee hee
Edit: After I told the professor that, I ran off so I didn’t get the job.
bikehikebabe I can see the professor had absolutely no sense of humor……so you won and he lost IMHO
JEAN my gravatar doesn’t seem to be coming up…..????
Raj,
Sorry, I love books so I’d rather do paperwork than give up one of my great loves.
bikehikebabe,
It sounds as if you and the professor were not a good match. At least you found it out right away.
Cathy,
I noticed that. Is it coming up on other sites? When I put in bikehikebabe’s and rummuser’s on my account they came up right away. I could try doing it for you. You would have to respond to a conformation e-mail from them. Let me know.
i’ve send gravatar a question…..it seems to be something to do with ‘ratings’ of websites and I can’t see how to rectify it from there ‘help’ mode.
[...] Paperwork Sucks I told how I was getting all sorts of things done while procrastinating about doing some paperwork. [...]
Leave a Comment