It’s no fun having nothing to do. What’s fun is having something to do and not doing it.
—Mark Twain
Seizing the Moment
Years ago when I was still working I spent one whole Sunday taking a long walk. It was a perfect Spring day and I still remember it as one of the best days of my life. That evening I was rushing around getting things done before going to work the next day, when my husband said, “You’re just like those kids! They know they have a paper to write, but they wait until the last minute!”
I responded, “Yes, and the older I get, the more I realize how right those kids are. Why throw away precious moments just to get some work done.”
In fact, I got everything done that I needed to. I was energized and enjoyed doing it…the day had been well worth a last-minute rush. People make too big a deal about procrastination.
A Housewife’s Hamlet
This past week I came across a piece I wrote over twenty years ago, when I was procrastinating about housework. I eventually did everything I needed to do…I mean, we’re all still here. I can’t remember what I did on the apartment, of course, but the piece still tickles my funny bone and lifts my spirits. Maybe it won’t appeal to anyone else, but that doesn’t matter. There is no doubt…it was the best use of my time at that moment.
A Housewife’s Hamlet (With Apologies To Shakespeare)
Jean Browman, Creative Commons license.
“Go see Hamlet?” I said. “Oh, I don’t know. By the time we pay for the tickets and the baby-sitter….”My husband gave me a disappointed, that’s-not-the-girl-I-married look and said, “When we were going together you used to love Shakespeare.” He knows as well as I do that’s one argument I can never resist, and so we went.
I suppose I was hoping to return to my college days for just one evening, but instead the ghost scenes reminded me that I still had to make Halloween costumes for the kids. And when Marcellus said, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” I couldn’t help think of my refrigerator. I was beginning to wonder if I could ever rebridge the gap between my world and Shakespeare’s, when it finally dawned on me — Hamlet and I were kindred spirits now. There I was, sitting in the audience thinking of the disaster area I had to face when I returned home. (Susan is a great baby-sitter, but she’s as sloppy as the kids are.) And there he was, up on the stage saying,
“The time is out of joint; O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!”Clearly we had the same problem, Hamlet and I. We both had huge messes to clean up, and neither one of us was thrilled with the idea.
For the first time in my life I could identify with him. I had always loved Shakespeare’s use of words, but when I was an undergraduate I could never quite put myself in Hamlet’s shoes, no matter how hard I tried. For one thing, I could never understand why he spent so much time doubting his father’s ghost. Now the answer was obvious. Anyone who has ever arbitrated a quarrel between children knows you can’t believe every story you hear, no matter how plausible it sounds. Also, when I was an undergraduate I believed in action; I had little patience with Hamlet’s indecisive moping. Now it sometimes takes me hours on weekends to decide, “Yes, I really do have to get out of bed today.” Shakespeare suddenly amazes me with his understanding. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he was a housewife in disguise.
I suppose that was my main reaction that evening — surprise at Shakespeare’s insight. Certainly in the future whenever I start feeling the futility of my efforts, I’ll always remember Hamlet and his soliloquy. With a few minor changes it could have been written for me:
To do or not to do, that is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The pangs of conscience and an unkept house,Or to take a broom against the sea of clutter,
And by opposing end it? To dust, to sweep.
And if by sweeping we could end those thousand
Bits of lint that homes are heir to,
‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
To dust, to sweep, to scrub—
Perchance to scrub again. Aye, there’s the rub.
For when our backs are turned what kids may come
To renew once more our endless toil?
There’s the respect that makes calamity of such a life.
For who would bear the sight of such disorder:
The litter strewn about the floor,
The unemptied garbage, the unmade beds,
The piles of laundry in the corner, and
All those countless dishes which make a hell of home,
When she might her own heaven make
For a few hours’ work?
Who would risk the pains of gossip,
To be torn apart by neighbors’ tongues?
But for the curse that all wives face,
That every task today completed returns again
To haunt tomorrow, poisons the will, and
Makes us rather use that time we have
Than waste it all on efforts futile.
Thus foresight doth make laggards of us all,
And the native healthy hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought.
And so, valiant woman of zest and zeal,
With this foreglance her spirit wanes.
And lost forever is her will.After we had driven home and were walking up to the house, my husband said, “A penny for your thoughts.”
“I was just thinking that I love Shakespeare more than ever,” I said. “Thanks for insisting we go tonight.”
He stopped and smiled and kissed me.
“You’re still the girl I married,” he said.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him.
What About You?
Has procrastination ever been the best use of your time?
Wow, that is SO creative! 😉
Generally, I’m very much a procrastinator by nature.
There were times when I was still working that I would procrastinate on things I thought needed to be done to the point that it didn’t matter if they got done or not — which meant that they didn’t need to be done in the first place.
Other times, I would put off getting ready for a class because I just didn’t know how I was going to come up with a new way to present a topic I had to present every two years to the same group of people. I would all knotted up with anxiety wanting to come up with something new and, yet, unable to do it. Then at the very last, I would throw something together and it would be received as better than it had ever been done before — when I would have been putting the finishing touches on it the last half-hour before walking into the classroom.
The one good thing about procrastination these days is that there isn’t any chance of it getting me fired. 😉
Mike Goads last blog post..Recycled Tip – Think About The Audience That Reads Your Blog
Mike,
That’s happened to me too–the bit about wanting to come up with something different and not being able to do it until the last minute. And often the results are great. What’s happening, I think, is that our subconscious minds are working on the problem but our conscious minds can’t see the process. It can be nerve-wracking, but often the results are worth it. I’ve gradually learned to trust the process and try not to get too tense.
😉 I agree, it’s a lot easier when we don’t have a job at risk.
I tend to like to plan ahead. But lately, I am allowing myself to do things just when I need to. I give time for inspiration to come in. Instead of being in a rush to finish things quickly, I allow myself time for breaks. I find that I am much happier as a result.
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Unlock The Secrets to Your Soul
My problem is precisely that. My natural tendency is to procrastinate but I simply cannot afford to in my present stage of life. Like you and Mike, some of the best work that I have done have inevitably come when I have worked my you know what off at the last moment to finish a project. More exciting that way and as exhausting as well.
A very nice post. I am sure that Shakespeare will be smiling!
rummusers last blog post..How People Get Together.
Evelyn,
I love to plan ahead too…that’s why my system works for me. I make a Possibility List way in advance, so by the time the pressure has built enough for me to get started I have plenty of time for the inspiration to come. In fact, my subconscious has already generated a lot of ideas just by seeing the item on the Possibility List for so long. I’ll talk more about this next week.
rummuser,
I still get that rush of excitement when I’m working on a challenging project, even when there are no deadlines. I get hooked by the problem and simply want to see it through.
I’m glad you liked the post. 🙂
one of my usual comments……it depends!
in about 1990 I became ill and my life was thrown into a complete knot where even the simpliest thing might take weeks to deal with…..one my friends would hear me say “well in xyz time I will do abc” and she would think to herself “oh about this time next year!”
so in the end it was easy to say that I will do abc whenever I am able to……and it’s become almost a catch phase for me.
2004 health issues dramatically changed….a thoroughly terrible thing at the time happened BUT in hindsight it was like a blessing in disguise. I am now much, much better and regular meds keep me ‘going places’…..
about 1/4 into last year when I realised that I was now living on my own (no flatmates around) that I could actually make some decisions on the ‘treasures’ of mine & the various ex-flatmates who had failed to take things with them.
between the 2 semesters I decided that I would get rid of many things but finally the time was against me sooooo only the visible/easy to remove things went. I called in the local Sallies pickup van and much of some bigger stuff went!
some of the garbage though just wilted in the weathers outside but it wasn’t harming anyone so it all just sat there….come Summer (this one) and it’s been all ‘go’ …..my friend from above helped me really kickstart it one morning with some craft items that I thought she might like…..and what we decided was beyond it’s use by date was bagged for binning!
Slowly I have gone through the house and basement and removed said items to the outside front yard (out of view of street)…….a few weeks ago I decided to ‘regroup’ as I need to be tidied up before Sem1 which starts March2. I spent a week thoughtful ‘looking at Treasures’ then going out finally buying a new2me couch and putting the old one out in the ‘heap’
OK I had reached a point…….so I booked a 6 cubic metre bin and it arrived last Wednesday. It’s going tomorrow and the ‘heap in yard’ is in it and various other items from around the house….
my friend from above is actually away overseas…..but I’m sure she will be thrilled at the achievement I managed to even though I started thinking about it about a YEAR ago!
For the rest of this year………the treasures that got uprooted from their respective ‘hiding’ spaces that I have decided to keep meantime…..will be seriously looked and thought about etc.
And next Summer, I will consider what else of my treasures I don’t need. I don’t think I will need to get in another jumbo bin BUT time will tell 🙂
cathy
(let’s hope I have managed to deal to Gravatar problems….I emailed them and followed the instructions they suggested)
I’m not sure. I don’t think of myself as a procrastinator – more as someone who does as much as possible of what they enjoy and gets the other stuff out of the way as quickly as possible.
Maybe this is a sneaky way of being a procrastinator(?)
Evans last blog post..Temper Tantrums: responding with soft words or shouting?
Oh how I admire you, Cathy in NZ. I’m still amuck in all my stuff. I love everything that I try to get out of here. I joined Freecycle to put my treasures up for grabs, but I’m only taking other people’s treasures, usually better than mine.
Did you throw out your photographs? That one must have sentimental value.
having no car – makes ‘freecycle’ quite useful for getting rid of things! although sometimes I do ‘see’ things that might well be useful 🙂
i have slowly loaded my photographs via my scanner onto my computer and then put them in a Picassa album online. One of the presents I requested for Xmas was medium sized photo frames and as part of ‘hey I’m alone now soooooooo I can……” was to have my photos out on show. I have a few more I want to put in frames and was thinking that the hallway wall might make an excellent gallery 😉
Some people do not believe in procrastination. Instead, they believe in perpetually-changin priorities and transitions.
Liara Coverts last blog post..13 Illusions to shake up your awareness
Cathy,
Wow! Good for you! That was a big job. That’s the kind of job it takes me a long time to get myself psyched up for.
I’m glad your gravatar is working now. 🙂
bikehikebabe,
I recycle my “treasures” through an organization that comes by to get them. So I’m not tempted to add to my collection.
Evan,
I’m like you in that I try to arrange my life so I mostly do the things I love. But sometimes a big job comes along that takes a major commitment to do. Those take longer for me to tackle…and while I’m “procrastinating” I’m getting myself psyched up to do it.
Liara,
That’s a valid way of looking at it too. In these two examples I clearly had different priorities than doing routine chores. With the paperwork example from last week I was going through the transition to tackling a big job.
I’m not a procrastinator. I’ll tell you why in a little while.
Scotts last blog post..The Results Are In
Just kidding. Procrastination the BEST use of my time? Actually, I think so. This may sound lame, but I guess my whole life up to a year ago I was procrastinating. Knowing I needed to change but just didn’t want to yet. I think, with all of that procrastination I have learned so much more about me and life than I would have had I not procrastinated.
That almost sounds silly, I know, but I really believe it.
Scotts last blog post..The Results Are In
I’ve always been a procrastinator. Dang, Jean, thanks for someone finally working out why that’s OK!
…and what took you so long? 🙂
Conrads last blog post..The Puzzle of February 12th
Scott,
It doesn’t sound silly to me. It sounds as if you needed a lot of time to figure out what you really want in life.
Conrad,
Actually, I figured it out a long time ago. It’s just that I never got around to telling other people. You know how that goes…. 😉
Jean, you must be procrastinating. The NEW Cheerfulmonk is usually out by now.
bikehikebabe,
When do you think the new posts are published? The next one is sitting there waiting for the regular time to arrive.
You might be getting confused about my new publishing date for Transforming Stress. Those posts used to be published late Saturday night. I’ve moved the date up to Thursday night/Friday morning.
Yes, I’m confused. WHATEVER! (see this week’s StressToPower)
bikehikebabe,
Yes! That’s a great use of the term…to indicate it’s not a big deal either way. 🙂
i cannot relate to hamlet on the housekeeping level… i have been a minimalist all my life. i love clean, spare, no clutter, no stuff! you (or a kid) would have to work hard to make it messy. there’s just so little to mess up. yet if find it very cosy.
but i have to tell you…
this post is genius!!!!
you are so talented. this should be published somewhere other than here!
cheers little shakespearian monk,
tammy j