I am such a loser. (and let the comments flow…)
Why do I put things off? That has probably been my most damaging weakness over the last… um. I’ll figure it out later.
I just responded to a client’s simple question with an answer that took 1 minute to compose. This would’ve been fantastic if the client didn’t email me 12 DAYS AGO. I would slap my forehead if I weren’t holding a PB&J sandwich. Too bad I’m at work, because I’d love to post a picture of that sandwich smeared on my head for you. I deserve it.
Another dumb case of procrastination was when our carpet had a ripple in the great room. I believe this is from friends taking Wii Bowling a little too seriously.
note: unlike in the bowling alley, it is not necessary to run toward the TV and then screech to a halt to throw the “ball” in Wii Bowling. A simple flick of the wrist will do, even if the other hand is buried in a bag of Crunchy Cheetos. Or so i hear.
Well, despite the warnings of Cool Granddad on CM’s side, we didn’t get the ripple fixed immediately and waited oh about a year and a half. By then, the ripples had spread to every room in the house and the repair cost was a lot higher than it would’ve been for the original ripple. (smash PB&J on forehead now)
Another home-related gaffe: our homeowners’ association sent us a packet of slips to remind us to pay the dues every 3 months. I put that packet aside, thinking I would get to it later. Two $25.00 late fees later, I think I’ve finally caught on.
As originally mentioned, I can be terrible with emails. One email sat in my inbox for an entire YEAR before responding. Of course, by then, the return address was invalid and one more person has ‘Cool Dad’ on their list of people to hate.
So, please let my procrastination be a lesson to you. Whether it’s an email to reply to, a bill, or a project – do it now!! Take care of it and enjoy the satisfaction of being a thoughtful, responsible human being. Plus, peanut butter and jelly are a pain to get out of your eyebrow hair.
This post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday.
(photo: iirraa)
HA!!! We’re right there with you.
What’s funny is that when I do something on time, or, just right when I get it, I feel like an overenthusiastic geek. Late = loser, and often out a bit of money. Early = geek. We can’t win!
Hey I’m right there with you. I have a baby afghan I started making when my nephew was born – he is 21 and it’s not yet finished
For bills and such (things that can cost you big if you forget them), I use Microsoft Outlook’s calendar feature and I post reminders that pop up and tell me to do something. As soon as I receive a bill, if it doesn’t need to be paid immediately, it goes into Outlook – even then I usually make the reminder for a day or two early so I can still procrastinate a little bit
amy – yes, responsibility is lame!
kim – good idea! we are Google calendar users. it would be so easy to put those in. if it weren’t for automatic bill payment, our credit score would be in the negative!
I’m with you, man. And every time I finally send that e-mail I think “why didn’t I do this two weeks ago?”
I’m not sure what causes it, but it happens to me a lot. Ironically, I spent about fifteen minutes before I read this post clearing my to-do list of a ton of those type things.
I have the same problem! thanks for the reminder.
I have the same problem! thanks for the reminder.
chad – for me, my client is for a side project. for you, it’s your livelihood. cool points for being able to pull it off!
mom – thanks for stopping by!
i wonder what a list would look like if i made one of things i put off, and things i jump to right away.
eeks!
i think it would reveal a little more about me than i want to know…but maybe should know.
Very funny post, but definite truth. All the things I don’t do tend to pile up and weigh me down. When I just do it right away, everything is more enjoyable!
tam – you should definitely make that list! eventually.
audra – i hope we can both get better about it.
God is telling me something.
I am the biggest procrastinator of life and have been putting off my summer reading assignments for school. I’ve been trying to sort of ‘forget’ until I REALLY need to get going. But I can’t get it out of my mind and now with you posting this, I’m thinking that time is now. Bleh.
raq – God is blogging through us. Sweet!
Ugh, I am so guilty of this! Audra said it so well – it weighs me down. I have an email at the bottom of my inbox right now that’s been there since October. At first, I didn’t reply because I’d just had a baby. But then it just got to be so far past the point that it almost seems awkward to reply now!
(This is a personal email from an old friend who got in touch with me after our class reunion. I’d like to think I’d have replied well before now if it were a work email…then again, I know myself…)
pq – yes, the email i let sit for a year was from a good friend trying to establish contact again. i stink.
I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! I’VE COME TO REALIZE THAT PROCRASTINATION COSTS! SOMETIMES IT COSTS MONEY FOR A LATE FEE. SOMETIMES IT COSTS TIME WHEN YOU PUT THINGS OFF AND THEY GET WORSE. WORST OF ALL, IT SOMETIMES COSTS FRIENDSHIPS. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE I’VE LOST TOUCH WITH BECAUSE I DECIDE TO CONTACT THEM LATER! SAD! BUT THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND REMINDER TO DO IT NOW!
I know I’m late in responding to this post, but I didn’t procrastinate, I just found your blog
Too funny about the Wii bowling, as my husband wants to replace the carpeting with wood floors and put a “bowling lane” in the floor for when we Wii bowl. Um…no.
I’m a procrastinator too. I’ve had a too long curtain rod propped in the corner of my living room for 3 months now..staring at it right now…I’m sure there’s a better place for it, but sure can’t think of where that might be.