When I have something that I need to get done because of a deadline, either my own or required by something or someone else, I can find so many other things to do instead of what I need to get done. It isn’t a matter of procrastination, which is a different form of avoidance. An example….I wanted to write this blogpost an hour ago. Instead I agreed to watch a show on television. I don’t watch television because I don’t have the attention span unless there is something else I need to do. Mind you I never sit idle. I worked all day at one job, drove to the cleaners, and then to the second job. I left work and headed to the gas station. I let the gas tank get to a pretty precarious level and then I fill it. I was putting that off but I don’t like to challenge myself in that arena. I drove home, parked and came upstairs and began baking a cake and biscotti. While I was in a flurry of activity, I had started writing in my head. Translating that into actual virtual writing took a bit of time.
Sometimes, I make a list and count the items and then organize them by importance. Sometimes I decide to alphabetize the list and then list them in reverse importance. Sometimes I write the list backwards (sdarwkcab) just to put off what I need to get done. Several months ago, I had a report due that was required by an attorney. It was important to my client. I hate writing reports. Instead that day, the spices in my cabinet caught my eye, actually both eyes. I realized, with horror, that some of them might have expired. I realized that I might have duplicates and could throw out the old ones. I did a google search and found out which ones lose their essence first and the shelf life of others. So for those who didn’t know this, some spices last four years but others only 1-2. Saved you a google search. You’re welcome. I took all the spices off the shelves and out of the drawer. I would agree that I have a lot of spices. I then cleaned the shelves, sorted through the spices and did the discard and then reorganized them both by height and alphabetically. It’s not a waste of time, even though to the untrained eye it might appear that way. I felt better, and the report then was written.
In many ways I am a point A to point B type of person. I live with a point A to point S and back to point J and then possibly to LMNOP. He is a meanderer. I have learned to slow down and take the long way. The first time we drove a long distance I was sure that I was going to celebrate a couple of birthdays during the time we were on the road. It just seemed so long and winding. I was waiting for the destination, per usual. Then I started to pay attention to realize that there were a lot of back roads and alternatives that my FHB knew. We ended up where we wanted to go, albeit slower than I might have considered.
Writing tends to be where I meander. Baking is as precise as I get with good results. Writing requires having blind faith in my own ability to let the words lead me to a satisfying end. Knowing when something is done is also a skill both in writing as in baking. To go off half-baked would leave some hungry for more or dissatisfied, and would make me seem flaky. I’m done.