Procrastinators Anonymous
Brian has medical meetings in Hawaii. Hawaii! Isn't that great? We thought so, which is why I decided to tag along with him this year.In a big family like ours, there are a lot of things that need to happen when we leave. The amount of prepping and planning and scheduling and coordinating is overwhelming to me.
I'm an expert procrastinator. Here's how you do it:
1. Make a list. All good procrastinators make lists. Lots of them. Write them in different places, a mixture of online and old-school paper works best. Leave the house and forget all the lists at home. Do your best to remember everything...forget almost all of it. But enjoy your new towels and candle you got while aimlessly wandering around Target.
2. That miscellaneous pile of papers on the counter? Go through it all right now. Never mind the fact that it's been sitting there for months. It's a definite priority.
3. Find something to watch on Netflix while you get things around the house done. Become so engrossed in the show that you don't do any of the things you were supposed to do.
4. Decide that five days before you leave is the perfect time to reorganize the closets in your home. It's also a great time to rake up all the leaves in your yard. Act surprised when this is taking all day long, and your lists of to-dos are not getting any smaller.
5. Remember that your leaf blower is also a vacuum, and after 4 years of owning this machine, now is the time to figure out how to use it. Search for the extra parts in your garage, spend an hour watching YouTube videos, and get that leaf vacuum ready to go! Vacuum leaves. Enjoy this so much that you spend way too much of your diminishing time vacuuming the leaves. Ugh!
6. Start to panic. It's one day before departure, and there is still so much to be done! Rewrite a master list this time, and get busy doing all the things that are truly necessary (leave the leaves and the closets alone!) Don't stop. Don't eat. Don't get interrupted. Just go.
You did it! Well, actually, I did. Are you also a procrastinator like me? If so, you may recognize many of the steps. If not, kudos to you.
I don't love procrastination, and I wish I didn't do it. But, when things don't go according to plan, I'm good. Spontaneity comes easily to me. Maybe the two go hand in hand?
For instance, the day we were to leave, my son woke me up saying, "the car won't start." Oh boy. That's definitely not what we planned or needed. It's ok. What is the use of being angry? We got it towed to the auto shop, and it will hopefully be finished and working again soon.
When our flight was delayed out of Dallas, we missed the connecting flight and had to stay an unplanned night in California. It's not awesome, and I'd rather be in Hawaii, but it's alright. I think I'm pretty good at rolling with the punches.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not skipping through the airport sprinkling butterflies and rainbows, but I'm ok, and my attitude is still good.
The past 24 hours have given me time to observe people, and how they respond to messed up plans. Even though I'm a procrastinator, I'm quite content being the person who rolls with the punches instead of the person who throws the punches.
