Monday Musings – Procrastination

With the CPA out-of-town this weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to get a lot of stuff checked off the old “to do” list.  I planned on giving the upstairs a complete overhaul: the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen and the bedroom all needed a little TLC.  Okay, a lot of TLC.  I was going to wrap all of the Christmas presents and have them ready for packing.  All three loads of the laundry were going to be washed, neatly folded, and put away.  And somewhere in there I was going to relax a little bit since it was the weekend.

So how much of this list did I get done?  Hmm… none of it.  Well, that’s not completely true.  I washed the dishes in the sink and straightened up the living room and a load of laundry is in the dryer right now.  But other than that… nothing.  It’s not like I wasn’t busy either.  We had a church Christmas party on Saturday that took most of my afternoon and evening.  The dog went to the groomers, packages were mailed, and Christmas shopping was completed.  I even fit in a lunch with a friend on Saturday.  So where did the time go?   Why do I still have this huge list of to do items that will have to be  fit into the last three hours I have before the CPA gets home?

It seems like this happens on a regular basis.  I put things off until the last possible minute and then rush around trying to get them done.  I’m usually able to accomplish the project, but not without a lot of grumbling and wishing that I had done it differently.  I have the best of intentions too – there is usually a lot of planning involved, sometimes I even write out a schedule.  But it is rarely followed.  

I think I have to accept the fact that I am, and always have been, a procrastinator.  (I read somewhere that admitting you have a problem is half the battle.)   As ineffective and as frustrating as it is, I tend to procrastinate until the very last second and then hurry to fit it all in.  I’ve done this with homework assignments, weight loss goals, and definitely household chores.

Why is that?  Why is it so appealing to put things off even though I know it would be so much better to just get the project done?  Is it the rush of adrenaline that accompanies my last minute dash to the finish line? Or is it merely a matter of life-long habits?  And the real question is: can I change?