procrastination |prə(ʊ)ˌkrastɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n|
noun [ mass noun ] the action of delaying or postponing something: your first tip is to avoid procrastination.
PHRASES procrastination is the thief of time proverb if you delay doing something, it will take longer to do later on: maybe TV and procrastination really are the thieves of time.
transition |tranˈzɪʃ(ə)n, trɑːn-, -ˈsɪʃ-noun [ mass noun the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another: students in transition from one programme to another
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from French, or from Latin transitio(n-), from transire ‘go across’.
You know both these words. I do, too, but are you as aware as I am of the link between procrastination and transition? One of the chief reasons for (some of) my procrastination is my dislike of transition. I hate leaving off one thing and starting another. My reluctance is worst at bedtime. Living alone as I do, there is no one to tell (nag) me to stop watching a mindless television show or to stop puttering at something that can wait till morning, and come to bed, for Heaven’s sake. And so I sit, staring, or else trying to make a list, or re-reading something but not taking it in and putting off the effort required to undress, do teeth, etc. and go to bed.
And now there’s Facebook. I’m sure I’m not the only one who sits there looking at some useless or prurient list (Child Stars and What They Look Like Now; Five Things You Should Never Eat ), ripping my face open with yawns, groaning and shuddering with weariness, and still waiting – for what?
Of course, for a writer it’s even worse. Bed is not what you are avoiding; writing is. I was going to say a blank sheet of paper but that is no longer true, not with computers. Most people create on an electronic keyboard. Some dictate to a machine, not to a human being. I know a few writers who still write longhand. One friend has a beloved Montblanc fountain pen that he says brings out the best in him. He’s published but not award-winning. Maybe he needs to upgrade his pen.
Right now I am procrastinating. I am not writing what I should be writing – the next assignment in my screenwriting course.
This is another use of a blog for which I am grateful. You should be, too.