Procrastination

If I want to solve a problem, one method I use is to write a blog post about it. This method has one major benefit. It allows me to procrastinate.

There’s something over there I should be doing, but for whatever reason I’m just not drawn to it. Why?

In this case, the thing over there is online study.

I’ve decided to set up a regime of online study, free wherever possible and paid for if warranted. I’ve already worked out the logistics – best spot for the new computer monitor so I have room to take notes, whether to take notes on A5, A4 or A3 sized paper (A3 won) and best time of day (mornings, of course). I’ve even taken an example for a test drive thanks to Deakin University Online.

This is a new way of studying for me, and it’s taking a bit of getting used to.

Clearly, I relied heavily on the externally imposed time frames and deadlines of formal training. Thankfully, I will be using that to my benefit for some online training, but that course doesn’t start until 6 July – a Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies through Swinburne Online. It won’t make me a teacher, but hopefully will be useful for a future as a tutor.

I was going to start another short course yesterday, but I looked at the weather report for the week ahead and decided it would be the only day I could work in the garden. It was a great day.

I was then going to start today, but have so far spent precious hours working on this and other drafts of possible blog posts; got a bit of momentum going and didn’t want to waste it. My bullet journal kindly suggests some other procrastination tasks: Cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing.

Starting anything is usually the hardest part. Once momentum comes into play, things get easier. I learnt years ago that a useful strategy is to set up everything and then not start. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it has worked time and time again. For example, I took a few moments while in the kitchen to set up ingredients and utensils ready for cooking. I’m now back at the laptop, but I know that it will be easier to do that next step in the kitchen with everything ready to go.

I even tried that last night for today’s online study. I set up the monitor on the table. But I realise now that I didn’t set up everything. Where’s the notepaper? Where’s the pen? The table hasn’t even been fully cleared.

That now done, I can get into the kitchen and do that cooking.

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