By The Wiz
I need to pack. I need to clean. I need to plan. I have so much to do to get my house ready to sell, it’s not even funny. (Not the house I live, in, the one in Utah. Please keep up.)
So, naturally, I am sitting in front of my computer with a tub of raw cookie dough eating it with a spoon. Hmmm…..
I am playing games on facebook and watching strange YouTube videos. I am listening to the wind howl and fixating on the fact that it will probably kill my strawberries.
I am in serious avoidance mode.
What do you do when you are avoiding? How do you make yourself stop? See, now I can totally count blogging as being productive, because, clearly, I need to check in often to get your advice.
(Hon, if you’re reading this, I’m totally lying. I’m being VERY PRODUCTIVE. Truly.)
I watch TV when I am avoiding things. Like a 5 hour “Parking Wars” marathon on Saturday when I should have been painting. Of course, I was sick and that was my main excuse. But those TV show marathons totally suck me in.
Comment #1 by LisaCApril 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pmI work to avoid things — not the work with deadlines, not the work that produces income, but the work I want to do, the fascinating kind of work that drew me into my business in the first place. It’s like a drug. Rent due tomorrow? Need to send out invoices or risk eviction? Great! Hand me a reel of microfilm and let me get lost in the past …
Comment #2 by Ardis ParshallApril 30th, 2008 at 2:28 pmMMMMMMM…. Cookie dough. Sounds good.
Comment #3 by lucyApril 30th, 2008 at 2:35 pmI am the avoidence queen.
Especially with things like packing, moving, housework…work that brings in money…
oh, yeah, I have this paper sitting here I’m supposed to revise and send out today. Not getting done. Instead I’m here reading funny posts and dreaming of cookie dough.
I read. And the only way for me to stop avoiding whatever it is I’m avoiding is by finishing a book. On the plus side, I’m a pretty fast reader. On the down side, there are a limitless supply of books just a short drive away at the library. Needless to say, I pray for self control and more drive to accomplish everything I need to on a daily basis. Sometimes hourly. Okay, sometimes minute by minute.
Comment #4 by mellocelloApril 30th, 2008 at 2:36 pmMy Hubby thinks I’m NUTS for eating cookie dough raw….. all due to his paranoid mother
Anywho…. you avoid about the same as me. Sometimes if I feel overly guilty I organize something assinine!
Comment #5 by AprilApril 30th, 2008 at 3:25 pmI get sick. I am not faking it. But the stress literally makes me so sick that I can hardly function. When we moved back to the U.S., I was so stressed that I got a bladder infection (a serious problem with me). I had the flu and was very ill.
Comment #6 by TiffanyApril 30th, 2008 at 3:35 pmI clean silly and irrelevant things, like screen doors, ingnoring large piles of laundry and a sink full of dishes.
Comment #7 by Heather O.April 30th, 2008 at 3:56 pmI blog. I write emails. I watch TV. I look out the window. I walk around aimlessly, and hope that somebody will knock on my door, giving me an excuse for avoiding the thing that shouldn’t be avoided. I avoid until it’s out of control, and then…
…in a crazy-like adrenaline attack, I sprint into action and accomplish everything and anything that needed to be done for weeks and weeks but never got done because I avoided it until the very last minute knowing full well that the adrenaline attack would come and I would finish it all in one crazy day of crazy cleaning/paying/performing/errand’ing’/calling/shopping/laundering where I absolutely will not allow anything to distract me and I even forget to eat because I’m so focused on accomplishment as if my very life depended upon it which sometimes it does because the guilt will start to eat me alive if I don’t do something about it eventually which is usually around the time the things HAVE to be done no questions asked.
And then I collapse and avoid for another week or so.
Comment #8 by cherylApril 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pmI read so much that even when I clean I stop every time I run into something in print and read it before moving on. I oughta put eye drops in to blur my vision when I really need to get stuff done around here. Knowing me though I bet I’d just throw on an audio book.
Cookie dough and the Internet sounds like a great alternative avoidance activity.
Comment #9 by JamiApril 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pmI don’t need to be in avoidance mode to eat cookie dough.
My neat freak part comes out when I’m stressed. Organize, reorganize, and donate, donate, donate! Maybe I should come over? Somehow I feel better the more I give away.
Comment #10 by AndiApril 30th, 2008 at 4:41 pmHere’s one for you - I work on church stuff to avoid cleaning the house…. Hey, that has to be a good excuse right??? ok.. maybe only if I’m working on something productive and NOT looking to make it productive. You really can over do it. I’m a Type “A” personality at church, but not at home.
Then there is shopping, editing photos, surfing the Net… my problem is I can typically find just about anything else to do other than what I could have done.
Except… please keep the DVD’s alphabetized… PLEEEEEASE!
Comment #11 by MommomApril 30th, 2008 at 6:31 pmCheryl,
ROFL! That was a perfect description of how I operate! I work better last minute. I am also better able to weed out the unimportant tasks. If I have seemingly endless time to complete a task I will over analyze and over do. Then I will get frustrated and tired of the project and either quit before it’s finished or do a crappy job. But last minute? My organizational and time management skills become like a super power! Speaking of which, I should be doing laundry and packing my family for a trip tomorrow, but it’s only 8:45. I won’t feel the panic until 10:30.
And yes, Andi, getting rid of stuff feels SO good!
Comment #12 by solApril 30th, 2008 at 7:45 pm“So, naturally, I am sitting in front of my computer with a tub of raw cookie dough eating it with a spoon.”
Definitely one of the funniest lines I’ve read in a while.
How do I stop avoiding?
I sleep and hope the feeling is gone when I wake up.
Comment #13 by RayApril 30th, 2008 at 7:53 pm“So, naturally, I am sitting in front of my computer with a tub of raw cookie dough eating it with a spoon. Hmmm…..”
My only question about this is - why bother with a spoon? Just stick your face in there. That way you can go ahead and pack the spoon.
Comment #14 by SueApril 30th, 2008 at 8:19 pmI make a to-do list when I’m avoiding ACTUAL work. Of course, it’s in my head, so that I don’t have a physical list of things I need to do.
Okay, that’s not true. I actually currently have a list on my fridge. Which has been the for, like, a week. I have gotten a lot of things marked off, but the rest I look at and think “Oh, that’s not really THAT important.”
And then I get on the computer and turn on the TV (at the same time - sucking up the electricity) and ignore everything - except the baby. She’s pretty loud.
Comment #15 by Erin MarieApril 30th, 2008 at 8:24 pmWill somebody please come over and wash the clothes and pack the bags for me? I’ll make you homemade caramel cinnamon or orange rolls with yummy cream cheese frosting. Really. Come right now and I’ll start mixing the dough.
Comment #16 by solApril 30th, 2008 at 9:02 pmI majored in avoidance, thus the explanation for the state of my bedroom. Papers ready for the attorney tomorrow? No, but I made all my moves on Scrabbulous and created an awesome piece of flair. Birthday invitations put together so I can mail them out tomorrow? Nyet, but we made sure to head over to Baskin-Robbins for the 31cent cones tonight! Scriptures read? Obviously not, but I’ve already finished two novels this week.
Good luck with the packing. That’s why I married a teacher. He’s home early enough to pack three boxes for every one I managed!
Comment #17 by SallyGirlApril 30th, 2008 at 9:03 pmNo, really people. I’m not joking. And I’m a great baker.
Comment #18 by solApril 30th, 2008 at 9:03 pmI blog (that’s why my blog is called my procrastination corner) and read other blogs and before blogs I shopped online or did random projects on the computer. I also read books. Normally I’m avoiding cleaning so when the house gets unavoidable I attack it.
Comment #19 by ErikaApril 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pmI read blogs. I update the finances. Sometimes I do “good” things, but not the ones I really need to do. Anything that I report on to anyone outside my family, I do. If it’s dishes, I’ll do almost anything first. Sigh. I’m working on it.
Comment #20 by Mrs. MApril 30th, 2008 at 10:08 pmOh the computer. And then there’s some stuff on the computer and then… well, you get it. Unfortunately it’s getting to the point that I’m avoiding doing things on the computer (updating my blog) with other things on the computer (reading other blogs) when will it end?
Comment #21 by Alison WonderlandApril 30th, 2008 at 10:59 pmGood morning. I did one load of laundry last night, which never made it to the dryer (lazy laundry!). I did study my scriptures for a while, and then promptly fell asleep. Two more loads of laundry to go plus packing. Oh, and I probably need to rewash to load from last night because it sat too long. I know I’m avoiding when personal prayer and scripture study make it to the top of my list without an effort.
Comment #22 by solMay 1st, 2008 at 6:41 amTo help myself not avoid things, I’ll play little games. I will set the time for 15 minutes and race around like a crazy person to accomplish things and then reward myself with 45 minutes of reading or blogging. Then repeat. Eating raw cookie dough? I make cookies for my husband and so he doesn’t eat too many cookies I roll the dough into balls and freeze it to make later. But I end up eating the frozen dough balls, oh yum!
Comment #23 by LCMMay 1st, 2008 at 7:24 amsol-
Comment #24 by cherylMay 1st, 2008 at 8:51 amWhat is it about procrastination that makes us more productive? I’m still trying to figure it all out…
story of my life.
Comment #25 by beccaMay 1st, 2008 at 10:06 amAvoidance is my friend.
Comment #26 by SarahMay 1st, 2008 at 10:14 amI’ll tell you what my realtor told me.
“Get busy!! You have a lot to do!! I don’t know how you’ll get it all done. You should be doing nothing but getting that house ready to sell.”
She would even come by and check on my work. I painted nearly every inch of the house and even with help from friends I felt manic. Hubby was already gone to Australia so that left all the packing as well. Lucky me.
(Sometimes I would picture being on the airplane. Free of the burden of my house stress.)
Being the crowned Queen of Procrastination it saved me to have her words echoing through my mind. Her urgency played a huge part in getting me out of the chair and into the work.
So get going!! And good luck!
Comment #27 by KelliMay 1st, 2008 at 4:58 pmKelli, you’ve missed your calling: life coach/real estate agent. Think of the lives you could change, the houses you could sell!
Comment #28 by JamiMay 1st, 2008 at 5:04 pm