On Procrastination
Anna Deavere Smith’s process is rigorous. She believes in discipline of the body and mind and spirit. As I was writing an essay about her this weekend, I was particularly aware of the powers of procrastination… (I launched myself in a SCARF-reorganization project to postpone writing…among other things. And I have a lot of scarves.) In her Letters to a Young Artist, she says: “I am in awe of the power of procrastination. I am so in awe of it that if I have something I have to do, I try to program myself to do it so quickly that procrastination cannot possibly set in. At one point I was afraid of not fulfilling my commitment to swim every day that I slept in my bathing suit! I would sleep in my suit, through on a swim parka at five a.m., and, without thinking about it, head to my car and off to the pool.” And that was at 5 a.m.! Every morning … Hem.
Don’t you think that there is something as “productive procrastination?” For example, I love making phone calls and returning emails in order to procrastinate a particular project. But even then, it’s strategic - I am letting the project percolate in my mind a bit before starting to work on it. Perhaps you were doing the same with your article.
Comment by josh — 19 December 2007 @ 9:21 am