I Am the Self Proclaimed Queen of Procrastination

It is my firm belief that when you do something well, you should really step up and claim the title. I have several titles in my life at this point. For example, I am:

• The Most Wonderful Mother in the World (totally self proclaimed and unsupported by any outside sources);
• The Bomb (Thanks to my 2 year old nephew Jeremiah);
• The Best Aunt Ever;
• The Empress of Laundry;
• Head Coffee Whore (My hands shake from over indulgence even as I type this);
• The Office Goddess;
• The Princess of Beat it to Death; and last but not least
• The Queen of Procrastination.

I have come to realize that part of my problem is that I have a very difficult time saying no to people. I worry way too much about what others think of me and therefore this makes me out to be the world's biggest people pleaser (yet another title). Do you need a babysitter? Just call me. Someone to throw a babyshower/wedding shower/housesit/walk your dog/type your will? Sure. Any time. Let me just drop everything and schedule it in. However, because of this, I often find myself stuck being obligated to do things that I really have no desire to do. Then, instead of just biting the bullet and getting it done, I make excuses and put it off until the absolute last minute, when I am then stuck rushing around trying to make sure it gets done. I did this as a child, as a teenager, and now as an adult.

Unfortunately, I also have a tendency to carry this over to work projects. You would be positively amazed at the number of small tasks I can come up with around the office to put off writing a letter or making a phone call. All of a sudden, the plants desperately need to be watered, or the coffee pot rinsed out and a new pot made. Silly little chores that I will come up with, all to put off taking care of something that will only take a couple of minutes and will allow me to feel better once it's done. Occasionally, I will allow one of my other personalities to take over and firmly instruct myself to just do it, whatever it may be. However, this requires much concentration and the cooperation of said alter personality.

Last night, as I sat at home working on a project until 2:00 a.m., I found myself delaying starting the project because I firmly believed in that minute that I needed to start a load of laundry. Did I? Was I out of clothing to wear today to work? Was the world going to end if I didn't get up and dump towels in the washer? Was there even a full load of towels to wash? NO! NO! NO! NO! Even as I sit here and type this, I am putting off about four different things that I should be doing and that I'll end up rushing around trying to complete before the day is over, making me feel much more stressed than I probably need to.

Why do I do this? I have absolutely no clue. Procrastination is far more harmful that it is helpful. The momentary distraction that I get from doing it, does not outweigh the benefits of just getting off my lazy butt and finishing what needs to be finished. And so, keeping this in mind, I am going to now quit using this blog as procrastination and write that pissy letter to opposing counsel threatening dire legal consequences. After all, what could be more rewarding than that??