The Vine: January 31, 2002
Three times in the last two days, I have heard the expression “I’d rather be lucky than good.” What does that mean? Why is it better to be lucky than good? I didn’t know who else to ask.
D
Dear D,
I think it means that luck will get you a lot farther in life than skill. As good as you could ever get at something — your career, a sport, whatever — it won’t matter if you’ve got bad luck, because luck doesn’t care how good you are.
Of course, it works the other way, too, so I don’t know how much credence I’d give that philosophy.
Dear Sars, you rock.
Well, you knew that, of course. I’m writing to you to ask about…procrastination. I am the biggest procrastinator I know. I can find a thousand things to do other than the things I NEED to do. Even when the things I need to do are things I like…I still procrastinate on them. If I were still in a dead-end office job, I could keep lying to my bosses and scooting by, no problem, but I’m back in school, and I really really want to do well. And when I can get the work done, I am. But I always seem to find a website to read (like yours, of course) or a novel that’s just grabbing me, or anything else. I guess I just don’t get motivated until it’s too late, and the adrenaline kicks in.
It’s actually starting to interfere with my relationship, as my partner works during the day, when I am busy procrastinating, and then we can’t spend time together at night, when I am rushing to do everything at the last minute. I’ve been putting my friends off and being a big flake, and it’s messing with my self-esteem. Don’t get me wrong, I get the things done that I need to — I just feel like I’m too old to be pulling all-nighters again and being so silly. I try scheduling my time, and making lists, and asking productive friends how they keep motivated, but so far it’s just not working. I’d like to go to bed at night with a feeling of accomplishment, rather than dreaming of unchecked to-do lists.
Please help, ’cause exams are coming up,
No Time Like Tomorrow
Dear No Time,
I’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth repeating — you procrastinate because, if you don’t start something, you can’t do badly on it or fuck it up in any way. It’s all still ahead of you, full of potential, whatever “it” is — a paper, a chore, your taxes, you name it. And denial is part of it, too, particularly when whatever you’ve procrastinated on is an unpleasant or difficult task. If you don’t start, you won’t have to finish. If you don’t start, you won’t have to deal. That’s why people put things off.
But procrastination is a habit like any other, and in order to break yourself of it, you have to form new habits to take its place. Force yourself to do things on time. Make detailed to-do lists — and I mean detailed, every single element of every single task in itemized form. Divide your day into one- or two-hour blocks and designate an activity for each block, even if it’s “relaxing” or “watching Buffy.” Set a regular schedule for yourself each day of the week, and stick to it even if you don’t “have to,” because you do have to. You have to re-train yourself to prioritize and deal with what needs dealing with.
I mean, you won’t wake up one fine sunny morning and discover that you’ve magically become all orderly and Zen about managing your time — but that’s exactly the point. You have to recognize that it’s your nature to procrastinate, and you have to work against that nature. When you feel yourself procrastinating, stop. When you want to avoid a task, do it anyway.
In other words, the only way to learn to do it is…to do it.
Tags: rando
