Plate-Spinning, Project Planning, and Productive Procrastination
A few months ago, I was all fired up about my Plate-Spinning concept. I even set up a blog on my home computer to help organize the info into something resembling a book. I talked to a friend about developing supportive software applications. Then something happened.
Something … <cue ominous music>
Procrastinative.*
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When we become procrastinative, we lose momentum. When we lose momentum, our projects start to stop. They spin slower, and start to wobble. Increasingly unstable, they eventually fall off their axis, and tumble to the ground. Kersplat.
It’s very sad when we procrastinate on our very own productivity projects, causing them to go kersplat.
To combat this depressive kersplatting trend, I’m taking it upon myself to implement new Plate-Spinning Project Planning Strategies. Sounds official and impressive, doesn’t it?
It isn’t all that impressive, though; I’ll just be working out how to plan the projects I’m going to start/restart, in a plate-spinning context. The idea is not just to plan it for myself, but to develop the system so that others can use it.
Why bother with all that? Well… because I am the sort of person who is spectacularly unmotivated towards achieving their own success. I am, however, astoundingly motivated when it comes to helping *other* people achieve success.
In other words, there’s no way I will go to the trouble of creating and following through with this system for myself. But if I’m creating and testing it for YOU, there’s a good chance I’ll not only do it, but do it well — so that’s what I’ll be doing in just a moment.
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“But wait, MT.. your post title refers to Productive Procrastination — what’s that mean?”
Isn’t being a lovely bit of excess alliteration enough justification for it? Wow, don’t YOU have high standards!
Productive Procrastination is a key element of my personal method. You see… I am a procrastinator (I know, tough for you to imagine that someone who often promises so many ”ongoing seriess” which never materialize is a procrastinator, but its true).
Instead of beating myself up with missed deadlines and broken promises, I’ve decided to accept that procrastination is a natural part of my process. By accepting it, I can work *with* it, rather than against it. That means finding ways to make procrastination productive, and building my system so it assumes the habit of putting-things-off, and includes methods to be sure it is a *useful* sort of putting-things-off.
This post is an example of one of those methods.
When I sat down to write, I was procrastinating on the “Build A Better Brain” series. I was procrastinating cleaning the kitchen. I was procrastinating about an art project I’m working on.
But instead of trying to force myself into one or all of those tasks, and hating them, I accepted the procrastination, and started to write something entirely different, but useful:
This post.
I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
Now I’m off to productively plan my plate spinning and procrastination.
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*Procrastinative: 1. a native inhabitant of the Procrasti nation.
Please don’t tell me that procrastinative isn’t a word, or that it means something entirely different. It is, and it does,I assure you. But those dictionary editor folks are procrastinative themselves, so they have yet to include it with a proper and complete definition.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I am also a citizen of the Procrasti nation-and like you, I’ve discovered that switching to a different task rather than just wasting time is a great way to salvage some productivity.
Not that I don’t still waste time-but sometimes I catch myself in Total Avoidance Mode and realize that I’d be better off just avoiding the particular task at hand rather than avoiding doing anything productive at all.
Great post!
Thanks, Crabby.
I seem to be procrastinating VERY effectively lately.
I have totally enjoyed reading this post. It makes so much sense. Reading your posts I learn more about myself and find pieces to my puzzle falling into place.
One question: Why is it, we do for others but not for ourselves?
“I am, however, astoundingly motivated when it comes to helping *other* people achieve success.”
That is so much like me.
Have a great day!
*Time to do the dishes.
Jackie wrote: “One question: Why is it, we do for others but not for ourselves?”
Yay! Post fodder for later this week. But first, a short answer, in case I don’t get ’round to it.
1. Some folks place a low value on their own happiness and worth, and subconsciously feel they don’t deserve time and energy spent on themselves, or even that they don’t deserve the positive result.
2. Sometimes, it’s just how we’re wired. I’m convinced there’s a personality-type element to this. You might look up the recently acknowledged “supine” personality type for more info… I first learned about it from Reg on ElementalTruths. Ah, here’s one of his posts on it. http://elementaltruths.com/?p=392
More than likely I fit into the #1 category. It is true that some people do lower the standards for their own happiness. What is most important and makes the type 1 happy is to know others are fulfilled/satisfied because of the type 1’s doings.
Hey, just found your blog, and I have to say I really enjoy what you’re doing here. It’s a great mix of entertainment and useful material.
Cheers,
Albert | UrbanMonk.Net
Modern personal development, entwined with ancient spirituality.
Great to see you here, Albert, and thanks for the kind words. I’ve following UrbanMonk for quite a while - good stuff!
Dear Tori - I was looking at the plate spinning image you had on Oct.16, 2007 . Can you please tell me if you MODIFIED this image from Istockphoto ? I see the image on Istock in color and you have black and white. Is the black and white image available on Istockphoto modified as you show it. If so, can you give me the Istockphoto number ?
I am working on a book project on education reform and this image might help me. I would appreciate your help.
Just found your Mindtweaks page and it is amazing! How do you do it?
Much thanks / Harry in Rochester NY
Hi Harry,
Yes, I did modify that photo - it’s a pretty simple modification, though. Almost any graphic program will convert to black and white with one click. To add the blue, I duplicated the layer, used an effect called “colorize” in my editor, then erased it in parts so the gray showed through.
And thanks for the compliment on MindTweaks! How do I do it? Would you believe a WHOLE lot of broken plates?