I’ll be honest. I’ve been putting off writing this all day.

I may sometimes question my abilities: how well I deal with HR situations, or whether my injection technique is as refined as it should be. There is no doubt of my innate ability to waste time. The majestic piles of nothing produced can be quite stunning. Particularly on weekends, when my attempts to relax often begin with mental checklists of household chores, lawn projects, and family outings we really should start attacking before the weather cools. By Saturday morning many items have been removed from the list and deferred to the “next weekend” pile. By Sunday afternoon, the list is empty with all intentions that priority items will somehow happen through the following week.

Labour modeling and analyses to complete? What better time to rip and rename my CD library into iTunes. The completed staff evaluation that still needs to be formally written? Well, level 816 of Candy Crush sure isn’t going to solve itself. The possibilities are endless, and my creative vices take charge to ensure the productive task gets arrested and thrown into a windowless room. After another 3 hours of browsing celebrity impressions on YouTube, a guilty conscience finally forces me into meaningful action.

At this moment, I realize that a preface would have been useful to explain that I do consider myself a hard-working and productive person most of the time. In fact, some of my best work has happened at crunch-time when there’s no room to dawdle. My oldest will have 2 weeks to deliver a book report, and there she is scrambling the morning of, scribbling on cue cards while she waits for the low rumble of the bus. Ah, that takes me back.

The worst part is, many of the tasks aren’t particularly challenging, or physically draining. Once I’m started, it’s usually perfectly fine. Things get done, a line gets scratched off the list, and a satisfying feeling overcomes me. Things like going to the gym are a bit different, as it’s a fight as soon as the idea pops into the head. That’s usually when the lawn gets mowed, or…

Okay, wait. Just hold on a minute

It’s 7:35am … I think Devin’s been trying to write this post for like 3 weeks now.   Hi, this is Diane, his lovely, non-procrastinating wife.  I am on the opposite end of the procrastinating spectrum.  So it can be a challenge trying to us to work on projects together.  I have a to-do list every single day.  If there’s a deadline, I’m usually the keener that has it done like 3 days beforehand (ok, maybe even 5 days).  I’ve  learned that if I do procrastinate, it usually stresses me out more. We currently have a membership due to be renewed in November. I know I should wait until November to renew it, but why did they send us the renewal notice already?!  Now it’s going to be on my mind ( and on my to-do list)  for 2 months….

So after 15 years of marriage, we’ve learned to compromise. When we need to get somewhere for a certain time, I have learned that Devin will always get us there right…on…time  (even though I would probably like to be there 5 minutes before). Just like Devin has learned that some small things on my to-do list are actually items for  the honey-do list. I know that after a bit of prodding, he’ll do it, just so  I can stop stressing  about it. And sometimes, like this post, I hear him say:”oh crap I really have to finish XYZ” and I hear it for a couple of times, and I mentally add to to my do-to list to remind him. Other times I’ll just go ahead and do it. I usually don’t interfere with his posts, but I couldn’t resist this one. So here it  is… Post complete! 7:55am – Oh, and laundry is in  the wash, clean dishes put away, young one off to school, older one ready to get on the bus 🙂

So honey, the moral of the story is that if I put something off long enough, or accidentally leave my PharmAspire edit page open unattended, it will be magically done when I get back? Got it 😉

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, employer or affiliation.