I am – and always have been – somewhat of a procrastinator. While I’ve managed to thoroughly convince myself that this “flaw” is really just proof that I work best under pressure, I also think it’s the reason I was so attracted to a recent article in the NYTimes.
Thankfully, I’m still enjoying the Holiday Season – which means no classes, no work, no real schedules or obligations to speak of. One would think that this also means my tendency for procrastination has temporarily lost its bite: with nothing of sincere importance filling my to-do lists, this is perhaps the perfect time to sit back and say, “this can wait.” This is where the trusty New York Times comes in — about a week ago they posted an article by John Tierny called “Carpe Diem? Maybe Tomorrow.” Tierny’s argument? It’s just as important to be diligent about crossing off pleasure from our to-do lists. And guess what – we’re horrible at it.
If you’re thinking what I was when I first started reading the article – that this Tierny guy is crazy, and there’s no way our society is bad at pursuing pleasure, think about the number of giftcards you’ve let expire. Or the number of get-togethers you’ve pushed back because you were too busy…only to have them pushed back again and again once you realized the temporary busyness wasn’t so temporary. Or – and this is what really got me thinking – think about alllll of your city’s attractions that you have never ever experienced.
Tierny argues that because such acquisitions of pleasure have no real deadlines, we’re liable to keep putting them off and pushing them back. We are rational beings (or at least most of us are, most of the time), and our mental cost-benefit analyses often tempt us to tackle more concrete tasks instead of an abstract thing as pleasure. The result? We keep procrastinating simple enjoyment, we become “fixated on some imagined nirvana,” and the situations through which pleasure can be attained become increasingly idealistic and decreasingly practical. Depressing, I know.
So, what exactly did I take away from all of this? And why in the world did I feel the need to break my holiday blogging silence with a recap of a NYT article? Because it reminded me that making the most of your day doesn’t always have to involve record-breaking levels of productivity. Perhaps it could also mean going to that museum that you’ve never been to, but every tourist visiting your city has – maybe it means walking or biking along the route that you drive everyday, separated from the rest of the world by thin pane of glass and a radio turned up high – maybe it means visiting a nearby city that you’ve always driven through but never to – and maybe, if you’re lucky, it means finally opening that bottle of wine you’ve been holding onto for ages. Create your special occasions this year, don’t wait for them.
Cheers
-S.
Go ahead, read the article (and no, this can’t wait until tomorrow): http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/science/29tier.html
