My house has been pretty clean. I know, it’s weird. I’ve been working really hard at getting the kids to do their chores, as I’ve started to let them slide. It’s amazing how clean it’s been. Now when I clean, I’m not picking up their stuff. I’m vacuuming, or cooking, or doing stuff I never get to do. I completely reorganized my kitchen cupboards and threw out old “non-perishables” that were very expired. I’m sure that open box of potato flakes that expired 5 years ago really won’t ever get used.
Part of it is that I’ve been doing more after the kids go to bed. Normally I really try not to do chores after they go to bed because I really need some down time. That’s when I either hang out with Knut, do “me” stuff, or on rare occasions, see friends. Lately, though, I’ve been sweeping kitchens, doing dishes, meal planning, and even doing some lesson planning when the house is quiet at night.
It can only mean one thing…I’m procrastinating. There’s a job I have to do, and I haven’t done it.
There are 2 knitting patterns that are ready to release either for sale or for testers (one of each). I just need to edit them. That’s all. The samples are made, the instructions are written up, the calculations are all there. It’s always the last edit that terrifies me.
If anyone ever wants to get into writing, technical writing is the way to go. They make so much money…because no one wants to do it. They’re like rich plummers of the English vocational world. Editing things like manuals, instructions, handbooks is really boring. It’s boring, but it must be perfect or be certain you’ll hear about it. So you must concentrate very carefully on really boring stuff. I studied a sliver of it in college but preferred the more creative writing classes like poetry. You know, the really fun stuff that makes no money.
However, after graduation, when I wanted to make it as a freelance writer, I took a job writing sentences for a jr. high grammar workbook. I wrote 800 sentences to their grammatical specifications. I’ve never come closer to dying in my whole life.
So I procrastinate. I normally clean when I procrastinate. Knut’s loving it. That’s really not helping.
It’s one of those things where I really, really don’t want to, but I really, really want it done and I am really, really the only person who can do it.
I need to clear the way (and brain space) for new pattern writing that is ready to happen. There are 2 patterns in the “fun phase” of knitting and note taking and within a month or so, they’ll be ready for their final tweaking and editing.
I cannot have 4 patterns to edit backed up. I just can’t. I’ll give up knitting pattern writing right then and there and I really like doing it. Well, I like 90% of it. It’s that last 10% that is killing me.
I always thought procrastinating was something I was going to grow out of. I must have never gotten around to that…
What do you do when you procrastinate?
little macaroon. says
February 7, 2012 at 5:17 amUuugh. I hear you. I used to write evidence based medicine, meaning that every clause I wrote required hours upon hours of meticulous research. Blah.
When I procrastinate, I it on the sofa, listening to the radio, panicking abut the thing that needs done while looking at the wall. I have to move across continents in 4 weeks. There is a lot of staring at the wall in panic, not knowing where in the world to start. It’s HOPELESS!
Alison says
February 7, 2012 at 9:19 amLove this!
I absolutely do the same thing. Every closet gets a good cleaning, every cabinet gets organized,…
Good luck getting it all done! I know your patterns will be amazing, they always are!!
Sheila says
February 7, 2012 at 3:27 pmRight now my answer would be…..reading blogs! Really though….who wants to deal with their taxes right away in the morning!!!! 😉
Kiersten V. says
February 8, 2012 at 12:50 amIt’s amazing how busy one can be when there is a job to avoid. One day I cleaned my house to avoid doing my taxes. The next day I did my taxes to avoid a pile of dishes I didn’t feel like washing. Just depends on the day. 🙂