Avoid Slowing Down To Hurry Up
Intentional Procrastination
I have the unhealthy habit of slowing down just to feel rushed so I can hurry up. What I mean by this is that I will waste time (on purpose) to try to create the stimulus I need to get something done. A normal human will see their ‘To Do’ list and just tackle them according to the respective priorities each item has. My problem is that if I know something takes 2 hours, and I have 8 hours, I will waste 6.5 hours just so I can CRAM the two hour task into 1.5 hours. God forbid something happens at the end of the day that ruins my planned stress. But frankly, I’d probably thrive on the extra stress.
Thriving Under Pressure
I’m fortunate in one sense that I do really well under intense pressure. I might even say that I thrive under the gun. Although this is an asset in my profession and in life too when things get a little weird, I am also a MESS when things are chill. I can’t hang when I have too much time. I like to be busy and I like to be under pressure. This has really bad consequences for me in many ways. It hurts my health, hurts my mental state, and eliminates flexibility of any given task. And puts me in a tough spot if I’m trying to be creative and need a little more time.
What Could I Do With Time Wasted
The other side of it is, what more could I accomplish if I wasn’t fiddle fucking around all day trying to build up that pressure. My psychiatrist told me that this is a common issue for certain types of people. Essentially that energy/motivation/drive to get shit done is like “gas in the tank”. He said “Your brain can be a Ferrari, but without that gas, you’re not going anywhere.” So true. If you share this issue, think of all we could accomplish with our wasted time!
Overcome Intentional Waste
So, what to do? It’s a learning process and I keep working at it daily, but one thing that really helps me is scheduling. Even though I can’t always fabricate the “gas”, I find that by scheduling my day and including really intentional and fun things in my day, I can create that same pressure to get it done so that I can do those extra things.
As an example, I’ve really wanted to start surfing more again. I’ve always only surfed on weekends or when the family goes to the beach together. But as a former competitive surfer who was in the water two or three times a day I miss the practice of surfing. After reflecting on my schedule and how I was running my life, I realized that I do have the time to surf. I’ve just been wasting it with “busy work” stalling to generate some “gas” to get the bigger tasks done.
What I’ll Do From Now
So what I do now is I’ll look at the tides (this is the change in the sea level that varies daily) to see when my favorite surf spot will be “good” to go surf. Once I see that Monday morning, Tuesday Midday, Wednesday afternoon, etc. is going to be a good time to go surf, I put it on my schedule. (ex. Calendared as [OOO: (NAB) Surfing – Scripps Pier; Monday 2:00pm – 4:00pm]) “OOO” stands for Out of Office on my calendar btw.
So now, I got it in my calendar, that time is dedicated to that task. So if I have something I need to get done by Monday afternoon, I don’t organize my email inbox until noon trying to get “gas” in the tank. I get after the task ASAP (maybe even the day before, imagine that!) so that I know I can go surf at that time because it’s going to be good. And I don’t look at surfing as “if I have time”. I look at it as replacing “wasted time” with a meaningful task that I commit to. Now instead of organizing my files, I get to my office and get right to work so I can get in the water in the afternoon.
So, what are you not doing because you don’t have time, but if you make a priority will make you more efficient? Think about it, put it on your schedule, and do it!
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