Filling life’s moments with meaning, and a little procrastination

<p>So many things to do this morning. Deadlines approach and commitments must be met. There is writing that must be started and finished; Tax preparations that must be attended to; songs I agreed I’d learn for church. These, along with the usual due-by-this-date pressures, duties and obligations mean I must start my day very soon. So, of course, my first early morning thought is: “How can I avoid starting this work?”</p><p>I have some go-to, tried-and-true game plans for times such as this—which seem to happen quite often, really. Maybe I’ll just peek into my bulging file labeled “Work Avoidance Strategies” and see which ones might work best for today.</p><p>First, I’ll need to read over the motivational quotes I’ve collected over the years. This will help me get my mind in the right place and ease the guilt I will start to feel as the deadlines breathe down my neck. Here’s one from Mark Twain: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” Hey, if the guy who wrote the Great American Novel thinks this way, maybe I am on the right track.</p><p>Now it’s time for coffee. I think it helps me think. Besides, making it properly involves several steps which means I won’t need to start working until I have a steaming cup of joe next to my computer. First I need to grind the beans which is in itself a multi-step process. Since I use a coffee press I will hang around the kitchen while the water boils. Then I will pour it over the fresh grounds and, according to coffee experts, let it steep for exactly four minutes. I will set the timer. I’ll have my coffee and be ready to get started writing in no time.</p><p>We are closing in on the weekend which means the today’s puzzle in the New York Times Crossword-a-Day calendar will be a tough one. They get harder as the week goes on. Well, I love a good challenge. A pencil, an end of the week crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee will really help me get in the mood to work.</p><p>After I finish the puzzle, I will need to think about going out for a run. Becky and I are training for the mini-marathon coming up in May, and with the help of some running books, she has put together a schedule of training for half-marathons for people in our age cohort. I don’t want to go into the mini unprepared and embarrass her. Besides—you never know—this may be the last mini I run, so I want to end with a respectable time. The two of us will need to go out soon.</p><p>In a way, I can look at today’s run as fulfilling an obligation, so that should help with the pressure of meeting these writing deadlines. It’ll be okay. I should have plenty of time after we get back.</p><p>But before I go out, I want to strum a few chords on my guitar. I am supposed to play this Sunday, just a few days away. I won’t spend too much time on the church songs—after all, I have some writing to finish—but a little music might help center my thoughts. Besides, I have had this particular Beatles song running through my head for a couple of days. I wonder if I can remember how it goes.</p><p>Okay, that’s the plan: Reading, coffee, puzzles, running, and music. Then—and I am serious—I need to get to work writing. I have a deadline, you know.</p>