Thank-you, Ugly Betty

There are a few things that I’m good at. Among the best I am definitely an excellent procrastinator.

Everyone in my household knows when I have a big test or paper due the next day because when they arrive home, all the dishes will be washed, the floors vacuumed, and, if it’s a really big test, perhaps even the bathroom may be cleaned. Yes, I am a master procrastinator. I’m not bragging, I’m just being honest.

Unfortunately, I think most students can relate to what I’m talking about. I mean, studying is not exactly the highlight of my week. (I apologize to those who truly enjoy studying for exams - Please, no angry emails.) There are a million things that I would rather be doing. But this does not make my papers go away.
On top of my usual college studying, this week I have been preparing for a test in the BCRPA Fitness Trainer course that I’ve been taking. I knew I should probably take a little time to study since the textbook could have been the sequel to War and Peace. So last night I sat down to try to get through as much as I could. I had just finished dinner and it was only 6:30 so I realized I had three or four hours of time to get through it.
I got as pumped up as a guy can possibly get to read a Kinesiology book.
Then I got to the second sentence where I encountered the word ‘Sternocleidomastoid’. – “Alright… time for some food,” I thought to myself. As I was walking to the kitchen my sister came by and asked me how the studying was going. Then she asked if I had time to watch the show tonight.
– Alright, you guys are going to think I’m a geek, but lately I’ve been watching a show every Thursday night. You may have heard of it - it’s called Ugly Betty. It’s actually a pretty good show and also my only contact with any kind of high fashion. - I think you’d like it.

As soon as I remembered Ugly Betty was on at 8:00 I got this strange urgent feeling inside. Suddenly I almost wanted to study for my fitness exam - (stress the word ‘almost’) . The fact that there was something to look forward to that was limiting my study time gave me huge motivation to use my time efficiently. - Funny how that works. In the end I probably put more effort into that hour-and-a-half before the show than I would have with the four hours I thought I had. This ties into what I was talking about in my last post. The key for me to handle procrastination is to schedule time to study between things that I look forward to. That positive energy of anticipation ends up motivating me to get working and keep focussed.

So thanks to Ugly Betty I think I have finally mastered my habit of procrastination.


… Anyways, I have to go. I’m supposed to cook dinner in a half-hour and I left it ‘till now to decide what I’m going to make.

- Ciao

Image courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/rappy/359730722/