Mixed Metaphors

‘‘You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. 
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic.” ― Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

“I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do – the day after.” ― Oscar Wilde

Hat Tip to Schoolhouse Rock

First, a brief backstory about the origin of one of my nicknames. We all inherit nicknames, beginning with our families of origin, our classmates in school, friends and coworkers, and endearments (or, not!) from our significant others.  A nickname assigned to me early in my marriage by my husband Frank and his brother Dennis in the early 1970’s was inspired by two things, the first a song from Schoolhouse Rock, a series which aired on ABC from 1973 to 1975 described as, “animated shorts adapting the multiplication tables to songs written by Bob Dorough; Dorough also performed most of the songs.”  Multiplication Rock was soon followed by Grammar Rock. My nickname was Lolly Keebler inspired by the song, Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here and my love of cookies and milk.

This essay however is not about nicknames, yet the title was inspired by the Schoolhouse Rock song, Conjunction Junction. It’s in fact a look at how procrastination and dysfunctional habits can inhibit or enable the creative process.  [I hope you noticed my use of the conjunction and to connect the two concepts]. It’s also a spotlight on the two things I procrastinate about the most, writing and housecleaning, as I attempt to parse their relationship and meaning.

The Creative Process: Procrastination Station

I’m pretty open about most aspects of my life. I’ve been known to overshare on Facebook and in conversations with friends and family. I post weekly TGIF Updates which often detail my intentions as I plan for the three-day weekends now that I work part-time. I’m somewhat OCD about my weekly to-do lists, in fact, I’ve saved them for over 10 years, which totals a ream’s worth of paper, or 500 to-do lists.  Oh My!

One of the takeaways I’ve gleaned from my to-do lists is that though I accomplish a lot each week in the various spheres of my life: Work, social, play, self-care, and creativity, a number of things often get cancelled or postponed, appearing on next week’s list, or social media post. The two most frequent categories, writing and housecleaning. More about the latter later (I’m not procrastinating, really!).

My writing process can be summarized as follows in these 10 Steps:

1. Recognize my desire or need to write (for my own pleasure, or to fulfill an assignment).
2. Search for an idea or topic.
3. Begin outlining in my mind.
4. Research and read background online.
5. Announce my intention on social media or in my journal.
6. Include it on my first (and often, subsequent) to-do lists.
7. Begin procrastination process (can last for days or weeks).
8. Panic as deadline approaches.
9. Complete all the work in a compressed timeframe.
10. Ask why I put myself through hell again.

Once I’ve completed a finished product, I spend a fair amount of time proofreading and editing, unfortunately, most often it’s after the fact! Once again, I procrastinate and tell myself, “Next time, I’ll proofread and edit before I submit or post my writing.”

There is a celebration phase, when I spend a few days patting myself on the back with atta-girls for finishing until I begin procrastinating about the next project.

Housecleaning: Dysfunction Junction

Now before you assume that I live in the midst of clutter, a pigsty, or I’m a hoarder, I don’t. I’m too OCD about some things, which includes the philosophy that “everything has its place” and before I can feel any serenity at the end of the day, everything must be returned to its place. There’s a relatively high degree of organization until you look inside my drawers (that’s not a joke) or closets.

Now, full disclosure, I don’t keep up with the dust that collects on all the surfaces, including tables, bookcases, and floors, except for the kitchen counters and bathroom sink which get wipe-downed and disinfected on almost a daily basis. On the flip side, some days it seems like the dust bunnies develop personalities and I suspect they’re reproducing.

There are two main motivators for me to dust, vacuum, and wash floors. The first and most effective is preparing for visitors. The house usually receives a good deep cleaning. The other occasion is when I can write notes on my glass coffee table, TV monitor, or laptop screen.

I’ve tried different strategies to tackle housecleaning, however I usually default to the mindset that I need to set aside a couple of hours or more to do it all in one burst of energy. Now, the intention and practice are two different things. If I don’t feel like I have the energy (or desire) to clean house, I talk myself into postponing the task until I do.  Well, you can imagine that most people don’t wake up one day and say, “Oh, I’m really looking forward to cleaning house today. I can’t wait!” It’s certainly true for me, I procrastinate instead, maybe choosing one small thing like cleaning the toilet to convince myself I’m not a slug. I usually discover however, that once I get started, initiation is the antidote to procrastination and the key to completing the task.

Now I can’t blame my upbringing or parents for this issue. My father was a custodian, in fact, he trained all the custodians for the Unified School District of Racine, Wisconsin, plus of course, his six children. He taught us how to make the bed as we got out of it, and conducted impromptu inspections of our second-floor bedroom. One of my first jobs as a young teen was helping Dad clean churches for his part-time job on weekends, and on alternating weekends, assist Mom at home.

Procrastination: Does It Help or Hurt?

Like the Schoolhouse Rock inspiration for the title of this essay, at the end of the day, I will employ a conjunction to summarize my position by connecting opposing conclusions on this question. It helps and hurts!

How it helps

My writing process, once I have a topic or theme, usually begins with pre-writing in my head. I may make a bullet point list of ideas that I use as a foundation to build on. Having a starting point and letting the concepts percolate, enables them to expand and create new avenues which I can then bridge together. Procrastination provides the time, the yeast so to speak, for the themes to ferment. Whether baking bread, making wine, or writing creatively, it needs time to mature to bring out the flavors.

When cleaning house, doing it when one is “in the mood” or motivated, often following some degree of procrastination, housecleaning can provide satisfaction when completed. It’s the kind of task that has an identifiable beginning, middle, and an end, which provides a visible sense of accomplishment. It’s comparable to writing something that you’re pleased with and enjoy rereading.

How it hurts

For both writing and housecleaning, if I force myself to begin before I’m ready, it literally and figuratively becomes a chore and creates unproductive anxiety. I expend more energy overcoming my inertia and resistance than I do making progress. In regards to writing, it’s more a matter of writer’s constipation than it is writer’s block. My words and ideas are not yet fluid enough to flow. They unfold in fits and starts and it shows in the draft, typically requiring more edits and rewrites. For housekeeping it is literally a chore and not an enjoyable experience or expenditure of time and ironically reinforces procrastination the next time the dust bunnies reproduce.

So, what have l learned? Both the creative process and my performance as a housekeeper can best be summarized by this quote and Calvin and Hobbes cartoon: “If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”  ― Rita Mae Brown

Additional Reading: The Pros & Cons of Procrastination & Initiation Tips

Procrastination Pros

Procrastination Cons

If You Struggle to Start or Complete Tasks-13 Tips