Time to procrastinate

'Work expands to fit the time available for its completion'

This is Parkinson's law and it has a lot of truth. It is the reason why procrastination works for a lot of people - they leave everything to the last minute because it really only takes them the last minute to complete the task! Here's an idea, what about trying to complete it in the FIRST minute so that you can relax for the rest of the time? Easier said than done, I know. However, you can still put Parkinson's law into use by giving yourself half the time you think you need when you are tackling assignments and household chores. Then you are left with the other half of the time available for you to pester the people surrounding you.

Anyways, procrastination isn't all bad. In fact, here are some instances that I have come up with where I think it would be wise to procrastinate:

1. Telling someone off. It is always wise to waste as much time as possible before rushing to confront someone. This small lapse of time will surely give your kettle sometime to cool off, so you can think more clearly and be less likely to scorch your victim. Also, in the time you take to wait and confront, you may realize the person is not actually at fault thereby sparing you the embarrassment and uncomfortable apologies. It will also give you some time to re-think if it is even worth it or perhaps to come up with more clever, piercing insults! But remember, words can never be erased or taken back. Even if you cool down later and apologize, it will be too late, the irreversible damage will be done. You may be forgiven, but it will NEVER be forgotten. On the other hand, if you had taken the time to come up with an especially sharp retort perhaps you will be remembered for you wit instead of your witchiness.


2. Eating junk food. Usually if you procrastinate for reasons like being too lazy to get out of your chair or not wanting to take those few extra steps to the fridge, your craving might actually disappear. This is especially true if it is a sweet craving that comes directly after a meal as these will go away as the food you just ate begins to digest.


3. Having kids/getting married. Although I have no firsthand knowledge, I am sure we can agree that many couples should not be together. Because they have a commitment of some sort (being married or having kids) they are stuck to each other like a press on nail (the permanent kind). This would be an ideal situation if the fact that they are unwillingly glued together forces them to resolve their issues, but this is usually not the case. Instead, because they decided to rush into committing in one way or another, they never got a chance to set boundaries/make rules/really get to know one another. Does it make sense that we procrastinate paying our bills, doing our dishes, doing our paper work but when it comes to something that involves all of that and more people jump in faster than you can say bobs-your-uncle?! I think not!!!


Well that's my 2 cents, feel free to leave a comment, or plan on leaving one now and wait and wait until the last minute.

Can I offer you some low self-esteem?

Having low self-esteem is considered an insult in our society. You can be accused of this affliction if you are anything from reserved, to very loud (you must be compensating for something), depressed, a push-over, a masochist, etc. Terms like low self-esteem and low confidence are thrown around all the time. However, saying that someone is a person with low self-esteem is just as erroneous as saying that someone is a person with hunger. It is a passing phase that happens often and to all, and some more often and strongly than others. I am certain that everyone has had periods of their life where they have experienced feelings of inadequacy or experience these feelings with respect to different aspects of their lives.

There has always been a negative connotation with low-self esteem whereas high confidence has been associated with positive attributions - i.e. confidence brings success, happiness, friends, money..etc.But being confident isn't necessarily all its cracked up to be. As Charles Darwin so eloquently stated, 'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge'. This means that knowing your limitations, and even underestimating your abilities can actually be more powerful than believing too much in yourself. I find this especially true in relation to your academic and professional life.In a psychological study done at Cornell University, students found that people who performed the worst in tests of logic, grammar and comedy also were the ones to have most overestimated their abilities. Those who performed better, were better aware of the limitations of their abilities. (http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf)

Evidently, if you begin to dwell too much on your limitations - because trust me EVERYONE has A LOT of them, it may prevent you from attempting new things. Having perpetually low self-esteem can lead to self-pity and depression. However, a healthy dose of low self-esteem is always good - it is better to err on the negative side as opposed to overestimations, as these could certainly lead to precarious outcomes!! Just be careful not to overestimate your abilities of underestimating your abilities!!

Ethics

Most people in our society consider themselves to be ethical people with strong morals. At least more ethical than the crooks in their city jail? Right?

Scenario 1: You are on your way home from a busy day at work. Strolling along in the summer sun, you find a wallet with $40 and the owner's name and phone number. You promptly call the number and arrange to return the missing wallet and cash. You blush as the owner gushes 'Oh God bless you, you are such a good person, your momma must have raised you well!'. You then you go to the supermarket to reward your good deed for the day with a Twix. The cashier boy is too busy oogling the girl behind you that he hands you $5 in change instead of 5 cents. Being the morally righteous person that you are, you alert him to his mistake.

Does this sound like you? Would you go home smug, perhaps brag about your actions to a friend? Do you think those actions will give you a karmic reward from the heavens /a gold star /a cookie from your sister? Before you get all high on yourself for being an ethically moral person, read on..

Scenario 2: You are on your way to your second shift, strolling along in the summer sun. You have just used your full paycheck to pay your rent and buy diapers and are wondering when you will get enough money for your groceries when you spot the glistening wallet on the corner. You pocket the $40 for your groceries and return the wallet an IDs to a security guard.

Now, does this person's greater need for the $40 justify their 'unethical' behaviour? And if their need does justify it, what happens when we're not talking about money, but about lying, cheating, stealing and - gasp - killing? I can think of scenarios where all these actions can be justified, but I am not going waste time debating whether or not they would be considered 'ethical'.
Let's look at it this way: someone who recently downed an entire birthday cake may not be as tempted to take a bite out of the muffin you left on your desk when you went to the washroom as someone who has not eaten in 4 days. Similarly, someone who has never been homeless, starving or threatened, can't exactly pat themselves on the back for not having stolen, cheated or killed. Since I have never been in those situations, I can honestly say I don't know what I would do if it were me. All I do know is that I should be less quick to judge whoever just ate my muffin!