I am a procrastinator. It’s been true since I was a kid. In eight grade, I remember being up till midnight, a time I thought was truly insane, trying to write my first paper. It was due the next day, and the subject was JFK’s assassination. I had scribbled index cards strewn across the dining room table and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn next to me, feverishly arranging my notes and thinking I was never, ever going to get it done in time.
In college I was the queen of extended deadlines and, I’m not proud to admit, more than one completely false sob story to gain the flexibility and sympathy of my professors. The few times I tried to do a project ahead of time, I inevitably changed the entire thing at the 11th hour. Something about that intensity and discomfort just worked for me, staying up in the night to get something done that I’ve known about for weeks or even months. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I have even, on more than one occasion, stayed up till 1 am procrastinating.
Towards the end of my college life, I was talking about this with a mentor of mine (himself a procrastinator), and he said, “A long time ago I decided this is just how I am. I procrastinate. It’s part of the process. It’s uncomfortable, but I don’t have to change it; neither do you, unless you really want to.” This was a liberating concept to me (Imagine! Accepting yourself for who you are!), and it made sense. All that time that I was actively avoiding the Thing, I was actually working on the Thing…gestating it, so to speak. And I’ve spent my entire career accepting this reality and welcoming a lot of late nights into my life.
That’s fine for big projects (usually writing projects, in my case), but I also procrastinate on the little things–making a dentist appointment, mailing that package, renewing my driver’s license (don’t put that one off, it can be really problematic when you try to rent a car). The little things that won’t take much time but are generally unpleasant, or irritating, or unsatisfying. So, I have a Master To Do List in my planner, and every month, I transfer the list to the next month, and the same tasks get moved, month by month, undone. These little things are heavy and constant, not episodic like a writing project. And they really mess with my mental well-being.
This year, I invented something I call One Bad Task to deal with my To Do List. I told myself that every Tuesday and Thursday, I had to pick one of the things I’ve been putting off–One Bad Task–and do it. Just one thing, and I could consider myself done for the day, free and clear.
The first Tuesday I did One Bad Task, it was such an immense relief that I did another one. And another. And then on Wednesday, even though I didn’t have to do it, I did One Bad Task again. And again. And pretty soon I was doing One Bad Task every day. There are days when I look at my list and think, “Not today”, but I do it anyway, and I am always glad I did. What’s important here is I don’t have to do more than one, and I don’t have to do it every day. So I do.
So If you’re feeling like you want 2023 to be less heavy and littered with Bad Tasks waiting to be done, try One Bad Task. I’m betting you’ll be elated when you check off that first one.