Okay, so I’m in the home stretch with nano, writing like crazy. Oh, and all the stuff I had on my list to do before I took on nano? Yeah, I still have all that to do, too. Like all of you, I have more to do in a day than I can possibly get done, and yet… I waste a lot of time. Case in point. I came up here at 10:30 pm to write this post. It is now after midnight, and I’m just getting started.
What was I doing for over an hour and a half? Let’s see, I fooled around on Twitter for a while, checked Facebook, read and commented on some of my favorite blogs, checked HuffPo, messed around on Twitter some more, and went through my email. None of that was essential. And here’s what I’ve noticed since I gave up watching almost all of my favorite television shows: I still waste time.
No matter how much I have to do, I still procrastinate, still wile away embarrassing amounts of time reading what interesting people say on the internet, rearranging things, day dreaming…
I think of myself as an accomplished time-waster. I have a friend who says it’s because I work best under pressure. He says I put things off subconsciously so that I can get the rush of being under the gun. I think he gives me too much credit. I think I put things off because it’s more fun to goof around. And so now I’m wondering how do you waste time? For the purposes of this post, we’ll define “wasting time” as the time you spend NOT working on the critical task(s) at hand.
Are you a blog junkie, a social network addict, a compulsive news hound? Do you watch television, read comic books, play video games?
(Oh, and reading Zebra Sounds? Totally not a waste of time. My blog will make you smarter, funnier, sexier, faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.)
13 responses so far ↓
terrepruitt // November 28, 2009 at 2:04 am |
I can’t really tell you how I waste time, but I know it gets wasted. Just like you, I will get on the computer to write or post or to check one thing and hours later, I still haven’t done that yet, I couldn’t tell you what I did.
I know that I am often going to “just check Twitter really quick”, and I spend an hour or so on it. I get new followers and I want to check them out or someone actually starts “talking to me”.
It is amazing!
Becky // November 28, 2009 at 6:04 am |
Wow. I feel so much more empowered now! Stronger, faster, and yes, I dare say sexier! Reading your blog is never a waste of time for me– and neither is attending pajama parties. I can’t wait to read your finished “nano” project!
judy // November 28, 2009 at 8:52 am |
Terre, Well, Twitter definitely counts as a great time waster, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all bad. On the Happiness Blog, Gretchen Rubin listed ten reasons why Twitter can make you happier and I agree with all of them. http://bit.ly/8lKCSK
And speaking of reasons why I love Twitter, Becky! Pajama parties make us happier, to go with all our strong, fast, sexiness. ;-)
Estrella Azul // November 29, 2009 at 2:18 am |
I just posted last week about something similar. Like Terre said, I could easily call myself a time waster from time to time and I couldn’t really make a list of what I wasted my time with.
(Okay, right now I’m tired and staring at the monitor to figure out what I’ll type in next… doesn’t work…)
Oh, maybe that’s what I do :P
Hugs!
B. R. Belletryst // November 29, 2009 at 4:24 am |
I watch Sex & The City to waste time usually. Other times I try to call someone and have them help distract me. I must admit though, I’m a compulsive email checker. Every ten or so minutes when I’m at my computer, I check my email.
A big part, though, of being a poet, is that I waste time introverting and double checking, second guessing myself.
And the single greatest waste of time: Online catalog shopping. Hi, my name is Bunny, and I have an online catalog shopping problem! I find myself browsing through, even when I don’t have money for… well, anything.
judy // November 29, 2009 at 1:02 pm |
Estrella, Well, I do THAT when I am working (stare at the monitor and decide what I’m going to type next). I think that’s part of my job description!
B.R. I need to make enough money to hire you to be my personal shopper because I HATE the part you like… the shopping part. (But I would like to watch Sex And The City with you. I’ve only seen it maybe twice. Watching it with you would be fun.)
Estrella Azul // November 29, 2009 at 2:35 pm |
Oh, just noticed… I actually typed that comment late last night and actually forgot to hit ’submit’. Can you imagine that? …
So that was why I said I’m just staring at the monitor with a blank mind :P
B. R. Belletryst // November 29, 2009 at 7:24 pm |
YES. That would be fabulous. Start on that, for real. I love shopping, and I love Sex & The City. It’s wonderful. I recently discovered something else to waste my time with.
DANCING. But it’s not really wasting time. It’s exercise! It’s fun! It’s friend-friendly! It’s great! Aaaand, it makes me feel sexy. Which is important.
I think I want to start a blog dedicated to making people feel sexy.
judy // November 29, 2009 at 10:50 pm |
BR, Dance party! We used to do that all the time when the boys were a little younger. Dance until you can’t stand up anymore. Really hard to be sad when your dancing like that.
You should totally start a “Sexy You” blog. I would visit daily. Multiple times. Help me. ;-)
Tricia // November 30, 2009 at 3:20 pm |
It’s official, I waste more time online than on Word writing, and I don’t even Twitter. I’ve had days where I didn’t write at all, but logged many online hours. It never works the other way around. I keep threatening to have a blackout day where I only go on Word, but it’s still in the threat stage.
B. R. Belletryst // November 30, 2009 at 3:25 pm |
I’m really tempted to start that blog, but I’m afraid I’d recycle or reuse material. Or simply run out.
What do you think?
And also, I love dancing. I’ve downloaded a bunch of trance music recently. (Thank you iTunes for hosting podcasts, and thank you StumbleUpon for sending me to the Trance Tuesday Podcast page.)
BR
Lea // November 30, 2009 at 6:19 pm |
Hi Judy! I’d just like to say that I believe I am gold medal material when it comes to wasting time. If only it were an Olympic sport… but then, would it be in the winter or summer games? These are the questions that swirl in my head, causing me to spend more time than I’d planned, reading blogs and composing comments that don’t betray my own foolishness. (Dang! I pretty much blew it on that last count.)
Love the post — congrats on finishing Nano! How do I read what you wrote? Fill me in! :)
judy // November 30, 2009 at 9:41 pm |
Tricia, I think I use that threat every day. I don’t even listen to me anymore. So sad.
BR, Maybe you need to solicit pieces from a bunch of writer types so you don’t have to do it all by yourself… just a thought.
Hi, Lea! I’ve decided to treat my foolishness like it’s part of my charm. Let me know how that works when I comment on your blog. ;-)
Believe me, you don’t want to read the nano novel. It’s the wonderful mess I knew it would be, but after I clean it all up and make it pretty… Cross your fingers!