Hi, my name is Tom...and I'm a procrastinator

Tom Baugues

Member
Messages
2,790
Location
Lafayette, Indiana
That's right, it's time for me to man up and understand what's wrong with me. Oh, I'm sure I'm a lot of other things as well but for today this was my challenge. You see, I REALLY intend to do everything I say I want to do. I'll just do them.....well....later. Well today I set forth a real plan to change this about myself. It's kind of a long boring story as to how I came to this conclusion but I hope that I have taken a step in the right direction today.
You see, I have a whole shed full of tree trunk "blanks that I intended to turn into bowls or hollow forms on my lathe. I bought all kinds of tools and chucks and built nice little racks for these tools to set on...but never use them. It's something that I REALLY want to learn how to do well. Well all that wood has been in there for several years now and I think I tried once or maybe twice then put it off to do "other things". I even built myself a hollowing rig......but have never used it.
A year ago I had a new shop built just for my woodworking so that I didn't have to work out in my cold garage. Other than turning a few pens on my mini lathe I've not made anything out there and I REALLY want to.
I see so many neat projects on this forum or in magazines and say to myself....hey... I want to make one of those......but never do anything about it. I've got wood, tools and a place to work but never seem to "take" the time to make a project happen. Life is passing by so quickly and I never seem to take the time to smell the roses and enjoy what I have.
I've worked hard my whole life to be able to have "things". I hope to get organized enough to start using some of these tools.
I spent the day getting my garage and shop cleaned up and putting things away and threw things away that I've held onto for 20 years thinking that I'll use it someday. That's another problem of mine....I hate to throw things away. I've got the wheels from the past three grills I've owned because I thought I could use them on a project someday. I've still got paint cans from an old shed I built 20 years ago thinking that I might need that paint again someday. The lids are so rusty they fell apart when trying to open them today. I've got a box full of misc. wire "just in case" I need a single piece of wire....I haven't been in that box for over ten years. I kept all my old landscaping lights I pulled out two years ago because they wouldn't stay lit and replaced with new modern lights . Well, the crew that picks up our trash next week is not going to like me very well as I have "cleaned house" so to speak.
I feel pretty good. I got alot of stuff cleaned up, thrown out and starting to get organized. I hope to be all set to start a real woodworking project by next weekend. A promise I have made to myself.
 
Carol, actually your posting today about getting out and making some sawdust helped fuel my fire this day. Funny how one persons actions can effect others. And I thank you.
 
Tom any one that can start and complete an organ is not a real hardcore procrastinator. I am a real procrastinator, got the planes for that organ over a year ago and haven't actually started yet. Got a half completed sailboat in my workshop that I started on 8 years ago! You should see all the things I have listed and plans for that I think I will build "someday". But I enjoy life, and do a little here, a little there and when I'm gone, my kids can clean up the mess!:D

And, let me warn you, that lathe is a whole neither vortex. Hang on!
 
Been there, done the same thing and got the t-shirt, what I can suggest is forget about making things that we think we need in order to do what we really want to do.

For instance, " I'd like to make a cabinet but (think) I need a proper bench, so I spend 3 months making that bench, then I (think) that I that special tool that will ease the making, so I spend some more time in buying it preparing a set for it, and this could go for ever.

Sometimes I think that procastinating has a lot to do with fear, fear of failing, fear of realising we havent got the skills to achieve the goal that we have set to ourselves, or even fear of accepting that that the iterest in that thing we wanted to do so badly, has faded away due to our own procatisnation.

To us procastinators, it takes more effort to get started than actually making things, and we need to keep a steady pace because if that pace is broken, then there are a lot of chances that a project will never be finished.

I only know a few people who never procastinate, and honestly I envy them, which is also another characteristic of procastinators.

Cure for that? Honestly I wish I knew one, because I would be the first one to swallow it.
 
I too have periods where I just cannot get started. This is generally when I am not yet happy with a design and am waiting for that ah-ha! moment to strike. In the meantime I organize, clean up, make jigs and shop fixtures. If I run out of stuff to do and still haven't reached the point where I want to begin a large piece, I go to dad's and make drawer dividers, drawer units, wall fixtures, whatever. There are always plenty of little things to do and sometimes doing a quick little thing will get you started.
 
Tom, You really have to learn how to harness the power of procrastination. The key is to have so many things on your procrastination list that, in order to procrastinate on something on the top of the list, you actually have to work on something lower on the list. This way you can both procrastinate and be productive at the same time. What do ya think of that? You don't have to answer me now.....maybe in a couple of years:)
 
Welcome to the club, Tom! Along with being a procrastinator, I have a habit of getting so many things started that I forget what I'm supposed to be doing next. Fortunately, LOML helps keep me honest on some projects - those most dear to her heart!
 
Glenn must have sent that thread as soon as he got home. I did my best to entertain him. I let him play with my new exercise equipment. I let him show me what he thought was a good way to make drawer dividers for my lathe bench (It was a good way by the way---the gym equipment also had a good weigh). I let him take Myrna and me to lunch and make my wife laugh. He also took me to the lumber yard with his truck---that's always fun (Myrna stayed home for some reason.).

Jocularity ran rampant.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
Tom, You really have to learn how to harness the power of procrastination. The key is to have so many things on your procrastination list that, in order to procrastinate on something on the top of the list, you actually have to work on something lower on the list. This way you can both procrastinate and be productive at the same time. What do ya think of that? You don't have to answer me now.....maybe in a couple of years:)

Ted,
Is that why I have these 5,000 projects, tasks, honey-dos, etc? I just thought the world was trying to bury me.

Enjoy,
 
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