The Muse of Procrastination

Last Monday, the power at my house was out for nearly eight hours. Fortunately, about four of those hours coincided with daylight. So, since it was a school night, I was working on homework. I had finished everything except for English 11 AP journal for the day. It was a free write, and I wanted to come up with a really good prompt / topic. The journal revision would be due on Wednesday; this was my opportunity to come up with something incredible to turn in.

I sat down - or rather jumped down - on my bed, stretched out on my stomach, crossed my ankles, and thought about what to write. I tapped my pencil against the notebook, looked out the window, twirled my hair around my finger. Now, not sure if you know this, but I love to design things, especially rooms and houses. I had had a new house design in my head for days but hasn't had the motivation or time to draft it on paper. Obviously, instead of working on the journal, I jotted down a sketch of the house. This absorbed me for quite a while. When I realized just how desperately I was procrastinating on this simple assignment, I decided I needed liquid inspiration in the form of tea. I flew downstairs, English 11 journal and creative comp journal (from last year) both tucked under my arm. Once I was situated in the sun-flooded kitchen with a veritable bowl of holiday tea (by the by, 10/10 would recommend holiday tea), I flipped through my creative comp journal and read the various prompts. I came across at least three things that would make a great start to a poem - but no: I had to focus on this free topic journal, not poetry. I continued to think and was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the kitchen: the light, the tea, the colors, the warmth. This would be great stuff for another poem, I thought. Hurriedly, I scribbled down some words that captured the scene. Mentally closing the poetry section of my brain, I turned back to the task at hand... Only for my mind to stray to yet another distraction: piano. Fortunately, or unfortunately as I thought then, I soon remembered that this was impossible since my piano is electric and I was lacking - you guessed it - electricity. I nursed my tea, looking out the kitchen window and not writing a single word on the page open before me. My tea eventually depleted, I trudged back upstairs to my room and fell face down on my bed. "Forget it," I said, and threw my hands in the air. (I just want to point out that I was still face down on my bed when I threw my hands in the air. Yeah, I don't recommend it. (Unlike holiday tea.)) With that excellent devil-may-care attitude, I buckled down and wrote about whatever for ten minutes.

The point I'm trying to make here is not a how-to guide on procrastinating on the actual easiest assignment ever. (I wonder how many people I've fooled...) The point is that, while I am definitely a big fan of technology, sometimes it gets in the way of my creativity. It's so much easier to fall into another mindless website for hours instead of doing something that I really want to do but that takes effort. Part of it, of course, is the fact that I was trying to avoid writing the journal. But the bigger part is that said procrastination inspired me to work on things I hadn't for a long time. Additionally, I came up with a to-do list of creative things that require wifi. Have I accomplished everything on that list now that I've had power for a week? Are you kidding? Of course not. I got sucked back into the world of 2014 when I went to ballet at 7 on that same Monday. But, even though I haven't checked everything off that list, those eight hours without power prompted me to check off a few.

In other news, we are officially into Christmas - and Hanukkah - and just holiday in general - season! So, in the spirit of that, not only do I recommend holiday tea, I also would encourage you to listen to Straight No Chaser's Christmas album (Christmas Cheers), their Christmas Can-Can and Twelve Days of Christmas in particular. I promise, the Twelve Days of Christmas is not what you're expecting. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their last bit of break!

~ Maria