Competitive Procrastination

Recently, I stumbled upon an article about structured procrastination which basically is a way to put off doing very important tasks for other things that are deceptively urgent and important, but really are just plain excuses. I've been doing that a lot lately, and I've conjured up a lot of excuses, which makes me sort of a master in structured procrastination: having to enroll in a martial arts class to improve my defensive skills in the face of danger (you'll never know when you'll need it, but thank God in my whole life, I haven't had any encounter), buying loads of IQ books to keep me mentally well-oiled, sleeping every chance I get, accomodating even trivial requests from people at the laboratory, setting up (sometimes unnecessary) meetings with different people in the name of my research, checking my emails a bit too often, watching news channels on TV and engorging different dailies (whether in print or online) like my survival depended on having a say at every news item that breaks out once in a while. It makes me feel guilty especially when I review what I've so far accomplished for the day before I sleep at night, which makes me resolve to change my ways the next day... my will only to be defeated by a thousand more excuses not to, and the same old familiar story of misplaced priorities just repeats itself.

Today's no different. But this time, I've been a bit more creative. I say, if I'd have to waste my time, then I'll have to do it the best way I can. I call that "Competitive Procrastination". Here's the result of my work:

The satisfaction I get from having accomplished so much in playing games cancels out the guilt I get from not doing my research. So, I've eaten my brunch, I've played games, I've written a blog entry... What's the next excuse? Hmmm... I guess, it's time for a refreshing merienda. Happy holidays, everyone!