On Adulting: Harmless Procrastination

As I transition out of school (soon!) and into a real sort-of-adult life, I’ll be bringing you some posts about the feelings, struggles, and wins that come along with that whole process. Some will be more serious, others more silly. This definitely falls into the silly category, but that’s fine by me.

I take a lot of pride in getting sh*t done, so stressful procrastination has never been my thing. My schoolwork gets (mostly) done long before it’s due and I give my work assignments a bright red mental label that screams, “URGENT”. That said, at any given time there are several easy, low-urgency things that I am putting off for exactly no good reason… but I have a reason for all of them. Wanna hear?

Activating new credit cards

I’m 99% sure I just have to call some toll-free number and I’ll be able to use the new credit cards I’ve opened. Then, I can peel the stupid “CALL BEFORE USE” stickers off, put them in my wallet, and be on my merry way. However, I hate making phone calls, and two Fridays ago I made 5 in a row. My quota for the month is up. I’m pretty sure I won’t even have to talk to a person, but… I still haven’t done it. 

Also, the last three times I intended to do it, I unlocked my phone, forgot what I was doing, and ended up scrolling through Instagram. Life.

Cleaning my bathroom

My makeup has exploded all over the counter and my hand towel is in the sink I don’t use (I have two sinks). I kind of want to show you a picture, but I also don’t want you to judge me, so just believe me on this one.

My bathroom is tiny. Cleaning it takes a grand total of 25 minutes, 30 if I’m being ridiculously thorough, and close to an hour that time I was on Marinol and obsessed with cleaning. So, why wait? Well, my uncle and his girlfriend are coming to stay with us tomorrow night, so I’ll be sharing my bathroom with them. And, honestly, I could make it all untidy again in 24 hours. Sad but true.

Making travel plans

UChicago keeps sending me passive aggressive emails reminding me that I haven’t yet told them how I’m getting to Paris. Well, that’s because I don’t know how I’m getting to Paris. I assume on a train, but I don’t know when, and they want confirmation information.

After my tour of England and Ireland, I’ll have 5 days before classes start in Paris. How am I supposed to know what I’m doing with those 5 days a month in advance? Exactly. Maybe I’ll want to hang in London, but maybe I’ll want to travel a little more if I feel like I missed something in the previous 10 days. Maybe I’ll want to go to Paris early and get familiar with the city.

So, I’m just trusting that I’ll get there and hoping the school isn’t too mad about that. (And yes, I’ve explained the situation. They don’t care. They want to know how I’m getting there.)

Replacing my Fitbit

I’ve had a Fitbit One for a little over 3 years, and it might be on its last legs. The battery used to last over a week, and now I’m lucky to get 3 days out of it. I find knowing my step count very satisfying, so I will definitely replace it soon, but I’m in decision paralysis mode over getting another One (which I’ve been very happy with) or switching to one of the models you wear on your wrist.

Kinda leaning toward the One because a small part of me also wants to eventually get an Apple Watch, and I don’t want two wrist wearables with the number of bracelets I wear. Kinda leaning toward a wrist model because I want a new toy to play with.

Closing my tabs

There are 39 tabs open on my computer as I write this. That’s pretty much as many as I ever have, and I know it’s not good for my mental health or my computer’s health to have them open, but closing them feels so final. 

What if I lose all of my search skills and never find that job application ever again? What if I forget about the recipes I haven’t made yet? What about the video I didn’t watch? And seriously, what if I lose the list of 100 best burgers in America? HOW WILL I LIVE?

I just reassessed and closed three… and promised myself to bake a lot and apply a lot next week.

The rationale

I figure that having some undone tasks gives me something to do when my brain is fried and I’m tired and still need to feel productive. It’s not like I’m putting off paying my bills or eating, and I get to feel extra accomplished when I actually deign to cross these off my list.

And, well, there is no rationale for the tabs. I just like to pretend there is.

Your turn:

Are you more likely to put off little tasks or big ones?

How do I close my tabs?