Laziness is a Disease
When I stop to think about it, I have to admit that I am pretty lazy. At the ripe old age of 32(?) (the memory is the first to go) I look back on my twenties as a time of reckless youth. You see, the plan for my life changes daily. One moment I want to study architecture, the next, I'm daydreaming about becoming a freelance writer. Now, all of this is pretty common. Many, if not most people daydream from time to time during their idle moments, and often this daydreaming is about living a life different from the one you currently find yourself in. But then again, perhaps I'm just speaking for me.
But I digress. My laziness is a combination of several factors really. The first being that I often choose the path of least resistance. Some people may call this procrastination. I'm the type that, more often than not, will put off today what I can do tomorrow even when I am bored or have "nothing" to do today. I can be quite creative in my procrastination as well, inventing mundane tasks and chores to perform while putting off something that is more urgent or a more productive use of my time. Writing is a good example of this. It's a bit of a cliche to say that a writer writes, but that is the truth of it. Still, instead of journaling on a daily basis, or making a blog entry, it's much easier to switch on the tube, or clean my apartment, or make something to eat than it is to sit down with the sole purpose of putting words on paper. The second thing I understand about writing is that writers love to write, they need to write. For a lazy person like me, there is no such imperative.
At this point I'd like to point out that I've read plenty of books on the subject of becoming a freelance writer. I understand the importance of making time to write on a regular basis. I'll admit that I've tried this on several occasions, each time with a firm commitment to my goals. Usually however, I stay on task for about a week before a relapse into... you guessed it, sheer laziness.
Similarly, the though of just sitting down and writing creatively is somewhat repulsive. Or to rephrase that, I'm not accustomed to sitting down to write without a specific purpose in mind. It's not, at this point, a habit. I like to think that in some inspired moments my writing is quite good, but obtaining quality results is often due to happenstance. Once again, it brings us back to the mantra; writers write! The more often one sits down to write, the more often inspiration has the chance to take hold. I'll assure you, I don't expect that every time I write something it will turn out pure gold, I just haven't convinced myself that it is acceptable to blather on about complete nonsense because at the very least it's an exercise. You know that other old addage, "the brain is a muscle..."
With all that being said I am hereby committing myself to writing SOMETHING on my blog every day, no excuses. I cannot vouch for the content of such posts but perhaps if I follow the mantra it's concievable that once in a while something good will come of it. I've got my fingers crossed.
But I digress. My laziness is a combination of several factors really. The first being that I often choose the path of least resistance. Some people may call this procrastination. I'm the type that, more often than not, will put off today what I can do tomorrow even when I am bored or have "nothing" to do today. I can be quite creative in my procrastination as well, inventing mundane tasks and chores to perform while putting off something that is more urgent or a more productive use of my time. Writing is a good example of this. It's a bit of a cliche to say that a writer writes, but that is the truth of it. Still, instead of journaling on a daily basis, or making a blog entry, it's much easier to switch on the tube, or clean my apartment, or make something to eat than it is to sit down with the sole purpose of putting words on paper. The second thing I understand about writing is that writers love to write, they need to write. For a lazy person like me, there is no such imperative.
At this point I'd like to point out that I've read plenty of books on the subject of becoming a freelance writer. I understand the importance of making time to write on a regular basis. I'll admit that I've tried this on several occasions, each time with a firm commitment to my goals. Usually however, I stay on task for about a week before a relapse into... you guessed it, sheer laziness.
Similarly, the though of just sitting down and writing creatively is somewhat repulsive. Or to rephrase that, I'm not accustomed to sitting down to write without a specific purpose in mind. It's not, at this point, a habit. I like to think that in some inspired moments my writing is quite good, but obtaining quality results is often due to happenstance. Once again, it brings us back to the mantra; writers write! The more often one sits down to write, the more often inspiration has the chance to take hold. I'll assure you, I don't expect that every time I write something it will turn out pure gold, I just haven't convinced myself that it is acceptable to blather on about complete nonsense because at the very least it's an exercise. You know that other old addage, "the brain is a muscle..."
With all that being said I am hereby committing myself to writing SOMETHING on my blog every day, no excuses. I cannot vouch for the content of such posts but perhaps if I follow the mantra it's concievable that once in a while something good will come of it. I've got my fingers crossed.
posted by JC at 10:58 AM
2 Comments:
hey justin,
good work with the plan to write everyday - I like it as it gives me a chance to procrastinate and use up my spare time without doing anything productive.
so cheers mate
K
Cheers K,
Happy to oblige, I try to make the reading at least mildly entertaining. See you at Steve's wedding. It's going to be a blast!
J
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