Procrastination

This is the latest fad with me – procrastination. You don’t believe me? Well, it has taken me a fortnight to think of this one topic and another five or six hours to actually start giving shape to this write-up. I must admit I was distracted thousands of times (I’m not exaggerating, believe me if you like). My cell phone beckoned to me with endless reels, videos and posts on social networking sites.

A couple of hours to go for midnight and I’m still trying to complete this piece. I’ve been putting it off repeatedly. I’m reminded of Alphonse Daudet’s ‘The Last Lesson’ when M. Hamel, the teacher, says to his class, “Everyday we have said to ourselves ‘Bah! I’ve plenty of time’... And now see where we’ve come out.” Yes, I look at the clock again and try to hurry up but... that voice within... doesn’t leave me be. I can’t help but remember lines from Gerald Gould’s poem Wander-Thirst, ‘It works in me like madness, dear, to bid me say good-bye (to work)... And there’s no end of voyaging (read scrolling) when the voice is heard’. So, here I am sorely tempted to give into the frailties of the flesh but then I’m equally adamant to rebel against Shakespeare when in Hamlet he says, ‘Frailty, thy name is woman’.

But the question is whether it’s worth the effort to wage war against the frailties of mortal human beings? Shakespeare didn’t become immortal by his views or did he? Anyway, it’s tiresome to debate with myself from both ends, it feels like Alice in Wonderland wondering ‘which way... which way...’ after drinking from a bottle or eating a cake or a piece from the caterpillar’s mushroom.

Now... now... All this thinking has given me a headache that can only be relieved by a dose (healthy or unhealthy, whichever you feel) of scrolling through my social media accounts. If you ever get around to reading this blog post do tell me what you think about procrastination. Be assured that you will have my prompt attention. Are you wondering why? Well, ain’t I spending day and night online, procrastinating these days? Well... Well... Well... Will you call that procrastinating or being prompt and social?

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