It’s hard, it really is! You’re sitting at your desk, supposed to be doing your work. Or you have a big school assignment to hand in or important exam to study for. Or you should be making some phone calls- schedule that doctor’s appointment, research plumbers…Stuff like that. You know what happens. You sit down with the best of intentions. Maybe you even brought your extra large, extra cozy mug of coffee to help you through. Or your bag of M & M’s. Or whatever does it for you. You’re gonna get things done and you’re not getting up until your mission is accomplished.

But of course you need to check your email first. Of course, because  there could be something important there that needs your immediate attention. And then you’re clicking on that link, because 50% off is 50% off. Can’t argue with that! Then you hear your phone buzz- it’s on vibrate because you didn’t want to be interrupted. Text message from the friend you’ve been trying to connect with for weeks! How can you not respond? But you’re being good today, gonna cross things off your list, so you text back and forth a little and then let her know you have to get back to work. But first, you’re just going to take a quick look at your calendar because you need to see if there are important things happening this week. Life is busy and you have to be on top of your schedule. Okay, calendar is organized, but since the phone is in your hand already, you might as well see if it’s your turn on Words With Friends.

Back to the computer. Back to work. For real. Except that there’s always some celebrity scandal and you want to see the pictures and read up a little bit on it. After all, you are a citizen of the world and you need to know what’s going on, which includes reading comments because being well-informed means also knowing what other people are thinking. So that’s another few minutes, maybe a half hour. You know you need to focus on not getting distracted, and you will, just as soon as you check the weather, because, you know, with global warming anything can happen at any time and it’s important to be prepared.

Did I paint a good scenario? I certainly hope I did, since I consider myself a master of wasting time. I’m not completely incompetent so eventually I get things done. But for some reason, when it’s important that I focus and do what I need to do, there are so many things that demand my attention. There’s just so much stimulation sticking itself in my face all the time, how can I possibly help it? And I’ve come to think that may not even be so terrible. There’s got to be some value to wasting time and procrastination. I think it keeps me on my toes. I know that at some point I’ve got to settle down and do my work, so it’s on my mind all the time even when I’m busy with something else. And maybe all the “distractions” are really just fodder for my creative juices- inspiration if you will. I like that idea! Wasting time is no longer just wasting time- I will now think of it as research and inspiration. And it seems I’m not the only one, either. Look at this for fun. I found it while I was sitting at my desk trying to get “inspired.”