Source: flowofficewisdom
I am not a true procrastinator. Most of the time I keep ahead of deadlines and I like to get the yucky projects done first.
Most of the time. (That phrase is key.)
I have developed a few tips on how to legitimately procrastinate because it makes sense (sort of). Here are my excuses. Feel free to use them.
The “I’ll clean up my desk first so there isn’t so much clutter.” This works best to procrastinate tax returns. You will have little slips of paper all over your desk and you don’t want your 20% off coupons filed in with your taxes. Or even worse, those little post-it’s with blog ideas. *shudder*
“As soon as the litter is cleaned” is a good one. Of course not everyone can use this. First you need cats. If you have cats (one will do) you are gold. They always poop. Part of cleaning the litter is taking inventory of your cats; making sure everyone is happy; and taking time to bond. This activity could take hours (just saying).
“It needs more research” is another good reason to put off a decision. I use that mainly for cars, cell phones and things I really don’t like to buy.
When it comes to clothes, jewelry or shoes, “more research” means checking out websites (or stores) to make sure what I want isn’t available at a lower price. It’s a very dangerous activity because you end up with those free shipping offers (only free if it’s over a certain amount) and before you know you have surpassed the minimum three times over.
For outdoor projects, the weather is always a consideration. You can make any weather sound like the wrong weather. it just takes practice.
“It’s too nice to spend it digging the garden or cleaning leaves or…”
“I can’t clean the house when it rains. It’s too depressing!”
“It’s too cold (anything under 72 degrees can be considered too cold) to work outside.”
“It’s too hot (anything over 72 degrees can be considered too hot) to work outside.”
You get the picture. You don’t have to be a serial procrastinator to make things work for you but sometimes you do need to be creative – a little stretch here and a little stretch there.
It’s all good. I will resume researching cell phones….
Do you have any good excuses to share?
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
Love this post, Kate. I can remember when writing full time, I’d have little yellow post its stuck all over my desk top, drawers, sides and all over the walls surrounding the desk. This was in addition to all the scraps of paper with notes. My husband couldn’t believe I could work in that mess. I told him it was organized chaos. lol. But I think it was just my way of putting off cleaning my work area.
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Looking at my desk right now, I have more tiny slips of paper then full-sized sheets. Organized chaos, I like that!
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Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
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And then there is next week.
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Kate … I can’t do it now. I’ve got a kitten on my lap.
Brilliant. That “it needs more research line” keeps me from writing my book. 😉
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The cat on my lap excuse helps when we are in front of the TV. I can’t possibly get something because of that!
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I sure am glad that I’m not the only one! I have multiple to-dos that I just can’t find the time to do. I work best under pressure, but now that I’ve retired, I don’t have much pressure. Oh well, it’s time to clean the cat box.
Oh wait, I don’t have a cat.
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I’ll loan you one of mine (litter boxes, not cats)
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Great post Kate 🙂 The ‘it needs more research’ is my go-to excuse for every writing project I’m working on. Needless to say very little writing gets done but I get to surf the web for hours on end and I get to buy/borrow books by the dozen for ‘research purposes’
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Hmmm….that sounds familiar. Maybe I am more of procrastinator than I thought.
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I think sending a 20% off coupon in with taxes is worth a shot… Shoot…I may even have a 50% coupon here somewhere. But first I need to do a little decluttering…as soon as it’s 72 degrees… I’ll get back to you.
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As long as I don’t send in one of my blog ideas….especially those about the insanity of taxes….then again….I have to ponder this.
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I am an Olympic worthy PROcrastinator. I always have been. I don’t know why..
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You are a master! Everyone has their niche. Be proud!
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I’ve been by a couple of times, but can’t make up my mind exactly what to comment.
Oh my those huge Christmas boxes are cluttering up the place. Hey I can put a place holder now and come back after i dump some of that stuff out so it looks like the Christmas person is actually thinking about putting stuff up…will buy a little time and make a reasonable excuse for why there are dog tumbleweeds..oh, RC is commanding food…must go see about that…she has ugly plans if ignored too long….like I would intentionally ignore a yowling cat …it’s just that I’ve been by here several times already and got interrupted….
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So sneaky and deliberate and perfectly procrastinating! Couldn’t decide which word to describe so I didn’t.
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It does depend what the task at hand is. I don’t like shopping of any kind so “maybe there will be a coupon later on” is one that I might use.
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Good one. That would be for things that I have to buy that aren’t any fun but are expensive — like eye drops or other OTC meds or boots for bad weather. I could come up with a lot of things for that one.
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How about this: My husband doesn’t mind shopping for those needed things. I don’t want to go and will say, “Why don’t you go and enjoy being out and away from the house for a bit. Get a bit of exercise. I’ll stay here just in case someone calls. And by the way when you are out, would you pick up xxxx”
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You are good!
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My biggest excuse is “Oh, I have plenty of time.” I’ve found I work best under the pressure of a deadline. The more time I have, the less I accomplish.
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On really dreaded work projects, that worked. If it was something I enjoyed I was all over it early.
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I’ll just check in on ONE more blogger, before I go do my chores …..
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Excellent! That one always works for me!
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