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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Top Ten Ways to Procrastinate.

Procrastination, I've often said, is an under-appreciated art form. Sure, anybody can do it. But some are more skilled at it than others. Those of us in creative industries, like advertising? We probably spend more time procrastinating than anybody else on the planet.

So here, for your reading enjoyment, are my top ten ways to procrastinate (which I may or may not be writing while ignoring an imminent deadline):

1. Twitter, twitter, twitter till you can't tweet no more. Check in with your favorite tweeps. Check out the trending topics. Stalk those who did you wrong—and random folks you've never met.

2. Explore alternate career paths. What would it take to become a long-distance trucker?  How much do bartenders at Coyote Ugly make? Could you survive on a barrista's salary? Well, there's only one way to find out...

3. Facebook stalk...anybody. Old high school buddies, ex-coworkers, the bitchy supermom down the street...hours of entertainment can be had.

4. Do you speak Etsy? You should. There's a world of handmade goods out there, just waiting to be discovered.  Purses, jewelry, clothes, even tutus (yes, tutus).

5. Plan an escape. When dealing with writer's block, nothing sounds better than abandoning ship and heading for warmer climes. So I plan mythical vacations. Cruises, safaris, glacier treks - no adventure is too far fetched.

6. Explore the wonders of YouTube. What can't you find on YouTube? Laughing babies, sneezing pandas, stupid human tricks...an entire universe of procrastination goodness lies before you.

7. Find the answers to random trivia. Who played Inigo Montoya? Why do cats have more than one set of eyelids? Is Keith Richards really a vampire? If you search long enough, the Internet will probably supply the answers.

8. Plan elaborate meals I will never actually cook. So what if I can hardly boil water? For all google knows, I could be the next Julia Child. So why shouldn't I plan a menu including Beef Wellington, goat cheese souffle and molten lava cake? After all, my husband can always make it for me.

9. Games, games and more games. Have you discovered Bejeweled? Or ever participated in a Tetris tournament? If not, then you haven't really lived (or procrastinated).

10. Read blogs, of course. Right now, my reader says I have 820 entries to catch up on. Yep, that could keep me busy for a while.

But right now, I have an ad to write. And a baby to put to bed. And most importantly, Lost to watch. So why don't you tell me what your favorite ways to procrastinate are?

15 comments:

  1. I am all about the facebook stalking (ha!) and the reading blogs. There are so many great ways to procrastinate, thanks to the internet!

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  2. why aren't we friends on facebook yet? this is ridiculous.
    Kiran

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  3. Pretty much the same as yours. Don't get me started on Twitter. Oh my!
    And Facebook, UGH! But not so much now that i have Twitter.
    And blogging, my drug.

    There is always reading. Getting caught up in a good book and NOT putting it down. *SIGH*

    Thanks for reminding me what I should be doing.
    ;)
    I probably won't stop procrastinating though.

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  4. I guess I should have made that title ways to procrastinate online...get me off the computer and there are no limits!

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  5. i am so so guilty of just about all of these. i can literally spend hours on foodnetwork.com and have planned more vacations than i can count...and i never even go on vacation. i'm pretty sure that's the sad part.

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  6. I am guilty on all named time wasters... My newest favorite is realtor.com. Looking for a place to live.

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  7. I get sucked into Youtube. I go there for one clip and end up watching tons of related ones.
    Today, though, it's all blogs. I'm so far behind!

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  8. Procrastination really is an art! Haha. I do a lot of those too.

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  9. This is an awesome list-- I was just starting to be productive and you saved me! :)

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  10. Will you be mad if I steal your list and post it on my blog? I'd re-title it of course...Top Ten Things I Do When I'm Ignoring My Children. ;)

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  11. @ The Red-Headed Step-Child...don't forget to add, reading my friend Amber's awesome blog... ;-)

    To all the rest of you, I'm glad I could be of service.

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  12. These are so true and so me! Help! LOL

    Found you on COM.

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  13. The sneezing panda on YouTube is the BEST! I used it all the time when I was teaching. "If you all get packed up super quickly, we'll have time to watch the sneezing panda. Again.", etc. Worked like a charm.

    My new internet time-suck is designing my dream home. Which I'll, of course, never have - but oh, the dreaming... And imaginary decorating. Thank you, HGTV.com.

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  14. I sit down to read blogs and the next thing I know an hour has gone by, but it only feels like a minute. It can be such a time suck.

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