Do something, anything.
September 8th, 2005
Given that the President of the United States of America was playing an approximation of a G-chord one fret too high on his presidential cutaway acoustic while New Orleans flooded, its easy to see how procrastination gets the better of us. Well maybe not. Luckilly most procrastination doesn’t contribute to the death of innocent civilians. We can take some time now to look at how to stop procrastination in our own more down to earth lives. Somehow I managed to watch the movie Ghost Dog twice in the past week, from the Hagakure:
When meeting calamities or difficult situations, it is not enough to simply say that one is not at all flustered. When meeting difficult situations, one should dash forward bravely and with joy. It is the crossing of a single barrier and is like the saying, “The more the water, the higher the boat.”
Clearly the quote slips into cliche and BS at the end, but alas. According to some anti-procrastination gurus (overviewed here), the best way to get something done is to get started with a little step. Before you know it, you’ll be saying: “I think the progress we’re making is significant,” –Dick Cheney (No longer MIW (missing in Wyoming) 9 days after he should’ve gotten started with some small first steps)
Also, one should note the similarity between Clam Lynch and the 43 folders guy at least in terms of their post titles.