I was sitting in
a church pew at
Old St. Mary's
in San Francisco
this past
Saturday with my
wife and two
children,
looking around
for the rest of
my family. It
was 12:55, the
wedding started
at one and not
one of my four
brothers and
sisters, nor
their children
nor my parents
were anywhere to
be seen.
"I can't believe
it," I whispered
to my wife.
"They're going
to be late." She
laughed under
her breath. "Oh
course they're
going to be
late," she
whispered back.
"Your parents
are always late
and anyone
traveling with
them is going to
get sucked into
that vortex."
I knew she was
right. Growing
up, we were
always late for
services, not
just most of the
time, all of the
time. My mother
blamed it on
having to get
five children
ready, but my
wife pooh-poohs
that notion. "If
you're always
ten minutes
late, then just
start getting
ready ten
minutes
earlier," she
says, as if that
were the easiest
thing in the
world.
One of my
brothers filled
the pew with his
brood right, as
they say, at the
wire. "Where are
the folks?" I
asked him,
though I already
knew the answer.
"They're just
running a little
behind," he
said.
I could hear my
wife chuckling.
We all know the
practitioner who
is addicted to
late. We notice
the little
signs. The
anxious attorney
peering over
their
assistant’s
shoulder as if a
steady glare can
make fingers
type that final
draft just a
little faster.
Malevolent
cursing at the
copy machine
when some paper
jams at a
critical
inopportune
moment. The
attorney service
driver hanging
around in the
reception area,
waiting to make
a mad dash for
the filing
window.
I remember in my
law clerk days
on mid-Wilshire
there was a
lawyer who
seemed
creatively
limited only in
the ways in
which he could
test the
deadline fates.
I remember one
breathless water
cooler tale
about how he and
his associate
packed into a
sedan at the
eleventh and one
half hour,
blasted through
Koreatown
traffic, hit a
movie shoot
diversion that
shaved a
precious minute
off his
razor-thin
timeline,
leaving him
begging through
a closed door
for some
disinterested
filing clerk to
please take the
summary judgment
opposition.
That’s how I
learned about
doing an ex
parte
application to
ask for relief
when a filing
doesn’t make it,
so to speak, to
the church on
time,.
I recall the
prominent trial
lawyer at the
Stanley Mosk
courthouse who I
ran into during
the first phase
of his
bifurcated
trial. He
related how his
office had filed
a complaint on
the final minute
of the last day
and then
somehow, the
filing got lost.
The first phase
of the trial was
just to find out
if his case was
barred by the
statute of
limitations. Not
a great way to
introduce a jury
to your tricky
causation p.i.
claim.
I think the
introduction at
www.procrastinators-anonymous.org
says it
brilliantly:
Not a Laughing
Matter!
The jokes about
procrastination
infuriate me.
This is not a
funny problem -
not if you are
suffering from
true, chronic
procrastination.
Lawyers have
been disbarred
due to
procrastination.
Small business
owners have lost
their businesses
due to
procrastination.
People's lives
fall apart and
are destroyed
due to
procrastination.
This is not a
funny problem.
So, if you fit
the chronic
procrastinator
profile, just
what can you do?
Probably the
most important
thing is to
recognize you
have a habit
that needs
dealing with.
Procrastination,
the experts say,
has various and
sundry causes
such as fear of
failure, fear of
success,
distracting work
environment or
just simply too
much to do and
not enough time.
Coming from a
chronically
procrastinating
clan, I’ve had
to train myself
over the years
to get ahead of
the curve in my
work, with what
I believe is
reasonable
success (just
don’t ask Cindy
Cantu about my
column deadline
habits). My
particular path
to redemption
included several
near death
experiences, a
senior partner
who is
chronically
early, an able
assistant who
hates doing work
right on
deadline and a
supportive
spouse who will
kick my @#$ when
necessity
requires.
So, examine your
workload,
reflect and
remember that ,
as the Chinese
love to remind
us, a journey of
a thousand miles
always begins
with a single
step,. Take it
from a
recovering
procrastinator,
there is
boundless joy,
as well as much
lower anxiety,
in getting ahead
of the curve.
Just don’t keep
putting off
looking for a
cure to what
ails you. Oh,
and for the
record, I am
filing this
column on the
day it is due.
First time in
months, but I’ll
still take the
win, thank you
very much.
Some useful tips
from
www.johnplaceonline.com:
You’re looking
for the sweet
spot between
procrastination
and frenzy, the
magic pace at
which the
assembly line of
your life runs
smoothly.
Here are 11
common causes of
procrastination
and
corresponding
tips to help you
find the pace
you’re looking
for:
•
Complicated-task
anxiety:
Break
big,
complicated
tasks
into
smaller
pieces.
Complete
a
starter
task,
no
matter
how
small.
•
Fear
of
imperfection:
Accept
that
perfection
is
rarely
attainable
and
seldom
necessary.
You’re
a
person,
not
a
robot.
Use
the
80/20
rule
whenever
appropriate.
•
Indecision:
Determine
your
decision-making
criteria,
then
set
a
deadline
for
your
decision.
Ask
a
friend
to
hold
you
accountable.
•
Priority
confusion:
Distinguish
obligations
from
options.
What
are
you
really
responsible
for?
List
and
prioritize
tasks.
•
Boredom
from
minutiae:
Automate
simple
repetitive
tasks
whenever
possible.
•
Lack
of
focus:
Minimize
distractions.
Check
e-mail
and
voicemail
only
twice
per
day
instead
of
every
5
minutes.
Find
a
quiet
room
where
you
can
concentrate.
Resist
the
urge
to
keep
taking
breaks.
•
Poor
organizational
skills:
Clean
your
work
area.
Put
tools
and
utensils
in
their
proper
place
so
you
can
find
them
when
you
need
them.
•
Laziness:
Remind
yourself
of
the
consequences
of
procrastination.
Resist
the
urge
to
be a
couch
potato.
Try
to
complete
several
small
tasks
to
provide
a
feeling
of
accomplishment.
Reward
yourself.
•
Lack
of
energy:
Maintain
a
regular
sleep
routine.
Eat
healthy.
Exercise
regularly.
Do
not
skip
breakfast.
•
Early
morning
lag:
Before
you
stop
working
each
day,
make
a
list
of
the
tasks
you
want
to
begin
first
thing
the
following
morning
so
you
can
hit
the
ground
running
the
next
day.
•
Post-lunch
fatigue:
Before
leaving
for
lunch,
make
a
list
of
the
things
you
plan
to
do
when
you
get
back
so
you
can
pick
up
where
you
left
off.
Avoid
eating
a
heavy
lunch. |
35
Advocate 28
(July 2008)
LEARNING
CENTER
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