On waiting

When I read the Boice chapter(s) on active waiting, well, it's like Robert is watching me like I'm a horrible Grad student zoo experiment and he's judging my work habits. I am so very, very guilty of passive waiting, though oddly more when it comes to creative work. I find that I can "procrastinate" by doing teaching preparations very easily. In fact, when grading rolls around, I find it one of my best procrastination tools. I suppose I have this backwards.

That said, I am very much a get everything done in one sitting kind of gal. I know there is a book out there with a charming title, something like “how to write your dissertation in fifteen minutes each day” that a friend of mine was pouring over instead of writing her dissertation. When I expressed disbelief that such a thing were possible, she said that no, of course it wasn’t. The point was that by tricking yourself to write for fifteen minutes each day, some days you’d take longer and put more effort in. But I suppose that active waiting would take place in such a situation because you’re unnaturally (or I consider it unnatural) forcing yourself to take time and do a little at a time.

I really have a hard time not jumping right into something. That seems to be my modus operandi when it comes to writing, or at least how I get started. Much like how I feel this blog entry seems to be going, I simply word vomit on the page for as long as I can, and then I painfully go back and clean it up through vigorous revision. I’m willing to give this active waiting theory a shot, though. For my comment this week, I will actively wait upon it.

Anyone else feel like this active waiting thing is kind of similar to preparing for a date? I feel like I’d be buttering up my assignments before I actually do them. I guess that’s not entirely unappealing?