Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The art of Procrastination

As of now, at this very moment, I was supposed to be writing bits and pieces of code that may not make any difference to anybody, or I should have been writing bits or pieces of technical content that would make no difference to humankind, except that some individual would get his thesis approved someday.

Then what am I doing here ? Why am I writing this post oblivious of the fact that I could do something potentially more useful to myself, if not others! As I write this statement I am thinking, "I am actually doing the right thing. Doing what I want to do, at this point of time.". While it may not be true (and it actually might be!), I am justifying the purpose of the post as an understanding of what I truly want, or where I truly belong. Despite this justification I have had a few questions:
  1. Why do I choose to write a blog-post instead of doing something more active or more funny (or even more romantic perhaps!) ?
  2. If I truly believe that writing the blog-post is the right thing, then why do I ever have to write a thesis (or a piece of code as mentioned earlier) ? Why not just keep blogging on various topics that are of great interest to me or you (the reader) or at the very least Googlebot (or Slurp) ?
The first question will be answered a little later, for that needs more thought than I had anticipated.
Coming to the second question, I happened to ask myself another associated question: "Do I really believe that writing this blog-post is the right thing ?" Well if i could answer this then the later part of the second question is almost answered by itself. Because If I believe it is the right thing then I'd write the thesis at any other point of time and still get the degree (MS by Research in computer science) at the end of 2009. And if I don't think this (blogging) is the right thing to do at this point of time then I wouldn't have been doing it anyway, and instead would have written that piece of code or that piece of thesis that would fetch me my degree (still) only at the end of 2009. And the statement at the end of the second question that questions my intentions to keep posting on this blog is bogus as I have never ruled it out, especially in the interest of Googlebot, Slurp and others.

Now, coming back to the first question, I think I have figured out why I should be writing this post. Well, I already wrote it, didn't I ? You could see I am not writing about dogs in the playground, kittens in your bedroom, or technology at your doorsteps. I am here writing about the constructive (or destructive) use of a destructive (or constructive) word called Procrastination without actually using the word more than once!
Coming to the alternatives to writing this post as questioned by myself "doing something more active or more funny (or even more romantic!)", I think I cracked the code. I should undoubtedly do all these and more things, but instead why not just blog about those more active or more funny ( or even more romantic!) topics of interest as well ?


  • PS: I can sense in myself a feeling of satisfaction and achievement as i wrote this post on a topic of mutual interest (to me and Googlebot again!), in exactly 1 hour, 1 minute and 1second. Some timing, this one has got!
  • PS2: I made up the last part of PS. 1 hour and 1 minute was reasonably approximately correct. :-)