Intermediary Time
- By Clayton
- March 22, 2013
- Comments Off on Intermediary Time
There’s bound to be a lot to say about jumping on and capitalizing on inspiration. There are so few people who can actually have an idea and then act on it immediately. However, whenever there are people like that, I’ve noticed that they inevitably end up with good reputations for being productive, and always seem to be doing something new with their time, having completed, perfected, or simply moved on from what they had been working on previously. Getting started on something without letting it have time to simmer is one of the greatest ways to get things done that I’ve found. Unfortunately for me, I’m a terrible procrastinator. I wonder if I can break that somehow, but consciously pushing through. (Example: I’m very fired up to be typing this right now. I just misspelled the word “consciously”… twice. I’m making terrible typos all the way through this, but I’m realizing just how much steam I’m losing by going back and correcting and editing.) There has to be a separation between inspiration, executing, and editing. Earnest Hemingway said “Write drunk, edit sober.” Dr. Randle, Dean of the English Department at Mississippi College taught a distinction, that it was impossible to rationalize an emotion while you’re still feeling it. There has to be a separation; if you can rationalize it, you’re no longer experiencing it. This can be helpful for those experiencing negative emotions, whereby they can just try to comprehend what they’re feeling and it will take away some of the sting of actually feeling that emotion. However, it can also cause positive emotions or circumstances to lose their value if they are categorized too quickly. I think this may have some play into the idea that more intelligent people are more prone to depression and anxiety. Especially the metaphysical thinkers.
The point of all of this is to investigate my feelings on the topic of intermediary time. Right now, I’m typing this because I got out of one appointment early, and have about a half an hour before I need to leave for my next thing. I have extra time. I have a brief period where I find myself active and proactive, but without any direction. So, like being surrounded by the enemy, I can feel safe and justified by striking in any direction. It’s amazing how when someone doesn’t want to do anything, that they will find any excuse not to do that thing. I’ve actually done homework when I didn’t want to go somewhere, just because the homework, while still not entertaining, was the lesser of two non-entertaining evils I faced at the time. Also, the idea of attractive or entertaining like this is incredibly relative to the circumstance.
So, how do I capitalize on intermediary time? The times were I have just enough time to get started on something, where inspiration is flowing and most importantly, ambition and drive are at all-time highs? I have no idea. These times are usually accompanied by the idea that I only have just enough time to start things, but won’t have enough time to finish them. I feel there is something strong about having a deadline, much like those who have found out from a doctor that they only have a set amount of time left in life and go about trying to live it to the fullest. I find I live to the fullest when I have an impending deadline. So how do I set these deadlines in my head so that I actually want to hold them? How do I manufacture ambition? These are my next areas to investigate, and hopefully I will be able to start immediate. Right after I go do other stuff. Or maybe after that.
Book I just started. I feel I have to finish it in a week or less.
