I have a coffee mug that quips, “I put the Pro in Procrastination.” I bought it as a joke a few years ago when I was starting out as a novel writer. It was definitely true at the time, but I didn’t know how true until my daily grind required me to bust out fiction on demand.

If writing as a job sounds like heaven to you, believe me it is. There is nothing I’d rather do than sit around on my computer making up stuff all day and night. They say in heaven that just like here on earth, you have a job. Except, unlike here, your job is the one thing that God designed you to be most fulfilled doing, and you spend all eternity doing it. Sometimes when I’m writing, I think I glimpse a little bit of that.

Without getting too ooey-gooey, I will say that there is something to that. There is something oddly mystical I feel when I’m writing, and I think it has to do with that I’m connecting with my eternal purpose in some small way. It’s humbling and beautiful, and fulfilling and I try not to think about it too much or else I’ll make too much out of it.

But writing is hard work. I love it. Nothing else makes me feel more alive that when I’m writing. But, it’s still hard work. And, I know I can write quickly and easily, so I put it off as long as I can. And, I find other smaller things to do. And, as such, I’ve become an amazingly much more productive person.

Here’s what I’ve been able to accomplish during my procrastination over just the last month:

While procrastinating on my writing I….

….Printed out all my credit reports, and found that the major credit bureaus were offering free weekly credit reports through April 2021 as part of their COVID response. I printed all of them out, and put them in a little notebook, and I replace them weekly.

….I made a list of all the negative things on my credit report (there weren’t many, just a couple of things), and made a schedule when to pay to pay them off. I made a pretty little spreadsheet that I color coded and printed out, and put in my little notebook, and set alerts on my phone of when to make schedule payments.

….Followed the schedule, and during the course of my weekly monitoring, saw my credit score go up 60 points in the last month…just by following my schedule. (As a reminder, I did this all while procrastinating on my writing). I checked in on my credit report almost daily, watching the progress go up. I filed disputes on a couple of entries, on all 3 bureaus and had a couple of things flat out deleted.

….Called a financial advising nonprofit to talk about debt management, and they directed me to a place where I could get my student loans under control. I called the place, who signed me up for a plan where I pay nothing for six months toward my student loans, and then they will mark me as current, not behind on them. And, then, the positive actions of been current on my loans will be reported on my credit report making my score go up. (Yes…please).

….Did all the paperwork to sign up this program, and called and followed up.

….Called my undergraduate university and got them to settle a balance for about half of what I owed them, so that I could start applying to graduate school.

-Started journaling again and kept up a regular 20 minute a day habit.

-Started a daily Bible reading plan, and read all of Genesis so far. I’m currently in Exodus starting the whole Moses story.

-Started working out 30 minutes a day five days a week, and lost ten pounds.

….Booked a one-week investigative trip to a certain city, where there’s this magazine is that I’ve wanted to work for all my life. So far, I’ve only managed to mainly get ignored by them. (I did do a couple of pittance freelance pieces for them a few years back. I did them with fervor and integrity…but then, after the checks were cashed, I got ignored again). But I hope this next week to bang down their doors and really get in. If I can make progress with them, I’ll work on moving to said city. I leave tomorrow.

-Fixed my broken laptop by ordering and installing two replacement keys.

-This was after diagnosing the keys as broken after excessive attempts to clean them failed. (Buying compressed air, cleaning with a q-tip dipped in alcohol…etc.)

….Shopped for and decorated my entire apartment. This included 24 piece queen been set from Macy’s, which I got on sale after my extensive research convinced me it was the best value.

….Chose and assembled a brand new double dresser. This last part included copious amounts of online research, and then making the hour long trip to Ikea, browsing the store for an entire afternoon, finding a few other little odds and ends, and then getting the dresser home, and assembling it.

….Upgraded all my electronics….that is…new TV, new phone, replaced a broken iPad, and bought an Apple Watch and desktop.

…Researched for and chose a printer.

…Bought a new iPad case and screen protector, and sucked at installing the screen protector, then sent back it to Amazon.

-Renewed my passport…not for any particular reason. Just so that I’m prepared to jump up and go to Europe if the budget allows. This, however, included getting new photos, filling out paperwork, and procuring a money order. (Did I mention I was consciously and actively procrastinating while doing all of this? Seriously…)

….Found a new book series and read the whole thing in less than a week.

…Now that the 2010’s are over, I finally joined the decade and figured out the whole e-book scene.

…Gone to the Farmer’s Market every other week. (while actively procrastinating).

…Got on the phone and online and kicked up dirt to help family member being their apartment search, and even toured a place with them.

I can’t remember what else. I just know that I’ve been a very productive person over the last month. Although, my editors would likely disagree.

I should procrastinate more often.