Of my many flaws, procrastination tends not to be one of them. I learned a long time ago that it’s almost always better to do the awful thing now than to spend a bunch of time worry about the awful thing then have to do it anyway. Half the time, the awful thing turns out not to be so awful, and the time spent worrying about it was wasted. The other half the time, the thing is exactly as awful as I expected, but I’m already exhausted from worrying, so it’s worse.
Hence, I don’t really procrastinate.
I do, however, have a tendency to “save” projects until there’s more space, more time, more ability to have unstructured consideration of a topic (which may or may not ever materialize). And there are some projects it’s fine to save - cleaning out closets is better done over a break, as is Christmas shopping, as are big tasks like car-shopping that I don’t want to mess up because I’m tired.
But there are times that I take this tendency too far, bordering on the procrastination downsides that I generally try to avoid. I think some of this comes from teaching; it’s tempting to wait until a natural break, like the end of a grading period or a testing cycle, etc., to change things like seating charts or procedures or class jobs. Sometimes it’s great to have a fresh start. But I’m discovering that, more often than not, I’m putting too much thinking into what I’m going to do when it’s time and not enough energy into how to make the change so it will work or the why behind said change.
My husband had a friend in town last week, so I managed to extricate myself from the mountain of looming work for an evening. We went to one of the several South Austin bars that has a similar (though distinct) vibe: sprawling outdoor seating with heaters for winter and shade trees for summer, small but effective life music stage, every type of clothing you could imagine, some other activity to engage in (i.e. pickleball, volleyball, yard games, etc.). There were several food trucks there, and, while reading the menu for one of them, I noticed a sign that said “Soft Open.” I didn’t work in restaurants long enough to go through a soft open, but I love the concept. It allows friendly faces and potential friendly customers to try out a concept, figure out what’s working, give feedback, and iron out logistical kinks. Kind of like an invited dress rehearsal in theatre, or first reader of a manuscript. It asks for forgiveness for imperfection as part of the package, as you invite people in.
The idea of a soft open stuck with me this weekend, as I put a lot of mental energy toward things I am going to do over fall break, including revamping my morning and evening routine to reclaim some physical and mental space from work. I have put off those redesigns because I haven’t felt like I have the space to think about them fully, but, thinking about the food truck’s “soft open” sign, I suddenly realized that routines likely to greatly improve my wellbeing on the daily are not the kinds of things that should be “saved.” Those are the kinds of things that need to be DONE. In the present. However imperfectly, but NOW. I’m not talking about a sense of urgency (there’s enough of that already), but more a sense of possibility to just begin and see what emerges.
Some of the routines I’ve been considering involve calendars, like a daily intention and reflection and a variety of other everyday practices. I think that I’ve been subconsciously waiting to start those routines, too, until a “fresh start” time, like New Year’s. New calendar, new routine. And, while I love a fresh start (and certainly a fresh planner), again, some things shouldn’t really wait until the perfect time (which almost certainly doesn’t exist anyway). I realized, in flipping through the two small planners that I had bought for next year that not one but BOTH of them are actually 18-month calendars that started in August of this year.
So, inspired by both food truck and calendars, I decided to treat the rest of this year as a “soft open” for next year. Without the pressure of commitment, I’m trying out things that could become long-term habits or solutions. If they’re terrible, I’ll stop. If they’re great, I’ll get two extra months of benefit.
I got up early this morning to try to “have a morning” before work. This was a strategy I started the middle of last school year, and, while I’ve maintained it to a degree, I’ve compressed it to the point that I’m doing it in letter but not in spirit. Today, I did a variety of things that I want to make space for in the morning, and I did them at a reasonable rather than breakneck pace. And my day, while not perfect, felt different because of it. I’m not sure that the order I did things in will be permanent or that the number of morning things I’m trying to do is anything other than aspirational. But it’s a soft open. A place to start. A place to start the growing process.
I’d love to know what routines you’re dreaming of starting and what kinds of “soft opens” might benefit you.
November’s calendar is below! I know the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is tricky depending on how you celebrate (or don’t) that particular holiday. Since many studios are closed, I decided to offer a class this evening in preparation for what can be a stressful holiday or simply a gratitude-focused mid-week reset. Click here or below to register!
