When procrastination leads to results

If you're reading this, then you've either found me or stumbled upon my online home — a virtual business card and portfolio of the work I do as a freelance journalist and writer. First and foremost, thanks for taking the time to be here and read my inaugural blog post.

The fact this site even exists is more the culmination of a long period of procrastination than it is a successive plan of execution. I say this because it took me 18 months from the point of deciding that I needed a website to the actual kickoff of executing the plan. Now that it's up, it's still not altogether finished, but at least it's getting there. Even as I write this, I'm wondering why I took so long just to make it happen. Was it the vision I had for what it would look like? No, couldn't be that. Maybe it was just a lack of urgency.

How else to explain procrastination than a lack of urgency to act. Complacency is defined as "a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements". Yeah, no doubt. I've always fancied myself a go-getter, but I think I did get a little complacent, never really accepting the fact I was holding off on finishing this personal project because of a sense of security in the steady workload I was dealing with month-to-month. But as a freelancer of anything should know, the work doesn't really follow you, you follow it like an opportunistic panhandler. The term "hustler" has a negative connotation to it because it's usually derived from the shady dealings of society's con artists, yet anyone who runs a business or works for themselves in any capacity has to hustle to earn a living. The satisfaction in making a buck is in providing you and your family quality of life with upward mobility in mind.

Even though I've been a journalist and writer for over 10 years, I find I still learn lessons about myself and how I work. Admittedly, I'm almost embarrassed to point out my 18-month inertia, given that I would be destitute if I applied that attitude to my career. Thus, it seems beyond reason that I would wait so long to put together something that benefits that very same career. If you're looking for me to impart logic in that, I'm sorry to say that I would fail you. Miserably, in fact. Life certainly didn't get in my way, I ultimately obstructed myself.

I find this sort of thing affects people in a variety of ways. One could be aimlessly drifting through their 20s and 30s talking about grandiose plans by design without a plan, while another may have the right frame of mind but no real desire to take a risk. I don't have the answers on why these things happen, only that I have worked hard to avoid falling in either camp. This is one reason I admire the tech startup companies I've encountered in my time doing my job. These are people who have pursued both an idea and a passion, creating rather than speculating; molding and crafting rather than predicting and posturing.

And it's with that in mind that I forge ahead with what I do, sharing it in a central place with whomever is interested to look, see and read. Procrastination should be defined as a colossal waste of time because that's ultimately what it is. If you have a passion for something, spend some time doing it. It may not be fruitful enough to make you a living, but it might be integral to giving you happiness and purpose to strive for something you want — or even something you didn't even realize you wanted.

Thanks again for stopping by. Hope you come back and read my articles and blog musings with interest and curiosity.