Procrastination and Associated Content

One of Associated Content's newest members is D. K. Hinton. D.K. is a junior in college or was when I started writing this article. She is studying Professionalism and Technical Writing. Based on her clear, concise writing style, (see Tips_on_Being Productive), she has not been sleeping in class. D. K. is just one example of talented new writers that join AC every week. Since I am not really a writer, I spend a fair amount of time reading articles written by real writers.

The reason is supposed to be to gain valuable insight from comparing different writing styles so that I may develop a style that is acceptable in a writer's community. The true reason is I just like to procrastinate. I not only like to, I am good at procrastinating.

An average procrastinator will use a motto like, "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" Being a master of the art of procrastination, my stock response is, "In the next 12 to 18 months, that's when I'll get around to doing _______." In the blank you can insert any mundane task that my significant other finds pressing. AC uses "Why do today what you can put off until Q4 of next year." In order to have enough things to put off, you have to start plenty of things not to finish or buy used stuff that will generate a "to do someday" list automatically.

Unfortunately, work related tasks and clogged toilets have to be dealt with in a timely manner. That is why I like to write for AC, they give me a new outlet for honing my procrastination skills. Technically, AC is work, but I can put things off without much effort or any repercussion. So you can imagine my shock finding a nice young person like D. K. writing about how to be productive and on AC of all places!

D.K. hasn't been at AC long enough to realize that procrastination is one of AC's secrets for success. The weekly page view updates that happen every couple or four weeks is a prefect example of the quality of procrastination at Associated Content. Some complain that the page view updates are still in beta testing. Then isn't life still in beta testing? Every day literally thousands of AC content producers log in several times a day to check for the page view updates. If AC actually performed updates on time, think of all the page views they would lose. This is effective use of procrastination.

While I am glad that D. K. is on board at AC, I am worried that a content manager might read her first effort. If that happens the AC we all know and love might change. Then were would we be? The anticipation of new forums, CP page redesign, page views updated hourly and interactive town hall meetings you don't have to burn an hour or so of cell phone minutes to hear would be lost. How boring would that be?

Think of how exciting it is when something new magically appears, or disappears on the AC site. When the page views are finally updated, it is like a little Christmas present. Not knowing when or if you will receive an offer on a submitted article lends an air of ambiguity similar to the real world. When was the last time the cable guy arrived between 1:00 and 4:00 O'clock as scheduled? Life and AC are lessons on prioritizing procrastination.

Now I ask you, all of my tens of loyal readers, to read D. K.'s article and imagine how horrific it would be if Associated Content followed her advice. Now I am off to write the ultimate article on the art of procrastination, it should be ready in the next 12 to 18 months.

Note: This article was submitted for non-payment. Associated Content has not reviewed and does not endorse this content.