The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel is an excellent distraction ... Junior Junior finds ways of putting off fee paying work right to the last minute ... Deadlines ... Smedlines
I always have. While I'm refreshing Facebook for the 76th time this morning, I swear I will get back into work in just a second.
There are no new posts on FB so I check the time, 10:30am. Perfect moment for a tea break.
A break can easily turn into two hours of distraction – boiling water, drawing the tea, sipping, reading the newspaper, internet research of restaurants reviewed in the Good Living section of the paper, looking up recipes for wattleseed pannacotta, and so on.
Suddenly it's lunchtime and two hours gets chewed-up with a clutch of girlfriends complaining about work, spouses, shopping, body hair and having to go to the gym.
By then it is afternoon tea time ...
You get the picture.
The end of the day arrives and I haven't actually struck a blow.
When there is no salary, this is a serious issue - yet I manage to convince myself tomorrow will be different.
Besides, I have a hearing next week, but rather than preparing for it I've become obsessed by my procrastination problem and decided to tackle it head on.
I popped out and bought The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel and have devoted three hours to extracting the marrow from this instructive volume.
I'm relieved to discover we are all genetically programed to procrastinate.
Well, relief for all of two-and-a-half seconds because I now have my back to the wall with this damned hearing.
There's nothing quite like an immovable deadline. It ensures several days of intense preparation, in which I produce cross-examination fit for a courtroom drama, and unimpeachable submissions.
The hearing goes swimmingly and, after a celebratory drink with the team, I head back to chambers where I'm supposed to draft some more submissions.
But, Facebook has been neglected for what seems like an eternity and needs concentrated attention.
Being a junior junior sort of barrister is a terrible breeding ground for procrastination.
Any time without work must be filled with something to ward off boredom.
In doing so I've created little happy habits that I can't break, even when the real work is piling-up.
Checking the updates on my top 20 favourite blogs isn't a problem when I have eight hours to fill, but it's a difficulty when fee-earning work is upon me.
I swore when I started on this career path that I would spend downtime fruitfully, chatting-up solicitors and writing brilliant articles for the Law Society Journal.
Needless to say, the best intentions in the world can be rapidly undone in the face of frayed nerves, chewed nails and an absence of income.
I picked up Mr Steel's book again and reasoned that if his insights stop me procrastinating, then the time I have spent reading it is hardly procrastination.