Sometimes I think one of the biggest things affecting my day to day happiness is a hybrid combination of procrastination and laziness.

I’m also not sure if it’s from being a millennial or years of cruise ship and touring life.

As a millennial, I think we’re kind of avoiders. I am totally speaking for myself, but I do see it in a lot of others. A key thing I avoid is unwanted social interaction. For example, I hatemost telephone calls. If I have to call a stranger on the phone, I will do a lot to avoid doing it, and you bet I’m gonna send a text first if that’s an option at  all.

Exhibit A: I’m staying in some theatre provided hotel-esque efficieny apartment that’s totally fine, but the first morning I went to make a cup of coffee and the coffee maker didn’t work.

I bought groceries that day and bought a bunch of k-cups and creamer, thinking “I will take care of this coffee maker problem today, I just have to call the front desk.”

But I really didn’t want to call the front desk and talk to a human. I figured, I’ll just tell a human in person the next time I go past the front desk. It turns out, I never go past the front desk.

Anyway a week of $4-5 coffees from the coffee place by the theatre later, I finally dialed 0 and told them my coffee maker didn’t work.

It took 20 seconds. The replacement was up here in less than 5 minutes.

I am an idiot.

At several jobs I’ve held in the past, the fuss to be able to walk away from what I was doing seemed so overwhelming I’d just procrastinate or not do it, then next thing I’d know, I’d gone three weeks without getting off the ship and I was getting mean as a snake and I couldn’t see clear enough to put two and two together.

If I was lucky and had good techs on that ship, someone would take my phone at the next port and be like “go away. You need to get off the ship.”

The circus was kind of the same way. It was always easier to just stay on the lot “in case” – but I eventually figured out that there always seemed to be an in case. That the work expanded to fill the time I was willing to put into, in a way.

In both cases, just a little effort made me such a happier human because in jobs that eat your entire life, you really need to get away when you can. But the effort often seemed like too much because I was exhausted and burnt out, but I was exhausted and burnt out from never turning off work.

So I just avoided the problem until it sort of blew up on me generally.

Here are some other weird projects I often avoid that wind up being super easy:

• Making clothing returns.
• Going to the post office.
• Calling my aunt (seriously, she’s never chatted for more than five minutes and I dread it each time).

Here are some weird things I think I hate doing but generally realize I like once I’m in the middle of doing them, after it took Herculean effort to get me there:

• Swimming
• Going to a bar alone
• Working on my blog in a coffee shop
• Taking the dog to the dog park

 

I’ve been reading Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and I guess I’m on a self-sabotage kick. I mean, the ways in which women sabotage ourselves are endless, but I think the general procrastination/laziness/avoidance triangle applies to everyone at times.

 

How are you sabotaging yourself these days?