I have a new man in my life. He showed up on my doorstep a few days after Christmas with a list of ways he could help me. I have to confess, I was dubious. His name is Pierre. He’s short and squatty and on first glance, not particularly impressive. But I decided to give him a chance to prove himself, so I pointed him in the right direction and let him do his thing.
And in only a few days, I think I’m in love.
Okay, so Pierre isn’t a human guy—he’s a robotic sweeper. And I named him. But I’m not kidding about the being in love part. Pierre is mopping my kitchen floor as I write this blog entry—with no backtalk and he won’t expect a ticker tape parade when he’s done. In fact, he’ll go back to his corner and sing me a song, then go to sleep…and he doesn’t snore. Gotta love that.
Pierre is raising the bar around my place. He doesn’t talk about what he might do, what he’s thinking about doing, or what he would do if only he had more time…he just goes to work and moves forward until he hits a wall, then retreats, tries a different direction, and keeps going until the job is done, or until he runs out of fuel. (By the way, he doesn’t just move around blindly, he has GPS to ensure he doesn’t cover the same ground more than once.) I’m taking notes. Because I waste a lot of energy thinking and contemplating and procrastinating and touching things two or three times before I tackle them. Which means I usually run out of fuel before the job is done.
Take writing, for example. I’m a little compulsive about turning in a “clean” manuscript, or obsessing about adding extra story layers and sensory detail to enrich the experience. But there’s something to be said about simply moving forward on a story and finishing while the concept is still fresh and the enthusiasm is still high. And I have a feeling my readers would forgive a less-layered story in favor of more books! So this year I’m going to try to just keep pushing forward and get things done, and heed a red flag in my mind when I’m tempted to revisit things one too many times.
And when I’m done, I’ll sing a song! (Mercifully, that is a complete lie.) But the rest of it…yeah.
Here’s a picture of Pierre, by the way, hard at work, moving so fast he’s a blur! If he had a Social Security number, I’d marry him.
What do YOU procrastinate about?
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I’m not a big procrastinator. I’m more the kind who likes to get things done & out of the way.
I envy you, Mary! I like HAVING things done…GETTING there seems to be the problem.
Love a guy who’ll mop your floor and not complain!
And he does a great job! Having Pierre is like having a productive cat!
I’m SO tempted. Our house is all hardwood floors, and since we got the dog, they’re hairy hardwood floors. It’s not THAT much work to vacuum, but it’s so much easier to say it can wait until tomorrow.
Terry
Terry’s Place
I have hardwood everywhere in my condo except my bathrooms, which are tile, so it’s pretty easy to Swiffer, except I do it a LOT because I like to keep my doors and windows open. It was always a mad scramble to clean my floors when company called and announced they were around the corner (I have more company than a hotel). Now Pierre helps me keep up with the chore every day so it doesn’t get out of hand!
Cleaning and writing are the two big things I procrastinate about. Luckily I can assign a lot of the cleaning to minions. They gripe but usually get it done after I tell them three times. Writing all falls on me. A looming deadline works real well on healing my procrastination.
I think it’s easy to procrastinate about writing because it’s one big long-term goal that seems way out there in the future. I have to really break down my writing milestones into short-term chunks to get things done. Day to day, I don’t mind writing because I’m creating something that wasn’t there before, so that feels productive to me. But cleaning? Working just to get things back to where they were? THAT I hate! (I need minions.)
The problem with minions is that you have to feed them dinner every night and no one likes to eat the same thing. They also need help with their homework and want to spend your money at the mall.
You know, I’d love a Pierre but he’d take one look at the long-haired (and giant) dogs living in my house and he’d short-circuit before he ever climbed out of his box. Therefore, I would still be procrastinating and my floors still carpeted in last year’s sheddings.
I want a Pierre, but not for my floors. I want that kind of focus on my writing. Do they make one for that?
Maybe someone should start a business of a virtual writing coach, someone who calls or emails every day to make sure a writer has met her daily page quota!
Not sure how much the dogs would like Pierre, either! Could be entertaining to watch them chase him around!
I want Pierre. I am so jealous. Almost as jealous as I am of Deborah and her recent trip …
Seriously, though, we have hardwood floors everywhere except the bedrooms. I need a robotic sweeper. I think that’s what I’ll get my husband for his birthday …
Not sure if Pierre swings both ways, but let me know how hubby likes it!
I need a Pierre!!!
I spin my wheels a lot too. It is hard not to get distracted if there is a lot on your plate huh.
I’m having one of those days, too! If my phone rings one more time, I think my head is going to explode! Tomorrow: ringer off!
I’m in love with your new man!! He sounds amazing and unstoppable. I really need to get one
It’s rather unhealthy how attached I am to Pierre already…but the little guy’s a powerhouse worker. I’ve run him practically nonstop since he arrived and it’s rather astonishing the amount of dirt he’s still picking up from floors that looked relatively clean to the naked eye. And one less everyday chore for me means at least one more page per day…which equates to an extra book a year! That more than justifies the cost!