I so do not want to write something right now. I should totally put it off till tomorrow morning; what’s the difference, anyway?
Ah, blogging. It’s the only place where thoughts about not wanting to do work can become the work itself.
Sometimes, I don’t like to do stuff. Shocking, I know. My idle hands frequently become the devil’s tools (provided the devil is a PS2 game, a mash-up sample, or Entertainment Weekly).
It turns out that, until the dumb ol’ Industrial Revolution came along and gave me those things, a propensity for futzery might have been a quality to celebrate:
Ferrari, Johnson, and McCown (1995), in their book, take a similar though somewhat softened stand. They contend that procrastination has existed throughout history but that it only acquired truly negative connotations with the advent of the industrial revolution, that is circa 1750. Before then, procrastination was viewed neutrally and could be interpreted as a wise course of (in)action. Accordingly, they find examples from ancient Egyptian and Roman civilizations where the authors use the concept of postponement or putting off as being useful or wise (DeSimone, 1993 as cited in Ferrari et al., 1995). These examples include avoiding unnecessary work or demonstrating patience. Also, they note that procrastination, according to the OED (1952), did not have negative connotations until the mid-18th century. Consequently, they conclude, “that as economies become large and more complex…words related to the concept of task avoidance become more negatively imbued with meaning” (p. 5).
Having risen to prominence during the Age of Industry and insisting we be nicknamed The Land of Opportunity by other countries, America is particularly scornful of the idea of procrastination.
[Aside: nothing is lamer than a self-proclaimed nickname. I knew a guy in college who, I swear to god, insisted everyone call him TP -- as in "total package." You can be certain we called him many other two-word phrases beginning with T and P, but never ever ever "total package."]
Clearly, though, our bark is bigger than our bite. Fantasy football alone costs us over a billion dollars a week in productivity, and that’s assuming players only spend 50 minutes a week on the habit (which I can assure you is hella conservative).
I’m sure we all read blogs as part of our procrastination routine, too, dodging work or ironing or coversations about the birds and the bees with the young’uns. I mean, if I’m screwing around writing this post, god knows there’s something else you’re supposed to be doing right now other than reading it.
Before you go and beat yourself up over that, just remember: the Romans would celebrate you for it.
Very interesting. The selling point of capitalism to the working class has always been the opportunity to be middle class, aka having that free time that is now considered “unproductive”.
I knew a guy in college who, I swear to god, insisted everyone call him TP — as in “total package.”
What, was he trying to not get laid?
I knew a guy named Frank Mc-something, but he always called himself Big D. Guess what the D stood for. We always just went with doofus much to his chagrin.
I wonder how well-known this book is in America: The Right To Be Lazy, by Paul Lafargue (I don’t know if this is a good translation; I read it in French many years ago). Aside from being a classic of paramarxism, it inspired the “paid vacations” laws adopted by the French Popular Front government in 1936.
The best book I ever heard of on the subjest is referenced in the same site I linked in the post:
You do mashups? I love ‘em, do some myself, and have a weekly podcast on same. Are any of your works available?
Hey Deedle,
I dabble, but have produced nothing I want to broadcast to the world. I’m working mostly with freeware, and there are some real limitations as far as beat-matching to an entire vocal track there, obviously. I like the samples I’m creating, but synching it all up has been mixed thus far.
I’m thinking of investing in Pro Tools to improve my options. Is there any software you recommend?
I use both Mixmeister Studio (http://www.mixmeister.com/) and Sony Acid 5.0 (http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/acidfamily.asp)
Protools is really expensive. These are some cheaper alternatives. Powerful, too, without the huge learning curve of Protools. If you already have the loops cut, either of these products will help syncronize them. Both allow plugins (Mixmeister comes with a lot of good ones) that will allow you to put effects in your mixes. I use Mixmeister to put my shows together and smooth tempos and such.
Feel free to email me at spindeedle at verizon dot net or comment at http://djdeedle.com if you want more details. Don’t miss tomorrow’s show. Its muppet mashups.
Deedle
I knew a guy named Frank Mc-something
McBoing, clearly. Why else would I choose a nom de plume like this?
Well, I didn’t want to name names, but….