JOU309A Blog Post #2

Well, to put it simply, this is a blog post about a blog post.  Specifically, this blog post ("Postception"?).  It really pertains, though, to a lot of different things and journalists around the world.

Yes, this blog is late.  I've come to terms with that.  I no longer believe that it is, indeed, the apocalypse;  I've come back up from the underground caves, re-deposited my savings back into my bank account (although in retrospect, money would be useless in a post-apocalyptic world anyway), returned all of the canned, nonperishable food and water bottles to WalMart, and am no longer under the belief that a Sovie—scratch that, a Cyphers nuclear missile strike is inbound right for my head.

That being said, I did a lot of thinking in those underground caves, and I've thought a lot specifically of a "problem", so to speak, that plagues myself and many other journalists around the world.  I put "problem" in quotations because it's one of those oddities that can be considered both good and bad.  That "problem" is our tendency (or at the very least my tendency, but I know I can't be the only one that does this) to push off work until the very last minute, right to the deadline.  Now, like I said, this is both good and bad.  It's bad, obviously, because instead of having a smooth and consistent 15-35 percent load throughout the allotted time, you have a 100 percent load all at once—and that's just not healthy.

However, this can be good, depending on your point of view.  Basically, I tend to do my best work, ironically enough, at the 11th hour.  This comes from years and years of procrastination "pushing the envelope", as I like to call it.  However, like all risk-taking activities, it comes at a price.  Specifically for me, sleep—the one thing I hold dear—and premature stress-related aging.  Pushing the envelope and loading every assignment up like that is like throwing your car into a corner on a wet road at 40 mph—it will jump back and bite you "di-rect-ly in the but-tocks", as Forrest Gump would say.

Just a basic overview of all of the assignments that I loaded up on myself for this weekend:

-a 1500 word magazine feature story of which I had all of about 0 words, due Monday.
-a 300 word short story article (also for 309A...a recurring theme, perhaps?), of which I had, again, 0 words, due Tuesday.
-Three different chapter critiques for Photojournalism, due Monday.  I had a legitimate reason for this—my book only recently (within the past few days) came in the mail.
-an Audio/Video Production project (I only received the assignment on Friday, so I don't feel as guilty about this one), due Monday.
-This blog post, due Friday.

Now, that may not sound like much to the average reader, but let me tell you, that is a [insert expletive here]--ton of work, especially when that natural instinct to procrastinate push the envelope kicks in, and you feel that giving your room a complete overhaul and covering Women's Hockey and Men's Basketball games are better uses of your time (the latter I could see being of decent importance, so again, I don't feel as guilty).

If anything, I feel like believe (see Mr. Cyphers? I was paying attention) they're wasting their time with all of those other 12-step programs.  There should be one specifically for journalists like myself who are under the assumption that our journalistic creations don't carry the same weight if they don't have a certain amount of drama associated with them, with said drama usually being acquired through 11th-hour work.  I can just see it now..."Hi, I'm Matt, and I like to push the envelope"..."Hi Matt."..."No you don't, stupid—you procrastinate!"

However, until someone goes ahead and implements that obviously very clever and intelligent idea, we're just going to have to quit it cold turkey.  So guys, let's cut the bullcrap.  This goes for me too—manage your time wisely, don't waste it on useless things, and get your stuff done and submitted in a timely manner.  The wee hours of the morning are for sleeping, not for furiously hammering away at a computer keyboard.