Crastination: A Job Left to the Pros
There's a fine line between "professional" and "amateur," especially when someone loves what he or she is doing. One thing's for sure, though -- we Imagineers are all pros.
And there's one area where that's truer than ever -- the subject of "crastination." Boy, are we pros at that. You'd be hard-pressed to find more pro crastinators that we have at Imagineering. We are world-class, indeed.
There's an unpopular saying that goes, "The best work is that which is done at the last minute." Unpopular, that is, among bosses, teachers, and parents. While that saying may fly in the face of everything we were taught since we were kids, there are those who just happen to believe it's true.
How so? Well, let's look at another tried-but-true aphorism: "Success is ninety-nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration." Very true, of course, but here's what they don't want you to realize: Inspiration is ninety-nine percent desperation. As in, "My report is due tomorrow, and I haven't started it yet."
Crastination, when properly performed by a pro, is nothing to be ashamed of. You see, the mind is like an engine that spends most of its day in "idle," coasting along as you go about your normal daily routine. Face it, most of our jobs, schools, and daily tasks don't really tax our brains all that much.
Do you really think you're going to sit down and write a brilliant report with your mind's engine in its normal semi-stalled state? No, if you really want to be a pro, if you're hoping to downshift the gears and kick the accelerator, your mind needs some sort of serious stimulus. And what better stimulus than the high-grade panic of true desperation? Ah, desperation -- rocket fuel for a sedentary mind!
Now, you might think that waiting until the last minute is a very risky approach. What if inspiration doesn't strike? Well, believe me, not taking the last-minute approach has some dangerous pitfalls of its own. For examples, ideas that come along too soon, when there's still plenty of time before the deadline, are at risk of being overthought. We all know that overthinking is one of the great bugaboos of creativity. Overthink can ruin any idea, especially a good one. But if the idea isn't discovered until moments before the deadline, there's no time to overthink it. The idea is safe.
Coming up with an idea way ahead of the deadline also carries with it the risk of making your job look to easy. If you've finished the school assignment or work report way too early, you obviously didn't take it seriously ... you didn't try very hard ... or your teacher or boss isn't giving you enough to do. Coming up with a brilliant idea at the very last minute -- rocket fueled by that overwhelming sense of desperation -- can make you look like a true miracle worker.
In contrast, there are definite pluses in waiting until desperation strikes. For example, think of all the other stuff you can get done while you're crastinating, like finishing up your previous assignment, which has now reached its last minute state!
Now I'm not recommending that we put aside our work and spend our days doing things that are definitely more interesting and appealing than the unavoidable assignment. We don't want everyone going back to work or school, saying the Imagineers said it was okay to leave it all to the last minute.
After all, crastination is a job best left to the pros. Especially the ones with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks.
-Bruce Gordon, Imagineer and Professional Crastinator
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