The Diary
of
Anne Ku

12 March 2001 Monday

dry then wet

DOING EVERYTHING BUT

It's a bad habit to do everything else but what you're supposed to do. It's the kind of behaviour that inflicts procrastinators.

I noticed that I would do all the easy things first and then reluctantly tackle the most important but most difficult task last. It's as if I'm compensating quantity (of finished tasks) for quality of the one job or chore I'm supposed to do.

It's the classic problem of being penny wise and pound foolish. It's much easier to do lots of little things than to focus on the one big thing.

Perhaps it's also human nature to try to get rid of as many items on one's outstanding list. It's a false sense of achievement really.

I want to ask my friend why she doesn't do what she would be recognised for. Instead, she spends so much time doing everything else and minding everyone else's business.

The answer is simple. If you do what you're supposed to do and either not do well at it, or worse yet, fail, the effect is so much greater than doing what you're not supposed to do well. This is analogous somewhat to being an amateur musician. If I performed well, that's great. If not, I can always say, "Hey, I'm only amateur."

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