Apartment Therapy Unplugged | What Makes You Snap and Stop Procrastinating?

Have you ever procrastinated so much in terms of cleaning off your desk that the one thing that finally gets you to do it is spilling a large glass of water over everything? Yah, welcome to my life. If everyone will just stay out of my way, nobody will get hurt...

It's just been one of those days today. I spilled water all over all my papers, plus the pile of receipts that have been waiting to be dealt with. Luckily as soon as the glass went over I picked up my keyboard and mouse, and my monitor and laptop are already safely above water level via books and little shelves. Above is the makeshift drying line I've made for all those little scraps of paper I for some reason insist on keeping.

To top things off, I then walked into the bathroom, where I have a foster cat, and I saw this. Great. That's really not going to work when I wipe my bum!

Back to the desk. We were wondering what pushes you to the edge and finally makes you organize, clean, and get your crap in order. Is it spilling a glass of wine all over your keyboard (been there, done that), having your cats use the junk on your desk as a slip in slide (let me count the ways), or just plain being too embarrassed to let anyone in your house because of the insanity?

Photos: Top, Falling Down; Middle and Bottom, soniaz

guests definitely make me clean or when I can't find something I KNOW I just saw or when I'm procrastinating about something bigger...like I always seemed to clean my dorm room in college when I had a paper looming...

posted by Enamorada on July 22nd 2008 at 10:10am
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Guests, procrastinating on something bigger (Our apartment was always spotless during finals) or just being in the right mood. I wish I knew what triggered the last one, because man, it would be nice to live in a clean place.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on July 22nd 2008 at 10:40am
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How funny that this is posted today. I snapped at work today and took two hours to finally (after a year at the company) box up and get rid of all of the stuff the person who was in my desk before me had left behind.

This came about because I was trying to tackle 4 projects at one time and I couldn't find anything. All of my files were piled on my desk because all my drawers were filled with old stuff.

Now my desk is bare and drawers organized.

Ahhhhh feels good.

posted by marlamischief1 on July 22nd 2008 at 12:05pm
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Instead of procrastinating, I say that I'll give something five minutes. If doing whatever the task is turns out to be not so bad after all, I'll keep working. If it's as bad as I anticipated, then five minutes at least got me started. I will continue in five-minute bursts until it's done.

posted by CaseyB on July 22nd 2008 at 2:05pm
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Yep, I also just spilled a drink all over my desk of papers and cds. Unfornately, they were my husband's papers and cds. Oops.

posted by Elvira on July 22nd 2008 at 5:04pm
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Ok... It warms my heart to know I'm not alone, but saddens me at the same time... to know there are more out there like me.

If that's truly the case, this world is in trouble. ;)

posted by ronzorelli on July 23rd 2008 at 2:51am
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