mr. mcgillicuddy lives

My father tells me that one good way to resist procrastination is to eat a frog first thing in the morning. This comes from some saying by some French dude, who said that if everyone, upon awakening, ate a frog, nothing else he had to do that day would seem as bad in comparison. The first time I heard this story all you had to do was lick the frog, but anyway what was I saying.

I have been determined to implement this policy, by doing things first in the morning like cleaning the litterbox, doing the dishes, or tackling my least desired work-related task. Unfortunately, I got distracted this morning by the need to upload a photo to another blog. And while I was sitting at my desk doing that, look who sauntered into view!



It's Mr. McGillicuddy! You really can't tell how big he is, because of the lack of good reference points. But trust me; he is back to his usual self this year. He is a little early this year, but who's counting. Maybe he will come back again right after classes end and right before the American Idol finale like he usually does. Maybe he won't. I don't know! Wait, is he still there?
For me part of the cause of procrastination is thinking too far ahead. If I do this first task, I will next have to do another one which I hate even more, and then it will never end. Or, if I write this dreaded e-mail, I will get a response which I predict to be negative and who wants that. Alternately, sometimes I tell myself that if I just do this one more thing, I will be able to watch a movie or call a friend. But then I get caught up thinking about how great it will be to see the movie or talk to my friend. And then I just do it because it will be so great. The slogans "do the next right thing" and "lick the frog" are supposed to keep you from thinking stymying thoughts about the future so that you instead concentrate on what needs to be done right now.

But how can I keep from thinking of the summer's promise when this portentous lizard makes his visit? It's a clear case of frog versus lizard. Or iguana; I can't figure it out, really.