The Right Thing


It is amazing how productive I can be when I am trying to avoid being productive.

Case in point: This weekend I had a microbiology test for which I desperately needed to study. The problem being, I had virtually no interest in the material being tested over. As such, I systematically identified and preformed every other undesirable chore available in the house. My hope: that my slack rate and my productivity rate would balance each other out. So, in avoidance of said material, I did 10 loads of laundry, reorganized my storage room, went grocery shopping, and did some very nasty dishes.

In retrospect, it was slightly foolish. What was it about the test that was so repulsive that I would rather face a pile of dirty laundry that weighs more than I do? Are the mechanisms of bacterial transcription and translation really more offensive than a sink filled with plates featuring week-old-spaghetti clinging tenaciously to small chunks of rancid meatballs?

That is a tough call.

I go through this drill fairly often. There are certain times in life when I need to be more focused and productive than others. This is a basic axiom of life. Where I foul the equation is I that equivocate tasks (like studying) with other undesirable activities (usually housework).

So can two wrongs make a right? No, but three lefts can make a right, so I am hoping that in my erroneous logic, I took enough left turns to make it to the right place after all.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You can learn a lot about microbiology by studying those dishes!
2:04 PM
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