Austin Improv

Yea Improvisor are smart and lazy, as are most of the comedians I have met. We should interview Erika May as she seems like someone who is very efficient at getting things done in a timely manner. She has excellent project managment mindset and skills we could probably all benefit from. She's even got a business around her skill set. If you want something done ask Erika!

I also notice that I procrastinate a lot and it is about personal motivation. I find that there are times I'm super motivated and I'm very focused and get a lot done. Other times I just goof off and don't even try to be productive as I know it will make me miserable. One thing I have learned is move in a straight LIne. KEY: The shortest distance between any two points is a straight line.

Yes, Erika is very together.

I agree that we are smart and lazy, but I think that we are only lazy in comparison with the kind of person that is financially rewarded in our go-go-go efficiency culture.

Maybe it isn't laziness, but dreaminess. Cause we do get stuff done. Just not all day long in a linear and consistent manner. It takes a lot of head space to create. Meandering and thinking and drifting are ways all the ideas get out.

Or maybe lazy is more accurate. I like to think of myself as organizationally challenged and circular in my thinking. Sounds nicer.

Jules wrote: Cause we do get stuff done. Just not all day long in a linear and consistent manner.

Agreed on this. Nothing brings my productivity down like trying to keep "office hours". I tend to write and record in great bursts and have never been in sync with diurnal rhythms.

To this effect I am working on a plan to slow down the earth's rotation, since I find a 30-hour day to be more natural: 20-22 hours up, 8-10 hours sleep (including naps). I expect resistance from the Justice League and am looking for help from any and all Super-Villains (especially those with rockets we can attach to the equator).

Jules wrote: Maybe it isn't laziness, but dreaminess. Cause we do get stuff done. Just not all day long in a linear and consistent manner. It takes a lot of head space to create. Meandering and thinking and drifting are ways all the ideas get out.

It isn't laziness at all. I have had super productive days with professional or personal biz stuff and then gotten on stage and was thinking far too much and didn't do well. "thinking too much" is not the right phrase, but something like it - analysis paralysis sort of thing. Anyway, for me at least, Improv isn't a problem to be solved, it's a process to be experienced. Being creative requires time and mental space.

Now regarding procrastination - I only consider it procrastination if you're goofing off and postponing things to the last minute. If you're doing other work and then accomplishing things always at the last minute.....that's just prioritizing. No guilt there.

I know in my case that I used to not get things done for a bunch of reasons:

-I wasn't doing the things I really wanted to do.
-It's safe.
-I was thinking entirely too much instead of just being in action.

That last one is the real deal. You can come up with juicy tidbits of wisdom all you want, but at the end of the day what matters is that you went and did it.

You will never be 100% done with everything. There will always be deadlines. There will always be hurdles.

The good news: You get to figure out how to make your life a game!

I read an article about 10 different types of procrastinators or 10 different reasons. I recall them all, but I identified with the category of procrastinators who want a job done well and realize that it will take a lot of work then get so overwhelmed with how much work it will be and get somewhat paralyzed by the (self-inflicted or self-identified) huge task in front of them.

DING! DING! DING!

life paralyzes me. it is far too overwhelming most of the time.

Roy Janik wrote:

mpbrockman wrote:

andrea wrote:i never used to be like this...

Reverse for me. Used to be the under-the-gun type. Now I do a much better job of staying just ahead of my workload.

Anything in particular cause this change?

Me, too. I think the things that I've done this on were things I didn't particularly want to do, or had some judgment about doing. Like in college, I would have been doing my math homework before I'd even left the classroom but economics, hell my prof would be lucky if I even did it. Or maybe I just got into that habit of being driven by the pressure. I'm not sure why the change, probably I just decided I didn't want that self-imposed stress anymore.