Back to Life: A Rambling Entry about Nothing

Ahhhh. I've never been so happy to be doing nothing. I've done that this evening: nothing. For the last week, my brother and his girlfriend have been visiting. And all the while, I marked and entertained and cooked meals and marked some more until the wee hours of the morning. I was marking time in terms of essays, quizzes, and exams. I averaged about 5-6 hours of sleep per night. I still have more marking to do, but I have three more days in which to get it done. And I have only exams left. Exams never take as long to mark as essays because they are not returned to the students. They don't need to have as many comments on them. But the guests are gone and two-thirds of my marking is done. I can afford to take a nothing night.

I guess I've always been a bit of a procrastinator (so my mother tells me, anyway). So I suppose I was the one who put myself in the position I was in last week--with marking piled higher and deeper (that's what a PhD really means) and guests to entertain all at once. It's also why I'll probably end up leaving those exams I have to mark until the last possible minute I can (and still get them done on time).

Why is it that people procrastinate, anyway? I know I always feel better when things are done ahead of time. Yet, there is something that makes me put it off.

I could wonder further about what that is, but tonight I really do feel like doing nothing.