Article November 16, 1998 Issue

Putting off procrastination

Now is the time.

BY FRANK P. BIGGS

I FOUND MYSELF PROCRASTINATING  one summer. I was assigned to update approximately 350 data series used in a 200-equation model of the United States economy. I had estimated that the updating would take me about four weeks, but there wasn't that much time left. Essentially, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish the task before the deadline, so I didn't even want to start.

I was already in ongoing contact with a Christian Science practitioner on another issue. In the course of one of our conversations, I mentioned the assignment and my reluctance to start. The practitioner encouraged me to study my situation from a spiritual point of view, rather than from a material one.

The material viewpoint is that matter and historical circumstance are the determining factors in our lives. This point of view declared that I had made a mistake (I had procrastinated) and that now I had to suffer the consequences. My honesty compelled me to admit the mistake. If this had been a court case, I would have had to plead guilty.

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