Procrastination Busting. Week 1

Right, to differentiate the two subjects (acting and procrastinating) I have decided to write about procrastination in red (but not too red cos it's hard to read). Why red? Well, quite simply it stands out better than the other colours. I initially thought mauve, because I feel a bit 'mauve' when I procrastinate, but it didn't look different enough besides the black. In any case, my procrastination makes me very, very angry. 

In many ways, my procrastination has got worse over the last 4 or 5 years and I would say this is entirely the fault of networking sites such as Facebook. Don't get me wrong - I could procrastinate for England before the advent of such things - but then I would avoid doing the thing I was avoiding by doing other things I would normally avoid - like cleaning underneath the oven. Now the oven's undercarriage remains sadly neglected whilst I regularly post wry observations, supposedly amusing anecdotes and endlessly make 'witty' remarks on my virtual friends' status updates. I never procrastinate over Facebook. And it's always hovering in the background! I can see that I have a notification right now and the urge to see what it is, is irresistible! (OK, I just did and and it was my sister helpfully informing me she is watching a crappy American film about a neighbour who hassles the family next door). Basically I need a reliable method of locking myself out of Facebook while I'm working on other things on the computer because it's the kiss of death.

On the other hand, many people have suggested I should write a blog in response to my somewhat oblique observations and my boyfriend Johan has been on at me for a while about it. Johan reckons he can 'totally sort [me] out' in regards to my procrastination and is giving me weekly tasks to address it. 

This is week one's tasks: (deadline is tomorrow!)

• Clear all surfaces of clutter (at this stage just taking the stuff and putting it upstairs). This includes tabletops, bookcases, the area by the TV and stereo, the hallway and other nooks and crannies.
• Washing up twice a day, and certainly before bed (goes against every bone in my body)
• Clearing one of the drawers in the kitchen chest (what Michael McIntyre refers to as a 'man drawer' (it's mine!)) in order to keep documents I need to attend to in the short term.
• Two entries in the old blogosphere

 Some people might think it a bit strange that my boyfriend is setting me tasks, or that I'm letting him and adhering to them, especially as I hate being told what to do. But my procrastination is really getting me down and thwarting me from doing what I want (yes, I also procrastinate badly (or brilliantly?) on doing what I want to do; like writing my screenplay. Any time I feel I 'have' to do something, I feel suddenly tired and lethargic and I drag my feet and sabotage myself and then end up in a cycle of despair and anger. Johan reckons he has the skills (he works as a therapist as well as an entertainer) to fix this if I let him, and I've given him my permission. I'm also currently having CBT, but I probably won't use this arena to whitter on about that.

"So how's your progress this week?" I hear you asking (OK I don't, I hear a wall of silence, but work with me here). Actually, it's not going too badly. Last night I tackled the bookcase and later that evening I looked around the room and noted with pleasure that quite a few of the cluttered areas are looking lovely and clear - for the first time in years! In a moment I'm going to sort out the area by the stereo (just the surfaces - I'm not even going to think about what's below the surface, i.e. what's inside the drawers) and I best get on with it because I'm also supposed to be learning an audition speech and reading over my screenplay. Unfortunately I predict that one, or both of those things won't happen, but that's another story...

Richard II at The Donmar Warehouse

The other day I went to see a production of Richard II at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Michael Grandage and starring Eddie Redmayne. My good friend Quentin took me to see it as a belated birthday treat. To be honest, it wouldn't have been my first choice (I'm gutted I missed Jerusalem that everybody and their dog's been raving about) but I was glad to go, especially as I'd not been to the theatre for ages. I'd never been to the Donmar Warehouse since it's almost impossible to get tickets for a production. Apparently the members snap them up immediately and there's a three year waiting list to become a member; so unless people emigrate or die, I can't see why anyone would relinquish their seat. 


First thing we were greeted with upon entering the theatre was a pungent 'medieval' aroma, a simple but beautiful set of wooden beams and archways and the sight of the 'King' sat rigid upon his throne. I knew the Donmar is a small theatre, but we were seated in spitting distance from the stage and It was incredible to see the actor's craft at such close range. Who knew that Shakespearean thesps produced so much spittle?! It was literally flying from their mouths, beautifully backlit too. I was blown away by the whole thing. I often think that I will find Shakespeare 'difficult', that I won't enjoy it and that as a performer it will be tedious and unnatural to play. I do know from personal experience that the more you work at it, the more rewarding it is. It's quite beautiful and captivating (when performed by actors who actually know what they're saying!) and - what can I say - Shakespeare rocks. Even though his work is littered with cliché after cliché..