* Id:  Evasive
* Revision:  1
* State:  submitted
*
* Log:
* Revision 1  1997/06/22  Aaron Rice <a.rice@ukonline.co.uk>
* Initial submitted version.  This was stuck in the system for ages.
* Originally distributed to editor 10.

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%t Excessive Evasive Creativity Syndrome
%n R
%s Meeting Deadlines With Self-Imposed Distractions
%a Aaron Rice  (a.rice@ukonline.co.uk)
%a Roel van der Meulen  (vdmeulen@strw.leidenuniv.nl)
%d 19970112
%x Apathy
%x Problem Solving
%i Deadlines, Missing Through Self-Imposed Distractions
%i Missing Deadlines Through Self-Imposed Distractions
%i Self-Imposed Distractions, Using To Miss Deadlines
%i Distractions, Self Imposed, Missing Deadlines Through
%i Avoiding Work
%x Work
%e
It's difficult enough, trying to meet a deadline with all sorts of problems
flying about.  What makes it almost impossible, is when you are continually
distracted, not by legitimate work-related distractions [1], but by a
number of totally unrelated irrelevant things you have managed to find or
invent.  You will find yourself writing new articles, doodling on a
notepad, cataloguing your entire CD collection, or even tidying up that
pile of magazines that has been sitting untouched for years.  Your
creativity is on overload; you are out of control.

If you find yourself in this position, you are a victim of Excessive
Evasive Creativity Syndrome, of EEC for short [2].  Meeting the deadline
will be impossible without immediate treatment.

It is well known that many people suffer from this, which is usually the
result of a certain apathy towards your task.  The more boring the task,
the more you are likely to suffer from EEC, and the greater the severity.
Also, what makes the problem worse is that it becomes increasingly easy to
motivate yourself to perform other tasks the more you manage to convince
yourself that they will be useful in the long run.  And you will.

To cure yourself of this ailment, the simplest and at the same time most
difficult solution is to "just do it".  That means:  don't think about how
difficult it always is to do these boring tasks when there are so much
nicer things to do, clear your mind, sit down and do it!  This will
obviously be difficult, and you may find it necessary to train your mind to
throw out irrelevancies.  But, how are you to tell when things are
irrelevant [3]?  Indeed, if you make a mistake, your work itself could
suffer!  The only way you can really do this is to be totally honest with
yourself.

If you are still having trouble, the following guide may be helpful:

          1) Look at your task, and when it has to be completed by.
          2) Remove any distractions which could lead you away, such as a
             television or radio [4].
          3) Focus entirely on your task; submerge yourself into it.  This
             could eventually lead to side effects, such as inability to
             remove this task from your life, and a progressive
             deterioration into manic persistence, bouts of depression,
             and the eventual realisation that no one thing is worth that
             much of your life.  Still, gets the job done, doesn't it?

Must dash, got some urgent work to do...

[1] Though god knows these can be bad enough.
[2] Not the European Economic Community, or the European Community as
    it's now called.
[3] The irrelevance is proportionate to your eagerness to give in to the
    distraction, as is the power of conviction of the little voice in your
    head that this _has_ to be done before you can do _anything_ else.
[4] Here I of course don't mean dust on your floor, dirty kitchen
    utensils etc.
%e
*EOA*