It’s the day before vacation and I’ve done nothing to prepare.  It’s wigging Doug out a little bit I think. Well, I probably shouldn’t say nothing.  The usual straightening of the apartment and washing of clothes has occurred, but there are no lists, no timelines per se.  It looks for all the world as though I have done nothing to get ready for this.  Au contraire, mon ami! Like most major events in my life, I have been planning it in my head for weeks or even months and when it comes time to actually do the physical work, I will just do it from the list in my head.

My idea of thoughtful procrastination is one where I have worked out all the kinks and scenarios in my head first and then I act when I need to.  I do this in my writing as well.  When I was required to write an article for our state music magazine, I would start getting ideas in my head way in advance and then would start writing in my head.  The actual writing then was usually the evening before or the day it was due, but then I would just sit down for an hour and write it as it was already in my head.  I had taken time during the months leading up to it to pay attention to things around me that would inspire the topic and collect ideas that tied to it.  It could be a sermon I heard or a sign I saw, but it never went on paper until I had played with it in my head first.

This is also a great way to lead and participate in discussions.  Instead of just leaping into the discussion with my very first thought or opinion, I listen to everything going on first and my first thoughts may be completely turned around by the time I actually participate.  Allowing time for thoughts and ideas to swim around for a little bit tests my original thought and the final product is usually much better than my initial idea.

This is why I believe it is so important to allow kids to just sit and think about things in class and not jump at answering questions.  As teachers, we’re taught to give so many seconds for kids to think before they raise their hand to answer.  What this is supposed to do is help those kids who need extra time to remember something so you’re not calling on that one jackrabbit kid all the time.  But I want to restructure that a little bit.  How about asking that jackrabbit kid to also take more time to think?  Are they sure their first idea is enough?  Is there a better way they can phrase it? Can they add more to the conversation if they allow the idea to cook a little longer?

Decisions I’m going to be stuck with for awhile I usually think about longer.  It may look like I made a quick decision about buying my little yellow bug, but the truth is I had thought through it for years.  I had looked at different makes, colors, years, etc. and had read up on them.  I actually had things narrowed down in my head to two different cars, one I had driven as a rental car so the only thing I needed to do was test drive the other car and compare how they felt.  Decision made in a day – and a couple of years.

In our fast paced, I want it right now world, we don’t leave much time for thoughtful procrastination.  Instant gratification doesn’t allow for that.  One of the things that makes me craziest are meetings where we cram a million things into an agenda and fly through everything.  Invariably there are a few times where the leader will say, “take one minute and write down what you think about thus and such – go!”.  I’m sorry, but it takes me (and I’m betting some of you) more than a minute to digest what they have said and have clear thoughts as to what I’m going to do with it, or how it will affect my students.  I watch my colleagues as they scribble down some catch phrase which will sit on their desk for the year and never be thoughtfully considered again, just to go through the exercise.  I hate doing that.  If I’m going to participate in an exercise that is supposed to make my teaching better, I want and NEED time to think about it.  Give me a deadline and I’ll work it out in my head and have it ready the day it’s due.

This also means not telling people what to think.  Original thought comes from an amalgamation of thoughts and ideas that have been mulled over and over again from many different angles.  Another reason I think our kids are lacking creativity in the classroom is that we’re telling them what to think, not giving them an issue or a problem and allowing them to THINK about it, LISTEN intently to what others have to say, THINKING again and then CONTRIBUTING to the conversation.  I can think of some in leadership right now who might actually get things done if they would listen and think rather than just shoot off whatever pops in their head.  But enough soapbox….

I think it’s time for more thoughtful procrastination (not JUST procrastination : ) in our classrooms and in our lives.  I’m working out in my head what that’s going to look like in a couple of weeks with my kids!