I remember it was a Monday, and the list of tasks I had to accomplish was longer than a child’s wish list for Santa. But instead of plunging into my pile of work, I found myself standing in front of my kitchen counter, gazing at the unorganized chaos that was my spice drawer.

Cumin was jumbled with turmeric, there was an unexplainable surplus of paprika, and I was pretty sure I could smell nutmeg despite not having used it in months. It was a small thing, yet it stood there as a perfect metaphor of my current state of mind – cluttered, a bit confusing, and spicy. I decided right then and there that I couldn’t possibly be expected to draft a comprehensive work report or complete any other task from my to-do list until my spice drawer was as orderly as a library index.

And so, I dove into the world of productive procrastination. A world where the to-do list is ever-present, yet takes a back seat to activities that offer a gratifying blend of avoidance and accomplishment. This is my journey.

What is Productive Procrastination?

Productive procrastination is a rather fascinating paradox. It’s a dance between doing something and not doing something else. It’s the act of delaying a task deemed as priority by choosing to perform other tasks that, while not as urgent, are productive or beneficial in their own way.

If we peel back the layers of human psychology, it’s not hard to find the roots of procrastination. It often stems from feelings of overwhelm, fear of failure, or a lack of motivation or interest in the task at hand. We all have moments when we’re reluctant to start a challenging project, confront a difficult decision, or navigate a complicated process.

Productive procrastination, then, is our brain’s ingenious way of saying, “I know we have things to do, but let’s take a different route.” Instead of merely idling or choosing fruitless distractions like mindlessly scrolling social media or binge-watching a TV series, productive procrastination directs us towards tasks that offer their own value.

So there I was, faced with my cluttered spice drawer. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t the most pressing task on my to-do list, but it was something that needed doing. Plus, it offered a break from the more daunting tasks that were sparking my anxiety. By choosing to focus on the spices, I was productively procrastinating – using my time to accomplish something beneficial, while deferring those tasks that felt overwhelming.

I started my journey with a search on Google. found a kit on Amazon with 30 empty spice bottles, lids, and labels for the lids and sides of the bottles. The kit had over a 1,000 reviews. I knew that I was not alone. I should do this. I should do this now.

The Art of Productive Procrastination

The crucial question is: what makes a type of procrastination “productive”? Not all detours from our primary tasks are created equal. Binging an entire season of a show on Netflix, while tempting, hardly qualifies as productive. Productive procrastination has a few key elements that set it apart.

• The procrastination should involve an activity that is beneficial or constructive in its own right. Organizing my spice drawer might not have been a pressing task, but it made my future cooking easier, my kitchen tidier, and honestly, it brought a strange peace of mind to see all those tiny jars aligned so neatly.
• The procrastination activity should ideally be smaller or less time-consuming than the primary task. The idea is to give your brain a rest, not to swap a big task for an even bigger one. If your procrastination ends up taking more time and energy than your original task, then you’ve simply replaced one burden with another.
• Productive procrastination should ideally contribute indirectly to the primary task. For example, organizing your workspace might make it easier to get started on a big project. Or perhaps, like in my case, the simple act of organizing my spice drawer could provide a mental break, and clear some of the mental clutter that was hindering my other tasks.

Productive procrastination is not just about doing something other than what you’re supposed to do; it’s about choosing wisely what that “something else” is. The aim is to find activities that yield their own benefits, provide a mental reset, and ultimately support your ability to tackle the larger tasks at hand.

The Pros of Productive Procrastination

Productive procrastination can lead to stress reduction. The primary tasks we procrastinate on often come with their share of pressure, expectations, and sometimes anxiety. By momentarily shifting our attention to a simpler task, we’re granting ourselves a break from this stress. As I sifted through the assortment of spices, I wasn’t worrying about the deadlines or the presentations. I was merely deciding whether rosemary should go next to thyme or sage.

Productive procrastination can stimulate creativity. When you change your focus, especially to something less demanding, you let your mind wander a bit. This can often lead to unexpected insights or solutions related to your main task. As I was organizing my spices, my mind was free to wander, and I found myself coming up with creative ideas for my pending projects.

Productive procrastination allows you to accomplish tasks that you might have been neglecting. These tasks may not be urgent, but they still need to be done at some point. My spice drawer didn’t need immediate attention, but organizing it did make my kitchen more functional.

Productive procrastination can serve as a positive coping mechanism. It’s a way of managing your workload without becoming overwhelmed. Sometimes, we just need to give ourselves permission to avoid that intimidating task temporarily and do something that feels more manageable.

The Cons of Productive Procrastination

While productive procrastination can offer some surprising benefits, it isn’t without its potential pitfalls. Understanding these can help us better navigate this strategy and avoid falling into counterproductive traps.

Productive procrastination should not become an excuse to indefinitely postpone priority tasks. As satisfying as it was to see my spices alphabetized, I couldn’t keep finding new drawers to organize just to avoid my primary tasks. The danger of productive procrastination is that it can sometimes feel so rewarding that it becomes a new form of avoidance altogether.

This strategy can create a false sense of productivity. Sure, it feels good to cross off tasks on your to-do list, but if none of them move you closer to your major goals or deadlines, then the sense of productivity is misleading. A completely reorganized kitchen is satisfying, but it wouldn’t help much if I missed my work deadlines because of it.

Productive procrastination can sometimes create more stress in the long run. While it provides a temporary respite from stressful tasks, those tasks aren’t going anywhere. By delaying them, you might end up with less time to complete them, which can result in rushing, making mistakes, or producing lower quality work.

It’s important to remember that productive procrastination is not about avoiding work; it’s about managing energy, focus, and productivity. Balance is key here. It’s crucial to know when to allow yourself to engage in productive procrastination and when it’s time to roll up your sleeves and tackle the big, challenging tasks head-on.

Productive Procrastination in Action: Organizing My Spice Drawer

Let’s circle back to my spice drawer. While it wasn’t on my immediate to-do list, it stood as a thorn in my side every time I cooked. Every search for oregano was a spelunking adventure. Every glance at the clutter was a low-level irritant. It was time to tackle the drawer of aromatic chaos.

First, I emptied the drawer entirely, a clean slate. I then categorized the spices, grouping them by type – herbs, seeds, powders, blends, etc. I found a surprising amount of duplicates and even a couple of expired items. I took an empty bottle and filled it with the spices and combining the duplicates. The kit had a silicone funnel which made it easy to fill. I used a label on the side of the bottle and the lid. The longest part of the process was matching the labels.

I even got my kid involved and it turned into a surprisingly fun activity. George invented his own spice blend called, G Spice, which was a mixture of the leftover and expired spices.

In the process, I realized that this simple act of sorting and tidying, while not urgent or crucial to my work, was beneficial. It was a brief interlude of peace in a day that was otherwise filled with stressful tasks. I allowed my mind to wander, which led to a couple of innovative ideas for my pending work projects. Not to mention, my cooking routine became more streamlined and efficient.

The entire process took about two hours, but the payoff was immediate. I felt a sense of calm and accomplishment. And, everytime that I open the spice drawer, I revel in the organization.

Tips to Productively Procrastinate

Everyone’s methods for productive procrastination will look different, depending on your work habits, personal preferences, and the tasks at hand.

1. Identify productive tasks: Just like my spice drawer, you likely have a plethora of tasks that would qualify as productive procrastination. They might be cleaning your workspace, organizing your email inbox, or perhaps doing some light reading related to your field. The key is to identify tasks that are beneficial, even if they’re not urgent.
2. Timebox your procrastination: Give yourself a set amount of time for your productive procrastination activity. This can help ensure you’re not avoiding your primary tasks indefinitely.
3. Use it as a mental break: Choose tasks that aren’t too taxing and allow your mind to rest or wander. The goal is to relieve stress and reset your mind, not to overwhelm it with another demanding task.
4. Apply the two-minute rule: If you’re finding it hard to get started on a big task, start with something small. The two-minute rule suggests that if you have a task you can do in two minutes or less, do it immediately. This can often get the ball rolling and make it easier to start on more substantial tasks.
5. Stay aware: Keep in mind the potential pitfalls of productive procrastination. If you find yourself cleaning every drawer in the house instead of tackling your to-do list, it might be time to reevaluate.
6. Balance is key: Productive procrastination is not a replacement for tackling your primary tasks, but a tool to use alongside them. Use it when you need a break or a boost, not as an excuse to avoid important tasks.

Have fun procrastinating. What work are you putting off to read this blog post?

In this blog post, I will explore various tips and best practices for writing better prompts for ChatGPT, and how doing so can enhance your overall experience with the model.

1. Be clear and specific: Clearly state what information or task you want ChatGPT to perform.
2. Keep it simple: Avoid using complex vocabulary or jargon that the model may not understand.
3. Provide context: Provide background information or context for the task so that ChatGPT can better understand what you’re asking for.
4. Use natural language: Write prompts in a way that sounds natural and conversational.
5. Be open-ended: Avoid yes/no or multiple-choice questions, as they limit the model’s responses.
6. Be mindful of the model’s capabilities and limitations: ChatGPT is a language model, it can understand and generate human language but it can not do things that are outside its scope or capabilities.

Bad Prompt: “What is the capital of France?”

This prompt can be considered bad because it’s a closed-ended question and it’s not providing any context or background information. ChatGPT could simply respond with the capital city “Paris” and nothing more.

Better Prompt: “Can you tell me about the culture, history, and notable landmarks of Paris, the capital of France?”

This open-ended prompt provides more context and background information, and it encourages ChatGPT to generate a more detailed and interesting response.

I often say please and thank you to ChatGPT. You know, just in case.

Hans Scharler

Bonus Tip

Ask ChatGPT to interview me with clarifying questions before ChatGPT replies. When ChatGPT flips around and asks me questions, the conversation will transform. This mode helps ChatGPT zero in on the context of the question.

RTFM. The manual contains a lot of clues. Ariens.com has manuals for all of its models archived. Actually, I find that manual gets helpful over time. Initially, you don’t know anything about this machine that you just bought. How hard could it be, you may think? The machine typically works pretty well when you first get it. Once you get a little time under your belt, read the manual. You will find little details that help you understand what’s going on.

Take notes. When you learn something, write it down. Your future self will thank you. Write the socket sizes, threads, part numbers for replacement parts, and any tips that you discover.

Watch videos on YouTube. When you encounter a problem or a developing issue, find appropriate videos on YouTube. You will have to make sure that you watch a video on your specific model as sometimes you might be watching a video on a different model. I tend to act like a detective and seek out the information from the videos. Not all of the video or every video you are going to find is going to apply. This is a good skill to develop to speed up the learning process with anything that you may want to learn.

Take advantage of the offseason. It’s freezing in the winter and not convenient to perform maintenance. In the spring or fall, you can take advantage of warmer weather and lower pressure. Grease the auger, clean the gas, add oil, tighten the chute, and set the right air pressure in your tires.

Grease the shear bolts. Your snowblower is designed to fail-safe when you run over a dog toy, a tree branch, or a rock. A shear bolt is designed to break in case of a jam instead of putting the forces back on the belt, drive, and motor. When you replace your shear bolt, grease it up. It will be easier to remove and replace when you inevitably hit something.

Keep a stock of shear bolts. Use the manual and find the type of shear bolt you need. Write down the part number. Buy a bunch of shear bolts. Try them out as soon as you get them, Make sure they fit and last with normal wear. On Amazon, there is a variety of quality that you will find. So, find ones that work and return the ones that don’t. You will be thankful when you need them. In New England, they tend to be out of stock in the winter since everyone is breaking their shear bolts and going out to buy them. Mine use a 1/2″ socket to install. Yes, I wrote that down in my notes.

Grease the auger when you replace the shear bolts. A good time to grease the auger shaft is when you replace the shear bolts. I like to take the shear bolts off and apply grease via the Zerk fittings and then spin the auger to spread out the grease. I squeeze grease in there until it comes out the sides of the auger. This was something I had to watch a YouTube video on. I never used my grease gun before and didn’t even know how to attach it to the grease fitting.

Maintain the correct tire pressure. My Ariens 1128 tires require 14psi to function properly. I bought a battery-powered air compressor to make it easy to fill the tires. I also like that it tells me the pressure in the tire with a digital readout. Make sure that both tires are set to the same air pressure. This will help the snowblower travel in a straightline. If you don’t know your target psi, check the sides of the tires. It is usually written on the walls of the tire.

I find working on anything like a snowblower has an analog to life. You are always learning. Things break down. Things need maintenance. You build experience over time.

George and I have been doing a lot of projects around the house: making a mess, making waffles, and making a flying car. I love working with hot glue and upcycling all of the cardboard that gets delivered to the house. Online retailers just give you the cardboard for free!

With my silicone fingertips on hand, George and I designed and built a flying car using free cardboard. It was one of those designs that evolved over an afternoon. We kept adding little details and features as we built. We added a license plate, lights, wings, a control panel, and a wireless speaker engine.

I found an engine simulator app on the Google Play Store. This app was perfect to be used as the control panel. You could switch gears and rev the engine. The app plays the engine sounds on the wireless speaker connected over Bluetooth and adds to the overall experience.

As usual, I have some tips:

Don’t worry about mistakes. You probably have a lot of cardboard sitting around. You can just make a new part.

Involve your little one. I let George in on the design. We talked it through at the beginning and I tried my best to accommodate his ideas as we build the car. try the, “Yes, and…” technique. Enjoy the process.

Protect your fingertips. Hot glue is… hot. I like using silicone fingertip protectors. They have saved me more than once while working with glue.

Use a drywall jab saw for cutting cardboard. I find a serrated saw is better than a utility knife and way safer. With a jab saw, you are much more deliberate with the cuts and can also make shapes. A drywall jab saw is also really handy for pumpkins. Pro-tip.

Becky got me the ultrawide monitor as a holiday gift. It was a complete surprise. She noticed my 3 monitor setup and my love of clean aesthetics at my workstation and decided to get me one. It is a thing of beauty and it leads you down a path. You start living the ultrawide monitor life. You carry yourself differently. Your friends all notice the difference. You join new online communities. And, you try to overcome some of the challenges that you may face going in this direction. Here I will share my journey. Maybe this will help you decide to go down this path or help you. Let me know if you have any tips and tricks that you have learned.

PowerPoint

I am going to start with the worst part of owning a single ultrawide monitor. PowerPoint has no idea how to use the screen. You are either forced to go full screen or to use windowed mode. If you share a presentation on a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting, you can’t just share the whole screen. Your screen will look really strange to all of the normal width dunces out there. Your best bet is to present in windowed mode. You lose the ability to see your presentation notes, but at least the presentation works for online meetings.

Join an Online Community

Join r/ultrawidemasterrace on Reddit. This is a community of users who get it. We are better than normal width monitor users. But, really, this online community is about sharing tips and tricks, issues, wallpapers, photos of our setups, memes, and cryptocurrency advice. Some people take this stuff seriously. Not me. I don’t have a problem. I can stop anytime.

Wallpapers

Desktop backgrounds and screensavers just don’t look right all stretched out. The only solution is to look for ultrawide wallpapers. I like to browser r/WidescreenWallpaper and Google Image Search. Find a wallpaper that fits your screen resolution. It will just look a lot better.

Games

You are going to love gaming on an ultrawide monitor. Some games take full advantage of the extra pixels on the side. The game will feel immersive as more of your peripheral vision has something to process. Not all games support ultrawide monitors. There is a Steam community that tracks ultrawide support. Research the game you want to play first to make sure you can take advantage of your ultrawide screen. You deserve it now that you are living the ultrawide monitor life. My favorite game so far for my ultrawide is The Outer Worlds.

Window Management

The last piece of advice that I have for you on your ultrawide journey is around window management on a Windows PC. When you have a multimonitor setup, you don’t have to think too much about this. The separate monitors help you manage the windows. With one monitor giant monitor, you have to plan out how you are going to use the real estate. I use some paid software called DisplayFusion. There is a trial to see if works for you, but I get a lot of value out of this utility. I use DisplayFusion to split my monitor into three areas. Windows now snap into their place without always wanting to go full width. The windows will remember where they were placed so you can get reliable window management. I also use DisplayFusion to create some virtual Windows taskbars. I think that it is ridiculous to have a 49″ long taskbar running at the bottom of the monitor. I snap mine to the right side. Then, I use DisplayFusion to put a second taskbar on the left. These virtual taskbars will show the apps that are in those virtual monitor areas so you don’t have to chase down where your apps are anchored on the taskbar.

Godspeed on your journey. Let me know if any of this helps you or if you have anything to share. I am always looking for ways to enhance my already awesome ultrawide lifestyle.

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