Why I Always Start Big Tasks Right Before I Have to Leave the House
You know that moment when you’re finally ready to go somewhere…Except you’re not.
Because suddenly your brain is like,
Image Credit: Midjourney AI
“Before we leave, we should definitely clean out the junk drawer. And maybe refile those documents. And while we’re at it, let’s rotate the couch and emotionally unpack our childhood.”
WHY. AM. I. LIKE. THIS.
I Had Hours Earlier. Did I Use Them? No. I had the time. I had the daylight. I even walked past the clutter multiple times, whispering, “I should really deal with that.”
But the second I have ten minutes until I need to walk out the door? Suddenly I become a productivity gremlin with a death wish.
My Brain Lives for Last-Minute Energy (Unfortunately) I don’t think it’s about procrastination. It’s about delusional optimism + anxiety-fueled adrenaline.
My brain is like: “You know what we’re not gonna do for 3 hours? Anything.” “You know what we’re gonna do with 11 minutes left? EVERYTHING.” And I go along with it like it’s normal.
I have left the house:
With wet laundry still in the machine because I needed to deep-clean the stovetop at the worst possible moment
Ten minutes late because I “just needed to quickly uninstall and reinstall an app”
In tears because I decided to go through old mail right before school pickup and emotionally re-lived tax season
WHY. NOW.
Here’s the thing: It’s toxic. But it’s effective. I get SO much done in that last stretch that it’s almost… magical?
It’s like I enter a hyper-focused fugue state where I believe I can do 19 things in 8 minutes with no consequences. And sometimes? I do.
Other times? I show up to places sweaty, breathless, and 100% unsure if I left the stove on. But one thing’s for sure: Those final 7 minutes? I was ALIVE.
I don’t plan this. I don’t enjoy this. But I’ve accepted that I’m the kind of person who doesn’t realize what matters to me until I’m already running late. Maybe one day I’ll grow. Maybe I’ll be someone who leaves 15 minutes early with a full bottle of water and a calm spirit.
But today is not that day. Today is a day for panic-organizing the junk mail and then speed-driving to school pickup while pretending none of it happened.
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