Laziness Versus Caring Deeply About Doing a Good Job
Classes in the final semester of my BAS Internet and Web Development degree at ASU began seven days ago. So, I’ve had seven days to get the first assignment turned in. A couple of hours ago, I finally created the rough draft and emailed it to the professor.
On every one of those days, I heard my mother’s voice yelling at me about being “such a lazy kid”. She loved to pull out a Jehovah’s Witness book and make me read (and re-read) the entry on “laziness”. Read it for yourself if you don’t believe me when I say the JWs have a horrible attitude about this.
I’m a Master Procrastinator Instead of a Lazy Bum
It’s serendipitous that I just happened to receive the article quoted below right after I finally turned in my assignment. And, I feel so much better about myself after reading it. I’m not lazy; I’m a master procrastinator who cares deeply about everything he works on! Here’s a quote from the article that resonates with me more than anything:
“When a person fails to begin a project that they care about, it’s typically due to either a) anxiety about their attempts not being “good enough” or b) confusion about what the first steps of the task are. Not laziness. In fact, procrastination is more likely when the task is meaningful and the individual cares about doing it well.”
Medium.com – Human Parts – “Laziness Does Not Exist” by Devon Price
That describes me to a T; especially in this case with this Senior Project assignment! I was absolutely “…anxi[ous] about [my] attempt not being ‘good enough'” to get a good grade. And, I was absolutely “…confus[ed] about what the first steps of the task were.” This task is the most meaningful thing in my life right now – I want nothing more than to finally get my degree and start my new career! Also, this Senior Project class is all about creating something that showcases what I’ve learned while working toward my degree. I absolutely want to have a portfolio to show to a potential employer when I start hunting for a job!
I Did It On My Own
It’s heartening, too, to have read this article that confirms what I did on my own this week. I realized before I read this article that I haven’t been being lazy! I’ve been fighting against barriers of self-doubt and lack of confidence.
Web Accessibility
The important thing about this is that I feel so much better about myself. And I actually got the work done well before the deadline. And, I think I did a great job, frankly. As you may have seen in some of my other posts on this blog, I’m learning to live life with a variety of disabilities. To do that, I’ve worked on a degree in a new field so that I can start a new career in this field that I think I’ve been meant to do from the start.
I’ve learned about efforts that fellow user experience designers have made to assure that everyone is able to access the content available on the web; including those like me with disabilities. So, this is the topic I’ve chosen for my Senior Project – Web Accessibility. I want my new career to focus on improving websites so that everyone is able to enjoy their content and no one is left out, regardless of their inability to see, hear, use a keyboard or mouse, see colors, and so on.
So, you can imagine (can’t you?) that this topic I’m working on is extremely important to me. I care very deeply about doing a good job with it. After all, it’s only my entire future we’re talking about here! If you ask me, now that I’ve read Devon‘s article, it’s no wonder I’ve had trouble with procrastination (not laziness).
If you’ve ever had trouble with what you thought was “laziness”, I encourage you to read Devon’s excellent article on Medium.
9/2/19 UPDATE: I got 25/25 on the assignment! 😊