A New Antidote for Procrastination
I was surprised at how many different ways I've been inspired by this story. It’s about a Spanish woman who emerged after 500 days of living isolated in a cave in Southern Spain. I originally filed it under “Inspiration to Persist”, and considered slipping a copy into my folder on Wim Hof and hormetic stress. But then, as I thought more and more about her experience, particularly that she gave her support network strict instructions to not inform her of outside events, even a loss of loved ones, it took my breath away. Now, I also have the story filed under “Procrastination”. Let me explain why.
Portions of her feat I know I could easily match, like 500 days of floor sleeping. Did she go 500 days without western furniture? Easy peasy. But 500 days of no sunlight or moonlight, even though I've already been years without seeing the milky way due to light pollution, would be a bit much for me.
For myself, I would never want to wall myself off from my relations and the wider world for so long. But at the same time, how often do I let the soap opera of network news, or the various dramas of my local community interrupt my focus on completing my most valued tasks? Too often I talk myself into prematurely coming out of my cave of composing, inventing, or writing, not because of the truth that I've hit a rough patch or a dry spell and feel like giving up. Instead, I tell myself that I need some human contact. This often seems to me like a legitimate excuse when what I really need to do is stay on task until I've created the next page-turning development. Having reached that point is what will help me get back on task for the next session.
I've learned this about myself through many fits and starts and from watching my behavior under the spell of Netflix or a good novel. I'm so much better off stepping away from the piano once I’m sure that I’m curious about where that new choice of chords will lead the melody.
Screengrab of Beatriz Flamini during her daily life at the cave in Motril, Spain. Photograph: Dokumalia Producciones/Reuters
Now, my newest tool hanging on the pegboard of anti-procrastination strategies is this woman's story. Just the knowledge that she stayed focused on this particular goal for 500 days puts the lie to my readymade stack of excuses. She was able to face down the internal comments section of her mind. She navigated her mental landscape through 500 days of tempting procrastination attempts. But she did not accomplish it alone.
What I also gleaned from her accomplishment is that no matter what our circumstances are, we still don't get to blame our relations and our loved ones for our lack of focus. It's still our choice to say yes to the invitations to come out and play. The best part of the story is that this isn't her first extreme rodeo. She has carefully negotiated and curated the network that helps her carry out these feats.
To quote from the Guardian article, “Before she entered the cave, she told her team that she did not want to be told what was going on outside, even if it involved the loss of a loved one. ‘The people who know me and love me respect that,’ she said. ‘There’s no problem.’”
When asked how she managed her personal waste, she described taking every five poos to the drop-off point, as if leaving a gift for the gods in return for food. What do you need to do to create a network like that around yourself so they welcome receiving all that you produce in return for what sustains you?