Spice of life | Meeting deadlines, when tomorrow never comes

We promise to mend our ways sending frantic prayers of divine intervention but once through we settle into our old self. Poor heart does not follow the dictum of the head

As convener of a recent academic literary event, I was inundated with last-minute frantic calls from prospective delegates. The brochure boldly stated the submission guidelines and deadlines, yet numerous calls requesting relaxation from a few minutes to a couple of hours bemused me.

While most of the excuses were pretty predictable such as institutional surplus workload, familial responsibilities, social obligations, many innovative alibis were also dished out like chance citation of the brochure and friend’s referral. (HT File)

While most of the excuses were pretty predictable such as institutional surplus workload, familial responsibilities, social obligations, many innovative alibis were also dished out like chance citation of the brochure and friend’s referral. The earnest entreaty and the urgency in the tone calls for relenting the not so stringent norms. Delegates nonchalantly turn up at the registration desk without their paper, demanding secretarial assistance in formatting and printout facility.

Procrastination is human tendency. It is a trap we all fall into. We know the clock is ticking yet not so important tasks engage us.

Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinare – to put off until tomorrow. But it is more than just voluntarily delaying. Procrastination is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia – doing something against our better judgment. We know an important task is to be performed by such date, we mentally calculate the time window and languish in the ample time-frame. In a blink of eye, flip of a second – the deadline looms large.

At the workplace also, we have colleagues who always barge in after the stipulated time. Late is late even if by whiskers or a fraction of a second. Poor genial incorrigible souls they are unwitting victims of the traffic snarls or vehicle breakdown. Law of inverse proportion applies to them: More often than not they land up in the principal’s office, exchanging pleasantries.

Similarly, all employees are required to submit requisite documents in their respective offices at the stipulated time like ACRs, income tax proofs etc. Few diligent ones promptly respond to circulars/notices, while many seasoned colleagues just smile back to frantic verbal reminders. ‘In a day or so’ or ‘I am working on it’ is the standard reply. Why huddle in the crowd, let’s stand out!

At the end of the financial year salary statement/ Form 16 is issued. A visit to the chartered accountant to file our income tax return keeps us mentally occupied. The ubiquitous document file anxiously awaits the appointment – in the evening, after the meeting, tomorrow by all means. The income tax deadlines are flashed time and again at numerous platforms yet many of us languish in our complacency assured of the good heartedness of the authorities of extension. While the department did not oblige, at the eleventh-hour technical glitches, site crash and slow processing left many high and dry.

Caught in a tight spot, we promise to mend our ways sending frantic prayers of divine intervention but once through we settle into our old self. Poor heart does not follow the dictum of the head. It certainly would be prudent to learn a life lesson from Macbeth’s soliloquy, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.”

kalrasuruchi@yahoo.com

The writer teaches English at Hindu Girls College, Jagadhri