Why It Took Me Two Years to Build This Website
I have just completed organising this website in about three hours, two years after buying the domain. This made me reflect on procrastination and how it is still part of my life. Although I have been working on it for some years, it is still here… and I wanted to briefly share this experience.
For two years, I kept “organise your website” on my calendar and as a note on my desk. It was always there, but also one of those tasks I never really started. At the same time, it stayed on my mind. I kept planning it, thinking about possible designs, and the ideas I could share here. I sometimes talked about it with my friend Esranur Efeoglu Özcan, who encouraged me and offered to meet online and go through it together. I also knew it would not be a very different kind of academic website, as many of my colleagues (e.g., Olcay Sert) already have one. Still, I could not quite understand how something so simple could feel so big.
I realise this is part of how I do things in and beyond academia. I can delay even small things: I sometimes buy something I want to use and leave it unopened for weeks. As a researcher and teacher who often thinks a lot about details, I also know this is quite common. I try not to be too hard on myself. Once I take the first step, I do finish sometimes quickly, sometimes much later 🙂
I also believe that our minds keep working in the background, even when we are not actively doing the task. Maybe this is part of mind wandering, or maybe it is connected to perfectionism. Wanting to do something in the best way can make it harder to begin, even when a few hours would be enough.
I have been reminding myself of this through a quote by Goethe, which I keep in front of my screen. It helps me take small steps and simply begin.. If you have a quote or a small habit that helps you deal with procrastination, I would be very happy to hear it. Welcome to my website 🙂
Merve
