Chapter Twenty-Five: Rattlesnakes and Roses (or: Mmmagic Missile! Magic Missile! Magic Missile!)

Based on an exercise outlined in the book "Thinkertoys"



I've found that a persistent problem I've had is determining the correct point at which to do laundry. As I pondered this issue sitting at a table with a twenty-sided die lying off to the side I decided on a whim to examine the game Dungeons and Dragons and ascertain parallels that might aid me in my quest.

If my exact challenge is 'When do I get off my butt and do laundry?', the key word in this sentence would be the proactive 'do'. Now, what does one do in Dungeons and Dragons? There are certain basic aspects to the experience. DnD is a socially-oriented game, where players interact with one another directly, and thus games usually take place on a very specific time and date. Dice are used to decide the results of just about everything. Also, most games have an overarching quest or goal which leads to some rich reward.

I stewed around with some other ideas, but these were the simplest and the most easily relatable to my goal. So, how can I combine these concepts to produce a workable plan toward inspiring myself to perform this unwanted but necessary chore weekly?

First, I can set an exact time and date for myself, to get past the 'oh, I'll get around to it sometime' mentality. This may have to change from semester to semester, but at present I am almost definitely free all day on Saturday. Now, since I know I'm going to inevitably procrastinate past any set time I give myself, I decided the best way to work around this would be controlled procrastination. To that end, every hour I can make a "saving throw" of sorts, wherein if I roll high enough I can put the laundry off for another hour; but I only get five saving throws, just in case. Finally, to reward myself for completing this onerous task I'll go out to dinner, or get some sort of baked or frozen treat if I've already eaten.

Because everyone I know would take Insomnia Cookies over a Helm of Disintegration. Probably.

Closing thoughts on this exercise:

Possibly the two topics were a stretch to correlate, as I'm not sure it allowed for too much creative license. But, on the other hand, I got to embed that Magic Missile video, and thus enrich the lives of people everywhere. So I'd say all-in-all this was a success.

A short note about my creative environment:

I wrote this at my friend's place at about 4 o'clock, sitting at a table in his living room bathed in expansive sunlight from a gigantic window. He was playing World of Warcraft in the other room, so the silence was occasionally interrupted by muffled game-related outbursts.