I anticipate the new year with relish, and certainty that my New Year’s Resolution - NO MORE PROCRASTINATION - will ensure I start, edit and finish the novel within. And all of this well before Hogmanay, Thursday 31st January 2026.
French for procrastination is la procrastination (noun), translated as “to express the act of procrastinating”. The common phrase is remettre au lendemain – “to put off until tomorrow”. Other alternatives include the more formal noun atermoiements or the verb procrastiner.
The most direct translation for procrastination in Russian is прокрастинация (prokrastinatsiya), a loanword commonly used in modern Russian. For a more traditional, native term, откладывание дел (otkladyvaniye del - literally "putting off tasks") or промедление (promedleniye - delay/procrastination) are frequently used.
Hogmanay, Wednesday 31st January 2025, early evening. I shave, dress in formal party clothes, and I am ready for the New Year. There are no callers. I go to bed around 01:00 on 1st January. That’s 01:00 on the world clock. I am resolved to end procrastination. Work and input are the way forward.
Thursday 1st January. I woke around five, that’s 05:00 on the World Clock. Almost immeditaley, I drank lemon water and black tea, two poached eggs and lightly toasted wholewheat brown bread. I wished I had bought those avocados. Charged my laptop and looked out of the window. Drizzly rain.
Lined up my dictionaries, there are four. I put my Roget’s Thesauruses on either side of the dictionaries.
Wondered why I have two identical copies of the same edition of the same book. Why with all the richness of the English Language is there no other word for Thesaurus.
Friday 2nd January. No visitors today. I took the rubbish to the bins and wished Mrs Gilchrist a Happy New Year. Mrs Gilchrist explained that the bin collection will be delayed because of the public holiday. At 8:30pm (that’s 20:30 on the world clock) I was hungry and I had an extra bowl of soup. It was supposed to be Homemade French Onion Soup. No cheese – decided to make Onion Soup. Tasty.
Saturday 3nd January, Full Moon (Wolf Moon). Sat down at my desk around 10:00 (that’s 10:00 on the world clock)and realised that the pencils need sharpened – spent a profitable time sharpening over one hundred pencils. The most popular self-colour is yellow. There are fourteen yellow pencils, the most popular duo-colour is yellow and black. There are twenty-three yellow and black pencils. Forty-four pencils have a built-in eraser. One pencil is an advertisement for a bank. Not my bank and I have no idea where this hideaway came from.
Sunday 4th January. Early start today – I noticed that there are several curtain hooks missing and or not working properly. Drove to the out-of-town hardware shop got two boxes of forty-eight curtain hooks.
Monday 5th January. Rearranged my pencils into a circular tub and stacked them in height order. I also noted that only one pencil is graded 6H, a type of lead used in very fine technical drawing. I have no idea where this came from. More than three quarters of the pencils are HB, & B … Some are unmarked which is annoying.
Tuesday 6th January. Laptop left open and needed charging – took ages to find the charger. I made fish pie while my laptop charged.
Wednesday 7th January. Russian Christmas. Day off. Day two of fish pie. Delicious.
Thursday 8th January. The fish pie congealed and did not reheat well. I resolve to eat this on the day it is made or the next day. No later.
Friday 9th January. 11:00 (that’s 11:00 on the world clock) decided to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks, then decided NOT to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks, as I had to get the rubbish to the bin.
Saturday 10th January. Moon – Last Quarter. Delayed from yesterday - decided to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks.
Sunday 11th January. Church. Early I lit a candle for clarity of thought. Repeated the candle lighting at 3pm – (that’s 15:00 on the world clock)
Monday 12th January. Mrs Gilchrist phoned, “ Can you take the dog for a walk and his see his “business” is done and cleared up. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday?”.
Tuesday 13th January. Fitzroy is a popular canine in the area – he seems to know more people than me.
Wednesday 14th January. I like dogs a lot – I really do – however I don’t want one. Right now, I should be busy with MY business, not picking up Fitzroy’s business.
Thursday 15th January. Last day of Fitzroy the popular pooch. I decided to make Russian Fish Soup – alas no fish in the freezer – I used all the fish earlier for the fish pie. So, I made Russian Vegetable Soup instead.
Friday 16th January. When I was taking my bins out, I met Mrs Gilchrist. She asked how my novel was going. I asked if she had ladders, I could borrow.
Saturday 17th January. Took the bus to the art gallery looking for inspiration – the kind I can work into my novel plot.
Sunday 18th January. New Moon. Pouring rain – got soaked going to church.
Monday 19th January. Pouring rain. Sneezy and snotty.
Tuesday 20th January. I rejigged the pencils into a lovely square metal box, a former toffee tin. It also doubles as a money box for spare change. I seldom use cash nowadays and anyway the pencils will have more room there.
Wednesday 21st January. I bought a new notebook - lined paper and a series of numbered tabs. Phone call at 4:15 (that’s 16:15 on the world clock) – Some woman wanted to sell me a new kitchen.
Thursday 22nd January. Wrote headings for the tabs in my new notebook.
Friday 23nd January. 11:00 (that’s 11:00 on the world clock) decided to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks, then decided NOT to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks, as I had to get the rubbish to the bin. Saw Mrs Gilchrist – she gave me two boxes of shortbread. Leftover from the Church social evenings.
Saturday 24th January. Laptop flat – can’t find the charger.
Sunday 25th January. Burns Day – quoted Burns several times today – watched some “Tartan Telly” – I don’t like this liquidised version of a Hollywood-esque Scotland that has never existed anywhere except perhaps in The Movies. And of course, on shortbread tins.
Monday 26th January New Moon. Up early at 06:30, (that’s 06:00 on the world clock) got two new ideas for Callum and Frazer – did not type them into my laptop. I decided to think seriously about their names – novelists, like me, struggle to get the name of their heroes just right.
Tuesday 27th January. Mozart’s birthday. I played some piano concertos on my CD player. I worked a while on locations – seaside resorts and how to name my venue. Novelists, like me, struggle to get the name of their locations just right.
Wednesday 28th January. Decided on names for the two men – Charles and Joseph. I like the idea of the historical strength of these names.
Thursday 29th January. Called to the door FOUR times this morning as delivery after delivery arrived. They were all for Mrs Gilchrist.
Friday 30th January. Borrowed a ladder via Mrs Gilchrist’s grandsons and I have time and equipment / tools in place to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks. Then I remembered no time to replace the broken and missing curtain hooks as I had to get the rubbish to the bin. I made her grandsons some sandwiches and I mulled over their names Mathew and Colin. Maybe I’ll use these names.
Saturday 31st January. One month of my new year’s resolution.
Sunday 1st February. Full Moon. The way forward ….
© Michael Kerins 2026