The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily 1468: Five Paragraph Essay on Time by Kathleen Flenniken
Mar 3, 2026
A reflective take on procrastination reframed as triage and prioritizing urgent tasks. Exploration of why projects get postponed and how delay can reveal priorities. A close reading of a poem that mixes essay form, morning vigil imagery, domestic details, and a sudden, unsettling final image.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Procrastination Reframed As Triage
- Maggie Smith confesses she procrastinates and often delays tasks until the last minute.
- A friend reframed her delay as triage: juggling many tasks means prioritizing big immediate ones and letting smaller ones wait.
Delay Can Improve Decision Making
- Delaying tasks can offer benefits like extra thinking time and clearer priorities.
- Research suggests procrastination can improve decisions and reveal what truly matters by showing what you avoid.
Essay Form Holds Memory And Loss
- Kathleen Flenniken's poem uses the five-paragraph essay form to connect memory, place, and urgency.
- She recalls writing essays at 5 a.m. in her mother's bay window and later that same window being smashed decades after.