Posts Tagged ‘procrastination’
Any anti-procrastination advice worth its salt will urge you to just get started on whatever it is that you’re putting off. Everything from daily housekeeping chores – like washing the dishes – to really important and complex projects – like writing a will – can be broken down into small pieces. Start somewhere, anywhere, and you usually end up doing much more than you thought you could.
Sarah at organizedmom.net posted about this today; after a very busy day, she was feeling really tired and not at all motivated to clean house. But once she got up and started picking up, momentum carried her until she finished. Her reward was the ability to sit and fully enjoy her television show without the distraction of the messy house.
I know I often spend more time dreading a task than it would take to just do it. This is a habit and a way of thinking that I’m working hard to change. I feel sure that if I do, I will experience far more order, serenity and peace of mind.
Procrastination Fuels Anxiety
Posted on: June 5, 2008
Of course it does!
If there’s something lurking in my To Do pile that makes me want to run, chances are it’s something I’ve been avoiding for a while. If I decide to put if off again, I’ll get momentary relief – phew! – glad I don’t have to deal with that today.
But what happens in the long-run? The next time I see that task needing attention, I’ve added guilt and even more anxiety to the equation; now I really want to run. Maybe the problem has gotten bigger, maybe I’ve missed a deadline – mostly I just feel awful that I’ve let whatever it is go too long.
Today I faced my anxiety about a couple of things I’ve been avoiding. Keeping Neil Fiore’s wise words in mind, I took care of the anxiety and the tasks – and just got them done!
Although it’s very tempting to give in to the instant gratification of putting things off, I know that it erodes my confidence and my self-esteem, and makes me feel like my life is out of control. Procrastination is definitely not the path to serenity . . . .
Earlier today I indulged in a bit of a poor me post about losing sight of my goals and disliking my day job. I spend more time thinking about how much I dislike it and trying to avoid it than I do working. And the truth is, once I get started it’s not all that bad, especially compared to the anxiety and guilt I feel about not working.
So . . . I had a little Come to Jesus Meeting with myself this evening and decided that I need to JUST DO IT, as the famous saying goes. Our family depends on the income, the work itself could be a lot worse, and ultimately all this procrastinating is bad for my state of mind. Neil Fiore says in The Now Habit:
Trying to escape work by procrastinating will only increase your anxiety; only work will diminish [it] . . . the only thing that really helps is to start working.
Well said, so true – for me anyway. And ironically, what I do is write about food . . . I like to write, at least here, and I love to cook and eat and read and talk about food, so I can’t figure out why this is so painful for me.
My goal is to work (a measly) minimum of 10 hours each week. Starting tomorrow I’ll aim for 2 hours a day, even if it means I work for just five minutes at a stretch – no, just kidding! Instead I’ll follow Neil Fiore’s advice and work for 30 minutes at a stretch. And in between 30-minute work sessions I can spend 5 minutes dealing with the basement project.
My blog will be my witness, and you, dear readers are welcome to cheer me on.
Last month sometime I enthusiastically dove into clearing out one of our bookcases and filled two large bags with books we no longer want. (This was very hard for me). But I soldiered on and was thrilled to find a used bookstore that would pay cold, hard cash for books they took, and so I eagerly put the bags of books into my car, just ready to be taken to the bookstore.
Today, finally, several weeks later, I drove up to the bookstore, found a parking space, hauled the two bags of books up to the door . . . and they were closed for remodelling!!
I wanted to scream.
The books are now safely back in my car, patiently waiting for the day when they’ll find their new home.
I decided to start this blog because the physical clutter in my home and the mental clutter in my head make me feel anxious, overwhelmed and generally unhappy – and I know I’m not alone.
Organizing “experts” are everywhere these days – there are books, blogs and websites galore – many with wonderful, useful ideas. But I suspect that unless you’ve personally struggled with impossible piles of paper, jumbled closets and cupboards, or a basement that looks like a small landfill, you can’t really understand the pain of the disorganized person.
My “expertise” comes from my own daily struggle to deal with my endless To Do list; the piles of paper on my desk; the stacks of reading material by my bed; the emails in my inbox; my overcrowded kitchen cupboards, my messy car; the junk littering my basement, etc. etc. Sound familiar?
I hope One Bag Nation will be a place where those of us who are often paralyzed by our stuff and our lists can support and inspire one another as we pursue physical order, serenity and peace of mind.
Stay tuned for more posts, some photos of my messy spaces, and – drum roll – photos of spaces I have managed to conquer!
