I Need to Stop Procrastinating and Start Working
Posted on: May 29, 2008
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.
5 Responses to "I Need to Stop Procrastinating and Start Working"
May 30, 2008 at 6:10 am
HI Katie,
One thing I’ve realized is that when you work in an office, you get some natural breaks – the usual interruptions. But when I sit down to write, it’s just me (and the cats).
Thanks for visiting and commenting – and cheerleading!
June 2, 2008 at 6:05 am
I have a project that has been hanging over my head for WAY too long and it would take me all of an hour if I could just make myself do it! I just have this mental block about it – plus, I’m totally embarrassed that it isn’t finished yet. When I finish it, it will remind my boss when it SHOULD have been done and that will be even more embarrassing. Yikes! So, here I am wasting more time telling you about it instead of working on it. I’m sick. Need help.
June 2, 2008 at 9:31 am
You’re human and help is here! I guess you can’t avoid reminding your boss about how late the project is, but it’s not getting any earlier 🙂
Can you try the old “5 minutes at a time” trick? I’m digging through my horrible basement mess that way.
[…] 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 […]
One Bag Nation 
May 30, 2008 at 5:00 am
I have been working at home and I have exactly the same problem. I dread working on a subconscious level even though it’s really not that bad.
You can do it! Don’t give up! And, I’ll try to do better myself as well.