Living Juicy- Procrastination 2.0
Oh my goodness, it’s been such a revealing week. I’ve really been studying and searching and contemplating procrastination in my life, and I feel like I could keep on this topic for another month.
I literally just realized that I don’t have to procrastinate. I thought it was some basic human function, like breathing or eating. Everyone procrastinates, right? Wrong! Some people don’t procrastinate. I’m still flabbergasted by this.
People have different reasons for procrastinating. They’re discussed pretty well here in the context of writing, but you could easily apply them to any situation.
One of the reasons I procrastinate is because I attach emotional significance to things that makes them unpleasant or scary. Here’s a good example- A month ago I knew I needed to clean out my refrigerator. The bottom shelf was full of not-so-fresh herbs, a container of mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving, and more gross, gloopy stuff I’m sure you can imagine. So, sometime in December I said to myself, “I need to clean out the fridge. Bleh,” and proceeded to ignore my impulse. Of course, since then every time I’ve opened the fridge I had the same thought, “I need to clean out the fridge. Bleh.”
I kept putting it off, until tonight. Three things happened that made me clean the fridge. First, I’m doing this thing on Procrastination. I felt guilty about simple stuff that I put off for so long. Second, it was really starting to smell bad, which is just nasty. And third, my mom brought me chicken soup. Where would I store it? (Yes, I finally cleaned out the fridge.)
Lots of the stuff I procrastinate on has to do with chores. And it’s stuff I’ll eventually do anyway, like clean the bathroom or clean out the fridge. When I procrastinate I use all this energy thinking about how unpleasant the chore will be, and spend even more energy feeling guilty about having a dirty [fill in the blank].
It’s ridiculous! I’m going to do the chore at some point. That’s a given. Why not do it when I first realize it needs doing? Then I can save all that “guilty” energy for more fun stuff. Seriously…the stuff in my fridge was much nastier/moldier/smellier tonight than it would have been a month ago.
There’s a good lesson there. I hope I remember it.
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Song to think by – A Time Comes by Nina Gordon
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Coming soon…Final thoughts on procrastination.
2 Responses to “Living Juicy- Procrastination 2.0”
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Hello Erin, greetings from a fellow Procrastinator!! I’m a fellow SARK fan too. Your posts are wonderful & I recognise so much of myself in what you write. My major resolution this new year is to stop procrastinating; I’m almost 46 & have wasted so much of my life putting things off, being afraid to try something new, etc., etc. Well, I don’t have that much time left to waste & there is so much I want to do, so I have to get started.
I wish you well & maybe we can encourage each other from time to time. BTW, are you aware of Tammy Vitale? Check out her site http://tammyvitale.com
As you can tell, I totally understand your new resolution to give up procrastination. My New Year’s Resolution is to write 2-3 posts each week on the topics in SARK’s Living Juicy book.
Anytime you need support, stop on by, but I have a feeling you’re on your way. I’ll probably be stopping by your blog for inspiration from your cards and paintings.