February's resolution is to tackle my procrastination and disorganization habit. No, the irony that I am posting this eight days into the month is not lost on me. I am a terrible procrastinator. I will put off doing the smallest thing, for no particular reason. So far, it has not caused any major issues, like missed work deadlines or failing to pick up kids from daycare but it does cause a lot of undue stress. I am feeling particularly overwhelmed right now with a lot of professional, personal and "extra" obligations coming at me at one time. I am in the thick of one responsibility I probably should have turned down in the first place (see January's resolution) and am having a difficult time getting motivated to do it. I "should" be working on certain things but I would rather work on fun things that need to be done, so I end up doing nothing.
Two things are helping me this month. The first is a plan of my ideal life. Hubs and I wrote out a schedule of how we would like our life to be. Some commitments have to be included, of course, but we also planned out times for personal time alone and time together. I like having time alone to read a book, go window shopping or just take an uninterrupted bath. He likes to hear live bands. Now that we put in the schedule, we don't need to feel guilty for taking time for ourselves (me) or feeling silently resentful for not having time to do things we enjoy (also me). I am also getting more of the boring tasks done, like getting kids to do some daily cleaning and hubs doing the weekly grocery run. The second thing helping me is so simple, I feel stupid that it has made such an impact on me. I can't recall where I heard it or I would for sure give credit, but it said "Don't put off anything that will take less than a minute to complete." See, simple right? The fact this has stuck in my brain probably reveals how awful my procrastination has been. I am really making an effort to follow this advice. It is mostly small efforts, like putting a cup in the dishwasher instead of by the sink or putting away small items throughout the day but it really has made a difference. Any one else struggle with putting things off?
I've been meaning to tell you that I too struggle with procrastination... ha! One thing that I sometimes do is reward myself (in small ways) as motivation for me to do a task that I've been putting off--for instance, I tell myself that once I finish folding and putting away the laundry I can sit down and relax with a cup of coffee. The tip about not putting off anything that can be done in a minute is a good one too.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention motivation, I think part of my problem is I don't feel like I can do one load of laundry. I feel like I am supposed to wash every dirty piece of clothing or towel in the house. Maybe my motivation should be just do one load and be done!
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