Tag Archives: procrastination

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What We’re Reading Wednesday

March 30, 2011 – 7:34 am

What is this addiction to stimulation? Sometimes I feel addicted to my own adrenaline. If I’m not rushing, feeling pressured, I feel like I’m missing something. Is this the only way we can feel alive now–by rushing? Are we mistaking the rush of caffeine for a feeling of vitality? Does rushing make us feel like we are doing something important, that we are important people? Are we all engaged in such meaningless work that we can only feel important if we feel pressured? Do we have to convince ourselves and other of the importance of our work to justify our existence?

-Cecile Andrews in Simpler Living, Compassionate Life

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Parenting

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Moms

March 23, 2011 – 7:31 am

We’re on Spring Break this week. I’ve noticed that it’s not working out like I pictured. Me and my high expectations…

What I expected the kids to be doing:

  • Enjoying themselves.
  • Relaxing during the break
  • Brimming with love and gratitude for their hardworking mother

What they are really doing:

  • Whining and complaining
  • Picking at each other
  • Making the worst decision possible in every situation.

What I expected to accomplish:

  • Cleaning and decluttering the house
  • Catching up all the laundry
  • Writing a bunch of blog posts so I will never get behind again
  • Getting the garden sorted out

What really happened:

  • I have some things sorted but haven’t taken them anywhere
  • At this point, I’ll be satisfied if there are enough towels for tomorrow
  • I started a long rambling post that needs to be completely reworked
  • Went to two garden centers, couldn’t make a decision because my children were acting like monkeys so I gave up and went home

It’s not all bad. I’m so thankful for my husband who came home, cooked up some chicken, and made a great salad for dinner. I love that when Wesley says, “I’ve never had that before,” it means he’s about to get a big spoonful and try it. I love that Gracie’s spunky personality means she’ll never be easily swayed by others. I love cuddling on the couch and figuring out how Bilbo and the dwarves will ever make it out of Mirkwood.

As far as my goals go…I’m  giving up, playing a round of Cataan, and going to bed. Of course, you’ll be reading this in the morning. Just assume I woke up refreshed and took care of all that other stuff.

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Humor Organization

Procrastination: Helping each other over the rough patches

February 28, 2011 – 7:19 am

Most of us have a certain task that comes with its own set of speed bumps.

My household chore nemesis is the laundry. Laundry isn’t difficult physically and it certainly isn’t a mental challenge, but I think those are the exact reasons I have such a hard time doing it. Getting clothes from “pile on the floor” to “folded in the drawer” seems insurmountable at times. It is the epitome of drudgery; a mindless task that also happens to be never ending.

I try to do a load a day, but sometimes the day gets busy and I end up with a perfectly clean load of laundry wrinkling in the dryer. By evening, the kids are in bed but I am completely wiped out. I sit down on the couch and I really don’t feel like moving from that spot for any reason.

Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful husband who will, out of the goodness of his heart and certainly not driven by the fear of having no clean underwear to wear to work the next day, will step downstairs and bring a load of laundry up for me. Then it’s no problem for me to fold it as I watch TV. Hurdle overcome.

Of course, marriage is a two-way street. So when Paul reaches a point where he is having trouble completing a task I, in return, nag him incessantly until he completes it.

Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same. -Oscar Wilde

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Organization

Finding what works for you

September 15, 2010 – 9:41 am

I tried Flylady about six years ago, but I immediately had a problem with the first step. She wants a clean sink. That clean sink will be a jumping off point for the rest of the house. I have about 2 square feet of counter space. If I have a clean sink all the time, things would have to be set on the floor. Her methods don’t work for me. That doesn’t mean they don’t work, they just don’t work for me.

I had to find out what was right for me. My mom likes to have a laundry day once a week and get all of the laundry done at once. That would be very daunting to me. I’d spend all week thinking, “I have sooo much laundry to do on Friday,” and it would get put off. I might as well buy barrels with suspenders for everyone because we’d be out of clean clothes. If I do one load of laundry a day, I can keep up and it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. Mom says that if she did it my way, she would feel like it was a never ending job.

Some people can spend all day cleaning while I am better at cleaning in fits and starts. I get a lot more done that way. All this to say, if it doesn’t work for you, try something else because there is something out there that works.

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Uncategorized

Procrastination: A Practical Tip

August 27, 2010 – 3:33 pm

One of the most helpful things I have learned from my experience with procrastination is the ten minute rule. If I want to do something general, like clean the kitchen, I work on it for ten minutes, then stop and take a break. That way it isn’t as dreaded because it isn’t open-ended. I don’t look at the kitchen and think of the hours it will take me to get it done. Knowing that there is an end makes it easier to start.

A timer is very useful. Putting that timer in the hands of my son who loves the chance to be “in charge” makes it fun. I love it when he yells, “Go, Mom, go!” When the time is up, I stop, take a break for a few minutes and go on to something else. I don’t get burned out by working on the same thing all day and fewer things fall through the cracks.

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Home & Family Humor

Preventing Procrastination: Unrealistic Expectations

August 25, 2010 – 10:25 am

Nothing enraged Elaine more than Gary openly defying the clear directions she so painstakingly etched onto the serving platter.

When I stand in line at the store I browse the magazines. I know better than to compare myself to the women on the covers. Six weeks after having a baby, there they are playing in the surf in a bikini. If I had a nanny, a personal trainer, a cook, a plastic surgeon, and a full night’s sleep, I’d look that way too. Hell, we all would. I know it’s ridiculous to compare myself to them.

But when I looked at Better Homes and Gardens or Southern Living, I would immediately compare my house to the cover. I’d think of the basketful of laundry, the cat hair, the toys strewn all over, and wish I could get my house to look like that.

What does this have to do with procrastination? It’s hard to get started when I know that no matter how much frenzied work I put in, my house will still fall far short of the magazine cover standard. To avoid that disappointment, it’s easier to put off trying at all.

My eye-opening moment came when I was watching an HGTV show while we were traveling. (We don’t have cable so I get it when I can.) A woman whose house had been on the market for the better part of the year called this show to help her. They moved her into her sister’s house, put most of her stuff and half of her furniture in storage, and had a crew come in to fix and repaint the interior. Then her house did look like my standard, but it was basically unlivable.

A way of avoiding that procrastination trigger is to readjust my standards. I don’t have an interior decorator, a maid, or a storage unit. I live in a house with three other people who apparently don’t know the location of a laundry basket, trash can, or a sink.

Realizing that the cover of Better Homes and Gardens is as unrealistic as the cover of Cosmo has helped me get more done. I know my house won’t be perfect. Instead of being disappointed with what I can’t get done, I’ll be pleased with what I can get done. Right now, two-thirds of my couch is uncluttered and I’m happy with it.

Picture and caption from Catalog Living, a site dedicated to making fun of ridiculous catalog pictures.

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Family Home Improvement Humor Organization

Procrastination Station: My story

August 23, 2010 – 1:21 pm

See Part 1 here.

Dictionary.com defines “procrastinate” as “to put off or defer (an action) until a later time; delay.” That is definitely an oversimplification. My definition of procrastination is the messy house, the lack of planning, the stress of trying to finish something at the last minute, the simple projects that sit unfinished for so long that I could have done them three times over. By the time Wesley was born it wasn’t something I did every once in a while, it was a lifestyle. On top of that I was overwhelmed with a new baby and an apartment that I never could get the hang of.

As if the sleep deprivation and dirty diapers weren’t enough, there was laundry, housecleaning, washing dishes, buying groceries and fixing dinner. Hobbies were nonexistent. I could almost hear the half-finished quilt in the closet whispering with my cross-stitch and knitting, bemoaning its existence in craft purgatory.

By the time Wesley was crawling, we bought a house. It was a foreclosure that had old, nasty carpet  and, as far as we could tell, all the rooms had been painted by an old lady on a bad acid trip. We were able to get a lot done before moving in. Mom watched Wesley for us while we painted all the rooms and tore the carpet out of the downstairs. It was a fixer upper that needed a lot of touching up, but I would be home all day. I could do it with all my “spare time.”

Needless to say, our remodeling screeched to a halt once we were moved in. I think the main reason was that we didn’t see why we had three bedrooms and only one kid. Gracie came along soon after and added to the melee.

I always dreamed of this unknown time in the future when my house would be perfect and I would be prepared for everything. I would try so hard to get to that point. I would get a week’s worth of groceries with every meal planned, but we would be out of clean plates. I would be basking in the glow of an organized kitchen when Paul would ask me if we really were completely out of clean towels and I would realize that I was fighting a losing battle.

Allie at Hyperbole and a Half describes my tendencies so well that I thought she was stalking me. Check out this comic.

Tomorrow: Procrastination and Perfection

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Adults Books Home Improvement Organization

Procrastination: My Tools

August 23, 2010 – 7:30 am

These three books reside happily in my bookcase and are thoroughly underlined and highlighted. I bought them in reverse order, but the organization book couldn’t help me until I figured out time management and time management was worthless until I could get a handle on my procrastination. All three are excellent resources, but if you have to choose just one, get The Now Habit. It has fantastic insights on why people procrastinate and how to overcome it. It even has a section on dealing with the procrastinator in your life, if you are a person who tries to get some semblance of consistent productivity out of someone who tends puts things off.

The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

Time Management from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule — and Your Life

Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life

 I have taken all the great advice from these books and figured out what works best for me. I’ll give you a crash course over the course of the week. Coming up this afternoon: What procrastination meant for me.

I’ll be interspersing these posts with my usual random, silly and interesting bits so as not to bore those of you who are completely in control of your lives. No, no, don’t raise your hands; you might get something thrown at you.

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Home & Family Home Improvement Organization

Procrastination Plug

August 20, 2010 – 7:31 am

It’s something quite a few of my friends have been discussing lately and something I have struggled with for a long time. It has just been in the last year  that I have gotten to the point where I feel I have it under control. So next week I’m going to do a series of posts detailing my own quest to be an anticrastinator. And yes, my fellow smart asses, I am putting off the procrastination series until next week. Laugh it up.

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