I have three huge projects to finish before July 18th, and I cannot find the motivation to dive into them. Anything seems more exciting than working on these projects. I tried making a list and hung it on my fridge. Only one thing has been crossed off as of today. It seems that everything is more important to me than working on my projects. The sad part is that I am beating myself up over the fact that these projects are not moving forward, yet I continue to procrastinate.
Here are a few ways I have avoided working on my projects:
1. Blogging. Rather than do the work I HAVE to complete on the computer, I find myself blogging.
2. Shopping. There are so many things I need at the store. NOT! Yesterday, I talked my husband into having chicken salads for dinner. That meant I had to leave the house to shop for lettuce.
3. Laundry. Although an important chore, it can wait.
4. TV. I watched Celebrity Homes.
5. Daydreaming. Thinking about all the things I want to do when the projects are finished.
6. Napping. I am on vacation, right? I should be able to nap if I want to nap.
7. Talking. Chatted with the neighbors for an hour.
8. Organizing. Cleaned out the bathroom vanity drawers. They really needed it.
9. Re-potted. The plants in the window looked so stuffed in their pots.
10. Gaming. Stupid Bejeweled!
Ahhhhhh! It does not help that I really do not want to do these projects. There are thousands of things I would prefer to do.
This article in Psychology Today, was positive and helpful. It says that “Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but 20 percent of people chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions—which, unfortunately, are increasingly available. Procrastination in large part reflects our perennial struggle with self-control as well as our inability to accurately predict how we’ll feel tomorrow, or the next day. Procrastinators may say they perform better under pressure, but more often than not that’s their way of justifying putting things off. The bright side? It’s possible to overcome procrastination—with effort.”
Hmmmm, so all I need to do is exert some effort. Okay, so today, I vow, to overcome my procrastination and complete at least two items on my list of chores. Like Benjamin Franklin once said, “You may delay, but time will not.” I am running out of time and these projects are piling up. I have real work to complete!
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About bigsmileu1
What good is living life if you don't share all the experiences, mistakes, and knowledge you have gained? I am a grandmother, a wife, a mother of two grown children, a Jr. High Teacher for almost two decades, an elementary principal and I want to share my experiences.
Grandmother Musings 
I wrote about this last fall . . . here’s a funny video to distract you for yet a few more minutes: http://pillowsalamode.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/procrastination/ 🙂
NOOOO! I watched the video. It is exactly, me, right now. LOL! I added your post to my related links. Good one! Thank you for making me laugh. 🙂
I’m also very good at ‘procrastination’ ..many of the excuses you gave lol..Diane
I have a sneaky suspicion there are more of us than we know. Enjoy the day, Diane. 🙂
I had no idea that procrastination has something to do with self-control … good to know.
Self-control is not one of my good points when it comes to procrastination. Enjoy the day! 🙂
All of the distractions you listed are so much more fun than doing projects. Oh well, good luck getting motivated.
Thanks Nicole. I can cross off one thing I did today. I am getting better. 🙂
Jamie, when I feel procrastinating I remind myself that time is the only thing I cannot recycle. Time lost is lost for good..
Ooh, such good advice, Valentina! Thank you. 🙂
You are not alone. Good luck on the projects!
Thanks! I need all the luck I can get. 🙂
Hi, I’m curious about whether your true confessions helped you get anything done today. When I was teaching I would procrastinate in reading papers and then have to beat myself up, but never hard enough to make me do it. Sometimes I would say that I would just have a dish of ice cream and then I’d feel like doing it. NOT!!! Other times I would say I could have a dish of ice cream after I read five papers. NOT!!! – I ate the ice cream without reading the papers. I like retirement because there aren’t many things that have to get done. Opps, I still haven’t lined up communion servers for Sunday.
I did manage to cross two things off of my long list of things to do. One of them was a rather large chore. I had to fight myself hard to do it. I really wanted to read, write, or take a nap, but I pushed through. I have felt the same way about my school papers. I have put it off until I had an insurmountable amount of papers to read. Eventually, I would have to spend a whole day reading them.
Lucky you being in retirement. I will not be there for a long while. Thanks for commenting. It is good to know I am not in this alone. Enjoy the evening. 🙂
That’s a great list – I’ll have to add them when there’s something I don’t want to do! (At least for a while) 🙂
Thanks Meg. There are more things I could add to the list. Is that not crazy. Enjoy the day! 🙂