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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Procrastination

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~ William James

True this.

I've got a few thing hanging over my head lately.  They are, without a doubt, exhausting me.  I'm not tired from doing, but I'm tired of thinking I SHOULD be doing them.  I have a list.  Maybe if I write this list and share it with all of you, I will start accomplishing SOMETHING.

But, before I write the list, I want to talk a bit about procrastination.  I want to talk about good procrastination and bad procrastination.  I've learned there are three types of procrastination.  Depending on what you do instead of working on something, you:
  1. do nothing
  2. work on something less important
  3. work on something more important
I will suggest the type 3 individual is doing good procrastination.  He is putting off the small stuff to take care of the big stuff.  I'm going to suggest many moms fall into being the type 3 procrastinators.  I believe being actively involved with your children is a "big stuff" project, as opposed to dusting the bookshelf.  However, watching Ellen instead of being actively involved with your children or dusting is a type 1 or bad procrastination.
 
This is certainly the "reader's digest" condensed version of this theory, but I hope you are getting my drift.  Some of the small stuff things, like mowing the lawn, filing your taxes, grocery shopping, and the like, will eventually become big stuff problems if avoided long enough.  So even though you may have big stuff in your lives, like raising children, running a business, finishing your dissertation, writing the next great American novel, you eventually have to deal with some of the small stuff before they become big problems.

And this is where I find myself.  Lately I've been dealing with the big problem of my broken house and destroyed landscaping.  I've been hoping the roofer, we have ALREADY hired, will start replacing our roof.  I thought when this finally began my paralysis on doing other jobs, *read small stuff*, would end.  But, no roofing work has begun.  No repairs on the house are underway.  Now the small stuff is starting to build up and weigh heavily on my mind.  My procrastination must end.  I can no longer use the excuse of fixing my house to keep me from doing the small stuff.  So, back to the concept of writing down my list.
  • Send in my winter CSA contract and check
  • Iron all the clothes I have piled on the chair in my bedroom
  • Fill out the tax forms for donations to Vintage Value
  • Send church the letter telling them we have moved on to a different church
  • Pull weeds and pull overgrown annuals out of my flower beds
  • Wash all the mildew off the front door of my house
  • Call the rancher and order my lamb
  • Work with my son to sort through stuff from his room
  • Go for a walk every now and then *read start exercising*
Wish me luck.  :)  Oh, while I was thinking about getting some of these things done, I rewrote Carly Simon's Anticipation to fit my post today.  If I felt ambitious I would have sung it and made a YouTube.  Maybe I'll do that someday...  When I find some time.

I don’t ever finish all the chores I have to do
But I think about them all the day
And I wonder if I'm really going to do them now
Or just wait ‘til after what Ellen has to say.

Procrastination, Procrastination
It’s making me late
It’s keeping you waiting

And I tell you how easy it is to put things off
And how right it feels to nothing at all.
But I rehashed the things I have to do last night
Then started thinking about how to avoid this work.

Procrastination, Procrastination
It’s making me late
It’s keeping you waiting

And tomorrow we might not have clean clothes
I'm no prophet, but I know we will need food
So I'll try to get out to the grocery store
I'll get to it, 'cause I'll get it done someday.

I'll get it done someday.
I'll get to it, 'cause I'll get it done someday.
I'll get it done someday.
I'll get it done someday.
I'll get it done someday.
I'll get it done someday.
  I'll get it done someday.  
 

I guess I should get working on that list now.  :)

6 comments:

  1. some times is is good to step away from thelarge problems and fix a bunch of the small stuff to give us the feel of progress and revive us toward the larger ones...

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  2. List update:
    -CSA contract and check is in the mail.  Confirmed that my tardiness did not negate my opportunity to participate.
    -Tax forms for Vintage Value donations completed.
    -Called rancher and checked on my lamb.  He hasn't weighed it yet, but it's on his list of things to do.
    -Sent an email to the church with the information they requested.  I told them we were attending a different church.  :)

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  3. And isn't it great to put a big fat checkmark next to the above items?

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  4. I love and hate procrastination!  Hate when people do it to me and love when I do it then hate that I did it later.  ;)

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  5. Oh my gosh, YES! YES and YES. 

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  6. Sometimes it just takes writing down all those little things and the satisfaction of putting a check mark next to completed items that gets them done. 

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