Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Getting Going in the Morning??
Hey all, Seems like once I "get going" in the morning I'm usually off and running for the day, but somedays it just seems like I can't get started on anything, even like today on a Sunday when the whole day is open, I can't seem to get traction (maybe because the whole day IS open?) I mean, playing Call of Duty 2 is awesome, but not the whole day long! Any advice for getting in the mode of productivity on an open-ended day?? ( OH, yes, I do have my to-do list).
Wolf
- Login to post comments
whole day open
whole day open has been a killer for me. I find it so easy to say, i'll play 2 hours of video games, because, hey, i have the whole day. What's 2 hours. Or what's a 3rd hour? Or a 4th, or 5th, and now it's evening and my whole free day is gone. ugh.
I find what helps me is setting my MITs in the morning and then doing them, for specific periods of time, rather than til i reach milestones in the task itself, sometimes with timers so i dont get lost in a task.
But first i have to get myself to agree that i'm going to set my MITs rather than going off and doing some video game or book or net surfing or some other task that distracts me. For that internal motivation, i use the 12 steps, especially Step 3. That turning of the life and will over to God vacates the power of the distraction for me, and then i am able to say No to them, and yes to my responsibilities.
I find that video games are
I find that video games are off limits for people with an addictive personality, let alone one prone to procrastination.
I used to play video games but I determined that they would often take up an entire day if I wasn't careful. Involved games like those for hard core gamers are a big no no.
My brother got me a Nintendo DS for Christmas but I try to lean towards games of the moment. Those that you can play for 20 minutes or less and be done with it. I'm considering a Wii because of that casual gamer nature of that console.
With regards to getting traction in the morning, I began taking advice from Ellen Page's character in "Smart People": "Make your bed. It sets the tone for the day".
I try to get the day started by moving. I roll out of bed and on to my Total Gym (right next to the bed). I spend a good 5 to 10 minutes on it stretching out and getting my muscles working. I make my bed right after and then sit at my computer with a bowl of mulk & cereal. I check my To Do list (I use "Things" for Mac ... amazing app!) and try to start an activity that will require less than half an hour to accomplish.
Somehow, the ball gets rolling after that.
Now.. that's the perfect scenario, but unfortunately I often do commit the capital sin: I go to bed with my laptop the night before. When I wake up, it's right there so I can get lured into spending hours in bed in the morning aimlessly surfing the net.
"Make your bed. It sets the
"Make your bed. It sets the tone for the day"" --- I LOVE that! And in fact, it really does.Thanks for the suggestions guys, I've started using Thinking Rock to get organized. I like that it allows me to collect all those random bits of thoughts on things I should do and gives me a way to organize them and "stay on target".
getting started in the morning
Yep, I have that problem too, except I can't say that I'm off and running once I get started either lol.
I like to plan the night before one task that I'm going to do first thing in the morning, BEFORE I play games or watch tv or whatever. Then use the game or other activity as a reward for checking an item off my todo list. Decide how long your break will be, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, whatever, and set a timer.
Good luck!
Jo
"Stay on target!" - from Gwen D., aka Gold Leader