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.
Tuesday, 8th August 2006 (FOR EVERYBODY)
Good Morning all!
I know it's still Monday for most of you but I have a BIG DAY today so wanted to start my BE.
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pro adding lovely graphic...
Note: Please everybody check in here - all the same thread. And check in by replying to this initial post - no sections for each person. Of course you can reply to a particular post if you have a comment about that particular post, but if the check-ins themselves are always replies to the thread starter, then the most recent check-in will always be on top.
I apologize for changing the check-in strategy daily (or more) for the last three days. I promise not to change it again any time soon!
- Login to post comments
pro's CI - 11:35pm (last check-in)
I'm finally done with my evening routine. I'm going to bed now.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
pro's CI - 11:20pm
I'm dawdling - watching TV. But I'm almost ready for bed. I just have to brush my teeth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
pro's CI - 11pm (are there really 110 people online here?)
The Who's Online box says there are 110 guests and 1 user (me).
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
pro's CI - 10pm
I've been CUOP for the last half hour, and now it's time to start my evening routine - get ready for bed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Good night!
Well done on sticking to your 'bedtime'.
I haven't started a thread for today yet (it's almost midday). I thought I'd wait till you went to bed :)
oh, go ahead...
...Start the August 9th thread. You know you want to! ;)
pro's CI - 9:30pm
I can't write any client emails tonight. It's already 9:30pm, and I need to stick to plan with starting my evening routine at 10pm and getting to bed by 11pm. I'm meeting some people in the morning, uptown. I'll have to write the reports when I get back tomorrow afternoon.
slider's BE 8:00 pm
I'm feeling exhausted and moody, and I'm going to go to bed early. did some tough things today that I didn't want to do. Felt a little better about myself for getting them done, but then sort of cratered--I think at the thought that it seems so HARD to push myself into them. Spent a fair amount of time doing things not on my list (some which should have been on my list but weren't). I give myself permission to eat some ice cream, finish the last few pages of the book I'm reading, and turn in. Hope I can get up in a better mood and get going sooner.
Done:
-talk to dh (since he's here) about where all the old tax stuff is
-get stuff collected (but needs to be gone through to find the stuff that's relevant for the right years)
-call cpa (she's out for the rest of the day but will call me back tomorrow)
-eat breakfast
-take vitamins
-review planner
-shower, dress, groom (Bleagh! to avoid being late to 2 pm meeting, I wound up getting dressed without a shower. Hair was ok, put on fresh deodorant and makeup, but it made me feel very unprepared and unprofessional. This is why I MUST do this early and get it over with. I hate to do it right away, though. I guess that means giving up on the possibility of going back to bed for another hour.)
-have lunch after all--got to coffee house 15 minutes early for meeting so had some lunch! It was expensive, but I didn't know what else to do with myself and I felt hungry. I suspect there's a clue there both to habitual tardiness and overeating/spending)DON"T SKIP MEALS--you wind up desperate at some point!
XDecide who to call/visit today as this is my visitation day (blew this off yet another Tuesday)
Xschedule chiropractor appointment this morning (ran out of time)
-prep for clergy meeting re: confirmation at 2:00
-pick up DS from band
-take jeans back to store with DS because ink thingy is still on it (antitheft device)
-go by hospital
-go to grocery store for milk (added ice cream)
-eat supper
-online researched OCD, OCPD, chronic disorganization, ADD, procrastination, ADD (possible time-binging, though not a pleasure--more of a compulive quest to figure out EXACTLY what's wrong with me)
-check in again
-respond to posts
To Do TOMORROW
-get up at 6:30
-walk
-morning routine
-review schdule and make plan
-call/visit (call 1 confirmation parent, in particular)
-dewrinkle laundry shoved on top of dryer
-take tax stuff to cpa and leave it in HER lap!
giving yourself credit
Slider - you're not giving yourself any credit for the terrific things you did today. You're just beating yourself up for not doing them before today. That's no way to treat someone you love (YOU). You did fantastically GREAT today. TELL yourself that!!!!
victory
Ta Da
I took my second (last) final of the summer today! And I am one more class closer to BS in civil engr.
I’ve been in school for years. I used to procrast so much that I had to drop classes or just failed.
I’m a little sad b/c I could have easily made an A this summer in both classes if I had not waited to the last minute to study – but I give myself credit for having great attendance – which I did not in the past. And in the past I would have focused on the procrast – but that’s who I am. Obviously, I had fear of success but mostly identify w/demand resistance and rebelling.
I choose to highlight the success and blindspot the failures.
congratulations, TL!!
That is great! You are on your way. :)
Cheers!
Feels good, I bet!
feels great
yes it does - i have 4 more classes and i will be doing grad school also!
slider's 5:00 CI--not so good
Got sidetracked even after my last post by responding to an email from a friend who sounded rather bummed. I brought up this website!
Done:
-talk to dh (since he's here) about where all the old tax stuff is
-get stuff collected (but needs to be gone through to find the stuff that's relevant for the right years)
-call cpa (she's out for the rest of the day but will call me back tomorrow)
-eat breakfast
-take vitamins
-review planner
-shower, dress, groom (Bleagh! to avoid being late to 2 pm meeting, I wound up getting dressed without a shower. Hair was ok, put on fresh deodorant and makeup, but it made me feel very unprepared and unprofessional. This is why I MUST do this early and get it over with. I hate to do it right away, though. I guess that means giving up on the possibility of going back to bed for another hour.)
-have lunch after all--got to coffee house 15 minutes early for meeting so had some lunch! It was expensive, but I didn't know what else to do with myself and I felt hungry. I suspect there's a clue there both to habitual tardiness and overeating/spending)DON"T SKIP MEALS--you wind up desperate at some point!
XDecide who to call/visit today as this is my visitation day (blew this off yet another Tuesday)
Xschedule chiropractor appointment this morning (ran out of time)
-prep for clergy meeting re: confirmation at 2:00
-pick up DS from band
-take jeans back to store with DS because ink thingy is still on it (antitheft device)
To Do
-call/visit (call 1 confirmation parent, in particular)
-dewrinkle laundry shoved on top of dryer
-take tax stuff to cpa and leave it in HER lap!(tomorrow)
-go by hospital
-regroup (think about where to buy a mattress, look at internet & cell phone options--these will be part of the fun stuff for today)
Guess I better get back in car and visit hospital. I don't want to go back out into the heat, and I feel tired and listless. I can tend to the two in the hospital, but if their families are there it will wear me out, putting on a cheerful face. Makes me want to not go, but I will. Going now! (recognizing the negative things I feel and acknowledging that I feel them is really helping me get going!)
why not so good?
This sounds very good to me. You need to give yourself credit. You talked to your husband about the tax stuff, collected it, and called the CPA. How cool is that!!!!
just remembered...
I have something to do tomorrow and will be out much of the day. Oops. Maybe I can write to the client before I leave. It will be a stretch, but if I'm very efficient time-wise I might be able to do it.
Or maybe (maybe!) I can do it when I get back from dinner and a movie. I don't want to go to sleep really late, but I'd have a great feeling of accomplishment if I did it. And if I was REALLY good, I could write to a second client in the morning.
pro's CI - 5:30pm (insights not on my to-do list)
Well, unfortunately I never got back to work this afternoon, but I knew that was going to happen. On the plus side, I figured out (through a dream and a suggestion from TodayFirst) what was behind my procrastionation on this particular task, and I think this allow me to get past this block. I have to quit for today because I'm meeting someone for dinner and a movie in a half hour. But I think that tomorrow I will be able to do this work because I feel that I could do it right now if I didn't have to leave in a half hour. So the time wasn't wasted.
What I did after I stopped working:
None of this was on my to-do list, of course. But I think it was important. I had to struggle very hard with not being able to get myself to do this task to get the insight into what was going on so I could solve the problem.
Hey - obviously I have a serious problem with procrastination or I wouldn't be here, and part of solving that problem is to realize what's behind it so I can deal with it.
I think I'll use the few minutes before I leave to read some more in Rita Emmett's procrastination book (which I'm almost done with).
todayfirst CI 4:30 EST
Woohoo. End of the work day... still stuff to do at home but I'll most likely be offline.
Done:
- Got to work
- CUOP
- 30 min - work on my program
- Check email
- Print docs for meeting
- 10 min meditation/stretch break
- 30 min - work on my program
- Schedule dentist appt
- 10 min meditation/stretch break
- 30 min - work on my program
- 10 min - check-in here
- 30 min - program
- bought stamps
- Lunch
- 30 min program
- Meeting (PM)
- check emails
- 10 min break
- 30 min - program
- Check into a problem with another application
- 10 min break
- 30 min program
Todo:
- Work on mission statement (train)
-
WTG todayfirst!!!!
You did great today - and you also gave me a earth shattering insight. Congratulations, and THANKS!!
stomach ache
I have a stomach ache. Something I ate at lunch didn't agree with me.
I think I'm going to fail today. I just can't do this.
try this...
I feel bad for you. I know how hard it can be to write some stuff when you are dreading it. When you feel a little better try this and let us know if it works (it has for me before).
1) Close your eyes and for 10 minutes. Try not to think about what you are going to do. Just think about where you are and gently breathing.
2) Write a really bad letter quickly. (set a timer). Make it as totally absurd as you can. Say mean things to the clients. Tell them you don't really give a damn about them and where they can go. Have fun with this. Get silly. Tell them you are just out for their money don't care about their needs. Be mischievous }:)
3) You're halfway there. :) Translate all the bad stuff into its opposite. Don't worry about making it perfect yet.
4) Set a time limit on this part... polish up the grammar and proof read it. 8)
What a great idea!
Good thinking, todayfirst!
LOL - I think this will work!
I took a nap, and while I was asleep I had a dream about why I have so much trouble with this. I resent my clients! (for totally irrational reasons). I want to write about this more in my journal.
It's interesting that writing mean letters to your clients (that you don't send, of course) helped you to get started. I can see that working for me because it would allow me to vent my irrational anger at them.
I wonder how common that is - procrastinating on work due to someone because you resent them (for irrational reasons). The more I think about this (and recall past clients I did this to), the more I realize how true it is. This is interesting. I have to write about this in my journal.
I think this may be the key for me! Thanks! :)
planned procrastination
I'm going to give myself 20 minutes to get used to the idea of writing this consulting report, and then I will do it.
Whoa! Time overlap!
Pro, while I'm responding to one thing, you're writing another, and I don't want to undermine your flow by backtracking you ("don't do it" meant the nap, not your latest step--if you just saw the headline in the box you might get the wrong idea!). I think the baby steps you're taking right now are smart!
pro's CI - 2:10pm
I did what I committed to do:
1. Opened Word to write consulting email.
2. Opened files I need to refer to.
Now I have to read these files I opened. And I want to take a nap.
procrastinating by napping
I have the most irritatingly obvious desire to take a nap now. Obviously I just want to escape doing this task, but I feel genuinely sleepy.
Right now, there's nothing I'd like more than to turn on the TV, watch Law & Order reruns, and nap.
What's wrong with me?
Don't do it
If you're genuinely sleepy, do nap. But you can't be genuinely sleepy and want to watch TV at the same time. You want to escape. Maybe the other suggestions--of finding some little part you can tackle RIGHT NOW--followed by a reward (like escape outdoors for 15 minutes--the walk and fresh air would be better for you than time-binging on reruns?) would get you unstuck? I KNOW HOW THIS SITUATION FEELS. I'm sure we all do. Understanding people are rooting for you!
todayfirst CI 1:50PM EST
I feel ummm a bit excited about all I've got done today. A bit scary. :O My brain keeps telling me it can't last. Be quiet little brain... we'll do just fine.
Done:
- Got to work
- CUOP
- 30 min - work on my program
- Check email
- Print docs for meeting
- 10 min meditation/stretch break
- 30 min - work on my program
- Schedule dentist appt
- 10 min meditation/stretch break
- 30 min - work on my program
- 10 min - check-in here
- 30 min - program
- bought stamps
- Lunch
- 30 min program
Todo:
- Meeting (PM)
- check emails
- 10 min break
- 30 min - program
Awesome!
Todayfirst, you convince me that breaking things up is an important key.
WTG todayfirst!!
You're doing great! I like how you intermix work with check-ins, stretching, etc. That breaks up the task so it isn't overwhelming and stretching out forever.
trying again
I'm parked on the couch, notebook on my lap (on notebook lap table). My stomach hurts from a half bag of junky corn puffs I ate - or maybe it was the vegetable and shrimp tempura I had for lunch (oil gives me a belly ache).
I feel like taking a nap though I got plenty of sleep last night.
Doing this feels like having my head held under water.
I used to struggle with writing magazine articles in this same way, and I procrastinated like crazy. But I actually enjoyed the task, so I never understood my resistance to starting - any more than I understand my resistance to starting this. Maybe it's simple demand resistance. I feel that I "must", so instantly I don't want to. Anything with a deadline attached to it triggers my demand resistance.
Reverse psychology
Maybe if you tell yourself you CAN'T do the client emails (for an hour, say), then you'll want to! }:)
haha - that definitely won't work
If I tell myself I don't have to do this, I'll blow off the rest of the afternoon in a nanosecond.
struggling to begin a dreaded task
These consulting emails are incredibly difficult for me to start, and I have no idea why. They are always well received - except for the fact that they're so late.
I'm going to move over to the couch and try again over there. Sometimes it helps me to move to a different spot in my apartment.
you can do it!
Start small... maybe just put in the opening and closing for each one and hit "save as draft"?
start small
Thanks for the encouragement. I need it badly today!!
I think you're right - I need to start with some small piece of the task, like opening Word and the files I need for reference.
I'll do those small things and check in again.
pro's CI - 1:40pm
My computer just froze. Had to turn it off and reboot.
I realize that one thing I have forgotten to put on my daily to-do list is handling mail after returning from checking the mailbox. I just did that.
It's so much better to handle the mail as it comes in, versus put it in a pile that grows to the point of being completely horrifying and overwhelming!!!
pro's CI - 1:15pm
slider's 12:00 CI
Done:
-talk to dh (since he's here) about where all the old tax stuff is
-get stuff collected (but needs to be gone through to find the stuff that's relevant for the right years)
-call cpa (she's out for the rest of the day but will call me back tomorrow)
-eat breakfast
-take vitamins
-review planner
To Finish:
Morning Routine:
-shower, dress, groom
Then begin work:
-Decide who to call/visit today as this is my visitation day
-call/visit (call 1 confirmation parent, in particular)
Xschedule chiropractor appointment this morning
-dewrinkle laundry shoved on top of dryer
-take tax stuff to cpa and leave it in HER lap!(tomorrow)
Xhave lunch (have healthy snack midafternoon since breakfast was so late)
-prep for clergy meeting re: confirmation at 2:00
-go by hospital
-regroup (think about where to buy a mattress, look at internet & cell phone options--these will be part of the fun stuff for today)
awesome, slider!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your ta-da list is truly awesome. How wonderful that you're taking care of this tax stuff.
I wish someone could help me get started on my consulting emails. Or maybe I just need to do a teeth-gritting thing and force myself to take the first step. I don't know why I so resist doing this.
I hear you
What about it are you resisting, exactly--what is the thing that makes you so uncomfortable? What is the next executable step you CAN take? With me calling the CPA (and the treasurer before that), it's shame and embarassment. I've gone to her three times but never followed through. If I were in a big city and anonymous, and I could just pick a new person, I would. But in this environment it just means even more people would know what a mess I've got. So sticking with her is less painful in the long run. Plus, she has expertise in clergy taxes and I don't know who else is experienced with it locally. Basically I'm phobic about feeling shame and embarassment. When I recognize it's a phobia and it won't really hurt me, then (with the help this forum gives me), I can just buckle down and do it. It's when I leave it as un anconscious fear that it has power over me (I slide away from it). So what puts you off in writing to your clients? Is there a fear? A dislike? Something unspoken in the way? A decision you don't want to make? Blessings to you as you face it!
shame
I feel a lot of shame and embarrassment about how late I am in responding to my clients. I've had many get mad at me for this, and I've had a few fire me for this (very understandably). I'm furious with myself for needlessly jeopardizing my income, and I don't know what to say to these people when I've already apologized and promised to better. Obviously I broke that promise.
This whole thing sort of makes me hate myself - no doubt a major element in why I want to take a nap rather than do it.
pro's CI - 1pm
I added something to my to-do list in front of my consulting client. It drives me crazy that my PDA to-do list is wrong.
pro's CI - 12:10pm
slider's 11:00 CI
DH got in shower while I was posting last (he dawdles excessively while in bathroom), so while I've been waiting on him to get out I cooked eggs and toast and reheated the coffee. Then I felt rarin' to go. I told him I was waiting on him to go over the taxes, and that once we reviewed what was in there I could run it by cpa--or he could (so now he's taking even longer, because he, too, is a terrible procrastinator :) ). I also filled out forms to get us off direct mailing lists. Found the link last night at squalor survivors under the button for financial squalor and reducing paper clutter. I feel good about filling out the form, putting it in an envelope, and addressing it, even if wasn't on my list, because we really need to get the clutter under control, and because it was more useful to do while I wait than escapist time-bingeing. I hear noises in the bedroom, so maybe he's done.
hiding out in the bathroom
> DH got in shower while I was posting last (he dawdles excessively while in bathroom)...
Sounds like you BOTH hide out in the bathroom - you on the toilet, and he in the shower! :D Do you have only one room in your apartment? If not, then maybe you need to have a family discussion about boundaries and respecting private time. The toilet really is not a comfortable place to sit and read!
No, it's not
And I only go there when I'm procrastinating or time-bingeing (or constipated, ha), so nobody will challenge me on the fact that I have other things to do. Especially if I don't want to do something they want me to do.
Slider's 10:00 CI
Oh, crap. Here I am wasting time!!!! I have done nothing on my list. Instead, I:
-sat on toilet till my legs went numb, reading (I tend to do that because the rest of the family leaves me alone in there--so it's a hide-out)
-looked up airfares for Thanksgiving, as my mother-in-law requested the other day, found some good ones, called her, and was told, "Oh, I want to coordinate everybody so I'll take care of that." (Ha-If I HAD procrastinated longer about her request I wouldn't have been procrastinating about my list for today: an object lesson in prioritizing, in that what I am truly procrastinating about is not breakfast but the CPA. The slider in me is hoping I never get to it on my list.)
So, before I procrastinate more, I revise my list. And, following my own advice from a few days ago, I will not berate myself. I will use my best parenting skills and find a way to pull myself together to call the cpa--then everything else will probably go fine.
To Do:
-talk to dh (since he's here) about where all the old tax stuff is
-get stuff collected
-call cpa
Morning Routine:
-eat breakfast
-take vitamins
-shower, dress, groom
-check in after completing (this morning routine is when I really dilly-dally when I have no morning appointments)
Then begin work:
-review planner
-Decide who to call/visit today as this is my visitation day
-call/visit
-schedule chiropractor appointment this morning
-dewrinkle laundry shoved on top of dryer
-take tax stuff to cpa and leave it in HER lap!
-have lunch
-prep for clergy meeting re: confirmation at 2:00
-regroup (think about where to buy a mattress, look at internet & cell phone options--these will be part of the fun stuff for today)
how's it going, slider?
You haven't checked in for a while. Have you checked off some of your to-do list items, or are you still berating yourself. ;)
(I should talk - I'm still procrastinating on my consulting work.)