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.
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.
Joe K Check in 12:45 PM
I started this check in at the chat room but now can't get back in, so I'm bookending here. I did work on the report for 90 minutes before lunch (which I committed to doing). I now commit to working on the report from now until 2 PM. At 2 PM, I have two phone calls to make, and will return to the report from 2:15 until 3:30 PM.
Joe
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing --Steven Covey
Reconnecting Chat
Good Going, JoeK! I was around for some of your chat this morning so I see you are doing a good job of keeping on track today.
As for Chat, I've had trouble getting in myself. For me, it's usually the start of the session. When it happens, it usually helps to log out and delete browser cookies/temp files (this is usually available under Internet Options, depending on your specific browser version).
Good luck, both ways.
isabo ci 340 pm
Busy day today, just got home an hour and a bit ago. Lost energy as soon as I sat down, there are still some tasks to be done though. I took some pressure off time left by deciding that supper would be delivered by the pizza guy.
I am tired though, that doesn't help my malignant get up and go muscles. However, vacuuming the dog hair must be done, the hairballs created in just two days in incredibly...scary, really! And my daughter just climbed up on me, now I have to move her and me!
okay, I am going to pick timer up and start alternating between putting away groceries and vacuuming....
off I go......
after I put the computer down and heave myself out of this chair...
oh, btw, I have lost 12 lbs by incorporating best foods into my diet over the last four weeks! Woohoo!! Yah me!!
Nothing is worth more than this day - Goethe
Newton's law of procrastination
in chat pyrotecher mentioned the term "personal intertia" which led to this, which i thot was funny, so:
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
"Personal Inertia" works on multiple levels...
Thank you for posting this, Clement - well summarized.
I don't know if anyone else has stated similarly (wouldn't surprise me) but I'll give myself at least partial credit because I came up with the notion by myself years ago, before I recognized it as a procrastination behavior.
If you think about it, it works at multiple levels:
- Starting microtasks, and once started finding a place to stop or switch tasks
- Starting big projects, and then getting the next one underway.
- Even something as basic as making yourself call it quits and go to bed at night.
I think GeorgeSmiley's great post on Two Levels of Procrastination fits right together with this: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/2010
I'm actually wondering if maybe it's a fundamental aspect of the procrastinator's personality, a common thread of how our minds work.
Unlike Newton, I don't think I'll get a professorship at Cambridge for this. :)
Just understanding myself a little better is reward enough.
Sammy ci :: 10:50 am
Thanks for the starter, byGodsGrace. Thats a great quote!
Didn't get here as early as i had hoped, but never the less, I'm here.
To Do: shower, Econ Homework, study for Psych tech. Send thank-you card, leave home by 2:30.
Today I am thankful for the opportunities I have to teach....and learn.
Pyrotecher 8am PDT
Last night was later than desired getting to bed (but usual late, not ridiculous late like previous day). Still enough to make morning later than desired. I've learned to only take so much from the sleep account to make up for the others.
From yesterday, the dilemma was a couple of bad vs. worse schedule options for today:
http://www.procrastinatorsanonymous.org/node/2013#comment-29478
I just spent a half hour on a spreadsheet looking at my options for two scenarios - how to schedule necessary but time-flexible tasks (before or after work), and whether to go back to office after an interrupting mid-afternoon appointment or take work home.
I figured out that the extra time driving back to the office after the appointment, and then home from the office, would unnecessarily kill an hour of my day. Duh. Don't know why I'm having trouble being honest with myself about what drive-time does to my schedule.
Another thing spreadsheeting did was make me be honest about how long things take and the impact on schedule. Because I'm starting at 8, I still don't have much hope of getting to work b4 10am despite wishes to contrary.
I added tracking columns to the spreadsheet. Will see if following what I actually do helps at all. THIS time I remembered to add allowance for interruptions. Time to recognize up front that they happen (need to be controlled, but they happen).
Pyrotecher CI 9:20 pm PDT
Spreadsheet task tracking was useful, especially with the added feature of differentiating time spent on task vs. other (interruptions, distractions, anything not directly task related).
I found that my time estimates for actual task work were reasonably accurate, usually good to within 15 minutes (though I never came in under my estimate - so I'm still being too optimistic).
The real time drain was time off task. Some of that is unavoidable but it needs to be controlled to the extent feasible, and considered in the plan. Interruptions happen; you just can't let them take control.
I did still run late for work but my advance thinking kept me from making a few mistakes which would have made it worse. I cut out some unnecessary driving and also moved some of my morning routine to evening. So I did make some progress.
TOMORROWS GOALS: I hope to build on today's gains in getting schedule under control (plan to continue spreadsheet tracking, at least for now) and achieve more normal business hours (aim to arrive by 8 - or at least sometime before 9!). I have a specific task that needs to be done tomorrow before East Coast businesses close (and I'm West Coast), so I have some tangible incentive to be timely.
If I do well on Friday, it's only a partial victory, though. My weekly routine is such that it's easiest to control my schedule on Fridays. The trick is getting through the weekend and hitting Monday on time.
Next Monday is no excuses this time - I report to Jury Duty on Monday, so I have to be bright and early, or at least early. Funny, but I always seem to come through on time when something like that forces me to. The trick is learning to use that experience to get better control of my self-regulated workdays.
Sam 10:43
1.
eat breakfast by 11:30 so that u can hit gym by 2:00ate at 12:30 so best hit the gym by 2:30.tidy up room and bathrooom
journal
clothes cloest
wear mouth guard
gym 2:00
i got up at 9:30 and was in bed almost for an hour,tossing and thinking things. i seem to be doing that everyday. instead i should get up grab coffee and journal or start my day.
keep coming back
That has been my "sign in comment" for 30 years in my 12 step programs.
It helps so much to know I am not alone and it helps others to see I am still here.
Since my last check in on Monday, I got pretty much done with my HP's help.
It is gloomy outside and in my subconscious, I have thagt feeling of "I did enough"
Kind of like eating healthy, not drinking, etc. that first thought is always, I've done it long "enough". Once I loose the mind frame of "consistency", I get back to my "START-STOP" MENTALITY.
So, by the grace of my HP I was able to set a time to meet with a friend.and I need to be gentle with myself today. I can be "consistent" by doing things I know I can do, no matter how pathetic.
SO i DID DO MY BASICS, NOW TAKE A SHOWER, CHANGE, AND STAY CONSISTENT TODAY, EVEN IF i DON'T "FEEL" LIKE IT. ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. PRAY and don't beat myself up.
the "I've done it long enough" syndrome
wow, it helps me to see it written like that. I get that same feeling--hey, i've stayed on task for like 4 days in a row, now i "get to" surf right now, instead of working. I'm doing good enuf, i can "affort" to waste some time.
what the heck is that reasoning?
this seems to all fall in the area of submission to HP. That's what keeps from feeling "deprived" by not surfing--i'm doing the will of god. that's more rewarding than anything.
but this is a very hard and fresh area for me.
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
re: I've done it long enough
Yeppa deppa this is where I am today! I've been working so hard and today there is nothing urgent. I commit to staying on task today although there is no pressure. I have one critical thing, but it's waiting on some other people and all I can do is nudge those people and see what happens.
I will take advantage of this slow day to 1) start preparation for my next on call week 2) review the backward planning for my big projects and put the intermediate deadlines on my calendar (thanks bgg for that idea!).
JO
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. - May Sarton
babarino ci
gr
R gr
Follow up pq (done)
hazelden thought for the day Thursday
Today stands before us, ready for our involvement. And it will offer us opportunities for personal growth and occasions to help another make progress on her path to the future. Challenges are to be expected. They further our purpose. They foster our maturity.
How different it is, for many of us, to look forward to today with secure anticipation, to trust in what the future holds! We can still remember, all too vividly perhaps, the darker periods in our lives, periods that seemed to hold no promise; a time when we dreaded the future, fearing it would only compound those awful times.
The fear and the dread are not gone completely. They hover about us, on occasion. They no longer need to darken all of a day, however. We can recognize their presence as parts of our whole, not all of it. How free we are, today! Our choices are many.
I can step toward today with assurance, reaching out to others along the way, trusting that my accumulated steps add stability to my future.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Published 1982. Second edition 1991. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. - May Sarton
tx journey
I always really appreciate when you post these, they are so relevant to my day - secure anticipation, I like the idea of having that, trusting God to help me continue and overcome the past - to not be burdened by the dread of falling back... I can step with assurance! :-)
thanks bgg!
I'm glad you enjoy them, when I find a good one I like to share. Some of them are pretty lame and I don't share those ones lol.
JO
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. - May Sarton
Journey 9 am
Good morning! I was early to work this morning yay! I have been to the gym, checked on Dad, read email and checked my calendar. I'm going to fill up the coffee cup and water bottle, then have 5 mins quiet time. I have a task that someone requested from me two days ago, and I haven't been procrastinating on it but I really have had higher priority stuff that kept me from getting to it. I'm going to take care of that this morning, before I even make my todo list for the day. It shouldn't take more than 45 mins to an hour.
I'll be in the chatbox tenish. see y'all there!
JO
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much. - May Sarton
GeorgeSmiley 7:55 AM
Well I've spent the first hour mainly just figuring out a new online bookmarking service I've started using. Got fairly absorbed in that for a while. That had started from just reading one article on the 'Net that I needed to read.
I have a big pile in my in-box to work through. I also have a lot of stuff to transcribe.
And A thousand and one stuff hanging over.
And to top that off my ex- asked me yesterday to either go to our son's school conference today at noon or reschedule it for when we both can go tomorrow.
I'm inclined just to go today.
Oh, and I also have more than 50 emails to process from being out of the office all day yesterday.
The Hero's Code:
Show up. Pay Attention. Speak the Truth. Let Go of the Outcome.
CL ci mantra day 15
so...
today i find myself on the heels of 2.5 successful days, and feeling a lot of stress that it might not continue. After all, this has been my life.
Ironically, this mantra i'm using seems to work equally well in times of non-productivity and productivity, because they both give me stress:
"amidst the stress, look for god, not an exit."
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
Falcon CI Thurs.
Hi pro buddies,
Today at work my first goal is to spend 10 minutes on the stuff on the credenza BEFORE I do anything else. My next goal is to finish my inbox and get everything onto notecards. Also, I need to call my doctor as soon as her office is open.
Have a good day, everyone!
Falcon
Falcon CO
Hi pro buddies,
I started on the stuff on the credenze, first thing yesterday morning! Yay! And I called the doctor -- gotta call the radiology clinic today. Didn't get my notecards done yet.
Falcon
byGodsGrace todays CI
Doing the starters when I have time is a really good exercise for me – addresses my 2 areas of struggle in design –allowing me to start and then complete one design in a short time and let it go without binging to make it “perfect” – and I can share a word and image with my fellow overcomers that helps me and I hope will also help you!
Word and prayer for the day: Psalm 138:3, Proverbs 16:9 amplified and message
“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.
”A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. (We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.)
Help me God to seek you in every step, for you make me able to do what on my own I cannot.
Reading to put into practice again:
“If you want to be free, just start doing what God wants you to do, one step at a time, and you’ll eventually walk out of your messes." Joyce Meyer
Soundtrack of my day: Natalie Grant
My to do list: (first day with new system/calendar + list)
Read Bible/Praydd school by 8.30a
email job3 bcard proof, upload
call job3 (card, deadlines, text)
ink/fix printer
job2 print ret addressx15, pkg for mailing
seals/post office
job2 order summary
job2 decide on ONE more design option
dd school 2:30p
dd st/ot 3:45-6p
Clear email/inbox for day
byGodsGrace todays CI
My to do list: (first day with new system/calendar + list)
Read Bible/Praydd school by 8.30aemail job3 bcard proof, upload,call job3 (card, deadlines, text)ink/
fix printer,job2 print ret addressx15,pkg for mailing(cant finish until ink issue fixed)job2 order summary & decide on ONE more design option (started... tryagain fri)
ck mail,dd school 2:30p, snack, dd st/ot 3:45-6psealsClear email/inbox for daytx Falcon!! reposting my list and wanting it to be shorter,helped me see a better way to organize it as groupings that are task related - lessons in everything! :-)
I am struggling today - in chat I used analogy of learning to ride a bike, takes lots of falling for some of us, but can't learn without that part andhave to just keep getting up and pedaling. So I get that part, that I am still growing in this area of being gentle and loving toward myself in this process. This whole planning and putting my usual list on paper is great, but today it just seemed to hard (maybe part of it is the above mentioned by vic/clement - i did enough) and I think it is also fear. I am a chronic AVOIDER of pain in many areas (funny how you can be so strong in some and so weak in others) - and plannig is a big huge dose of anti-Avoid!! I did it without thinking and then once I saw what all I had written, the fear and desire to run has set in (add to it headache, money stress and overall very challenging circumstances in life) and the desire to AVOID is my response.
Interesting how I have survived all these years just barely getting it done (except the areas that I have completely avoided) and that is A LOT of work - the last minute craziness - so the hard work isn't the problem, I make myself work harder because of the avoidance! I think there is an addiction to avoiding pain and the pressure and adrenaline of last minute pushes is a "high" - not one that feels good, or is easy to recover from, but a form of a high like a drug addict "getting well" isn't doing it for fun, its just the only way they think they can get thru the day. So, even though in the deadline you are in a way facing all of the little tasks (except the details you have to let go in quality or skip to be done - and isn't that the worst feeling!) you really aren't facing them. You are pushing through them in an altered state, like a high. Im really see that so clearly. It becomes the only way we know how to function, the binging,the putting off until there is no time left to do it...the feeling/mind numbing avoidant activites we crave and use... It is a cocoon of false comfort, but one so hard to get out of.
So here I am out of time for avoiding (unless I want to give up and move to live in my brother spare room - and if it were just me, that is where Iwould be likey, but I must do what is best for my daughter, and me not facing life is not best for her) PLUS I don't want to be that way anymore, I want to learn how to live and be balanced and good to myself so I don't avoid the pressure I put on myself. So I am confessing my feelings and weakness and in doing so choosing not to allow them power over me. I am not alone in this, I have great understanding and wisdom from everyone here and I have my faith in God to change me.
Here is what I know I have to do - instead of looking at the whole calendar and the whole next 6mos and the huge task lists and the overlapping jobs and the spring break week falling right in the midst of it all -the circumstances I face - I need to pray and trust God, then ask for wisdom and trust the plan that comes from it, to make it plain, keep my eyes open, be aware and not hide from reality, just write it out so that it can be done. THEN I need to look only where my next step is - not where I failed before - not what I am afraid of next - but Gods grace is for right now - for what I need to do now.
The beauty of a plan for me (once I adjust to the scariness of reality) is that it means the decision is already made (100 things to do, broken down over x days) Don't have the burden of choosing - could still avoid, but then have to write those things in another day's square and it is already full.
I've heard it said that an addict will stay an addict, however harmful and painful it is to them, just to avoid the 3-7 days of pain of detoxing. A life lost over a week or less. I am not going to lose the life God created me to have over days of pain - or more for that matter. I've lost enough time. A feeling is just that and as hard as it is to feel and as easy as it would be to avoid, it does not have to dictate my life (as I preach myself better). I heard Joyce Meyer say today in a teaching - we can choose to control our thoughts and emotions in God as we renew our mind to His ways - we are just in the habit of thinking we can't control them. But she said imagine you are having the biggest fit in your house (or curled up on the couch in avoidance mode) and someone you really admire and want to impress knocks on the door... how quick would we jump up and recover in our emotions to impress them! So it is possible to do!
So I am going to face each day - break it down further - each minute and hour and get myself and my circumstances off my mind - and look to God, not an exit. He is faithful to answer when we call - his grace is more than sufficient for my weakness. I am going to have bad times and I am going to reread this and pray and chat and maybe even cry, but I will not quit. I can't face everything God needs to work out in me, and can't fix it on my own if I try, so I will quit that job and just take the next step in faith.
And as an act of recovery and kindness to myself I am going to resist the strong urge t say sorry for the LOOOONNNGGG post - or worry about what makes sense -I needed to do it and I am going to be glad that I did - sometimes you have to say it before you believe it just like you have to get up and take action before you feel motivated.
Thanks for thread starters!
Hi byGodsGrace,
Just wanted to say that I've been starting to check in first thing in the morning, and it's great to find a thread starter already here! Thank you to you and to everyone who does the starters in the morning!
Falcon
tx falcon
I always enjoy everyones starters too! chickadee said something one day like it is a joy to see what the message will be in their starter! So I am so glad on the days when I can share one and just as glad on the days when I can enjoy the heart of someone else for the day! Always great to check in here and start the day, I agree! :-)
I commented at the start of my CI today how they are a great exercise for me to practice overcoming tools too!