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.
Need help - anyone avail. for sponsorship?
Hi guys. I am in desperate need of support around my compulsive procrastination - I'm back in school for a graduate degree and am absolutely horrified at my inability to get these papers done. It's horrendous. I'm not even working right now, and my entire life over the past three weeks has been consumed by two papers and my anxiety around them. The second one was due last Thursday and it's now 2:46am on Tuesday morning and I haven't even come close to finishing it. I truly feel like I just can't.
I believe that my procrastination becomes a self-fulfilling negative obsession - I'm so used to my reaction to anything I have to do in life being procrastination that I already fear, before going into a task, that that is what it will look like, and when it manifests, it provides me with more evidence to say, "look: I'm incompetent, incapable, dysfunctional, etc. etc. etc." The worst is when people tell me how smart I am, because then I feel even worse for "wasting" God's talents that were given to me.
This is a spiritual program, so I will say that I know I need to ask for a Higher Power's help in removing this defect, but it's just been so overwhelmingly painful since I went back to school that I forget I even have a Higher Power half the time, let alone one to which I'm supposed to turn things over.
My request here is if anyone has experienced significant and ongoing recovery around procrastination severe enough to affect daily functioning and jeopardize important relationships or assets, please let me know if you're available to sponsor!
I don't know quite how it works on P.A. yet, as I'm not used to online meetings, but I'm so grateful that it exists, and if anyone's available for live outreach (internet or phone, but preferably phone if possible), I would be VERY VERY grateful if you could contact me. I'm avail. at omlovelight@yahoo.com.
Thank you so much,
Emily
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Hi S.P.
Welcome, you are not alone.
You may forgot about your HP, but he has not forgotten about you.....(thank goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although this meeting is not an official 12 step group in the sense we follow 12 step traditions, many of us are in other 12 step programs. Because this is not an official 12 step group, I am not sure what the position of "sponsor" is here, but, feel free to contact me anytime if you need one on one connection.
vic, this *is* a 12-step fellowship!
Vic,
The WEB SITE is not run according to the 12-traditions - it's my Web site. But it's very much a real 12-step fellowship with sponsorship, meetings, etc. If the fellowship decides at some point to start a new Web site run according to the traditions, that's fine - I'll link to it. I started the fellowship, but it is not mine - only the Web site is mine.
- pro
THANK YOU
THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, I AM SORRY I DID NOT REALIZE IT BEFORE. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO A NEW WEB SITE ACCORDING TO THE 12 TRADITIONS-I APPRECIATE THIS ONE AND YOUR SERVICE.
Welcome
I'm not available to do that, but I encourage you to come here daily and check in, using the daily check-in forum ( http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/forum/37 )to help track what you plan to do and to help keep yourself accountable. For instance, today's is at http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/2427.
This is a very helpful place.
~~
Want what you have. Be who you are. Do what you can. ~Forrest Church (1948-2009)
~~
The Hero's Code:
Show Up. Pay Attention. Speak the Truth. Let Go o
> I'm so used to my reaction
> I'm so used to my reaction to anything I have to do in life being procrastination that I already fear, before going into a task, that that is what it will look like, and when it manifests, it provides me with more evidence to say, "look: I'm incompetent, incapable, dysfunctional, etc. etc. etc."
ikehyf (i know exactly how you feel) i have felt the same way. Not in my teens, before i knew my procrastination habit so well, but by my 30s when i knew it had become an ingrained pattern.
but, i now have a different hope. I've been here for >1.5 yrs and i now am starting to expect that at least sometimes i'll respond in a healthy way to my to-do list.
> The worst is when people tell me how smart I am, because then I feel even worse for "wasting" God's talents that were given to me.
yep. been there too. That is a common feature--people who are smart and capabale and have been able to get by doing little work suddenly must work hard to succeed and they can't. that's my story.
to my knowledge, nobody is sponsoring anyone here. I do not consider myself so accomplished at recovery that i could sponsor someone. But we all sponsor each other here in the Daily Check-ins at http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/forum/6 (you can see today's on the right sidebar), and chat at http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/chatbox
Use the tools however they work for you. Check-in is the more permanent, concrete to do list - accountability place to start your day and refer back to and keep yourself on goal.
The chat is an ongoing motivational tool to help you stick to your check in. It's also a place to "talk yourself thru things." And, while working, ppl can hear chat beeps going off. we call that "beeps of solidarity" because it's comforting to know that we're all in this together, that people are in chat working thru their issues just like you, even if you're not reading the actual posts.
probably the biggest step you can take is your first post to the daily check-in.
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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