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.

Friday October 28th 2011

28 October, 2011 - 4:17am - Hypatia

‹ Thursday 27 October 2011 Saturday October 29, 2011 ›

wrkinprogress: 10/28/11

wrkinprogrss - 29 Oct 2011 - 5:56am


done on Fri, 10/28:

x 10:00 meeting
x email Sam
x post this

x email Debbie
x draft & send r2 dependency emails
x further wiki update per D's request

x shower, etc
x draft r2 diag issue doc chg
x change towel


still to do on Fri, 10/28:

seek progress on leftover r1 issues

deal with curly quotes?
deal with search optimization?
submit timecard

15 minutes of kitchen progress
15+ minutes of Qi Gong, use balancer
start preparing for Saturday date (how much? what?)


Good wishes for your day, everyone!

Feeling positive

InnerTruth - 28 Oct 2011 - 10:20am

My insomnia kicked in last night and I got only four hours of sleep but I still feel refreshed.

Went to my first job fair and it took almost 3 hours (mostly waiting in line) so I wasn't able to drop off the resumes at nearby stores.

Plan for today:

- Phone politician for help in getting job

- Call headhunter 

- Call volunteer newsletter editor 

- Finish applying for supermarket job

- Apply for 4 jobs online

- Go to bank

- Drop resume off at 5 stores in neighbourhood

- Work on volunteer newsletter

- Run

- Tidy kitchen 

- Make "to do" list for Saturday 

- Watch game     

tracy-la check in 10-28-11

tracy-la - 28 Oct 2011 - 10:00am
READING TODAY IS FROM AN EMAIL THAT IS SENT OUT BY HENRIK EDBERG WHO HAS A POSITIVITY BLOG . . .http://www.positivityblog.com/
 
"A year from now you may wish you had started today."
Karen Lamb
 
One of the most common problems people tell me that they want help with is procrastination.
 
So in this short newsletter I will take some inspiration from wise people throughout history and add a few of my own thoughts on how to minimize this energy draining and stress inducing dilemma. These are four of the most effective tips that I have found so far for making procrastination a much smaller problem in your life.
 
1. Break it down and just take the first step.
 
"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.
 
Then you just break down your project/task into smaller and practical steps and focus on taking the first step today. That is all you need to focus on, nothing else.
 
By taking the first step you change your mental state from resistant to "hey, I'm doing this, cool". You put yourself in state where you become more positive and open, a state where you may not be enthusiastic about taking the next step after this first one but you are at least accepting it. And so you can take the next step. And the next one after that.
 
The thing is, you can't see the whole staircase anyway and it will shift and reveal itself along the way. That's why the best of plans tend to fall apart at least a bit as you start to put it into action. You discover that your map of reality doesn't look like reality.
 
2. Don't blow a task out of proportion.
 
"If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it."
Olin Miller
 
"Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible."
George Claude Lorimer
 
By overthinking and putting things off you may not only be trying to protect yourself from the pain that can come if you take action and have to do hard work or if you fail. You also make mountains out of molehills. The quotes above are so true it isn't even funny. The more hours and days you put something off the worse it grows in your mind.
 
Because you are dwelling on it. And so it expands in your mind. And since you are putting it off you are probably thinking about it in a negative way. This makes a little thing a big Godzilla, a horrible beast that is threatening to ruin your life.
 
So plan a little and then take action.
 
Often you don't even have to plan, you have been there before and you know what needs to be done. So stop thinking and just do it no matter how you feel and what you think. How you feel right now changes as quickly as the weather so it's not the perfect guidance system or anything. And you don't have to obey what it says (it's not chains made of iron). You can just do what you know is right anyway.
 
3. Start with the hardest task of your day.
 
"Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves."
Dale Carnegie
 
Maybe you have an important call to make that you also fear might be uncomfortable. Maybe you know you have gotten behind on answering your emails and have big pile to dig into. Maybe you have the last five pages of your paper to finish.
 
Whatever it may be, get it out of your way the first thing you do.
 
If you start your day this way you will feel relieved. You feel relaxed and good about yourself. And the rest of the day - and your to-do list - tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It's amazing what difference this one action makes.
 
4. Finish it.
 
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task"
William James
 
Not taking the first step to start accomplishing something can make you feel bad. But not finishing what you have started can also leave you in a sort of negative funk. You feel fatigued or stressed and sometimes you don't even know why. It's like someone zapped your inner power.
 
If that is the case, go over tasks and projects that you are currently involved in. Is there something there you know you want to finish but haven't yet? Try to get that finished as soon as you can and you will start to feel a whole lot better.
 
Just be careful. Don't think you have to finish everything you started. If a book sucks, read something else. Using this as an excuse to quit something that feels hard or unfamiliar is not a good idea. But there is no law that says that everything has to be completed.


tracy-la

Thank you!

InnerTruth - 28 Oct 2011 - 10:05am

Thank you for posting this. Very helpful and inspiring! 

Journey 9:30

journey - 28 Oct 2011 - 8:46am

As an aging hippie, I love the thread starter!

Yesterday was a very productive day for me, and it's not often I get to say that so I'm feeling good.   I was able to stay focused on my work, take breaks when I planned to take them (and enjoy them guilt-free), and work hard during planned work time.  Why can't every day be like that, eh?

 Let's see if we can have a repeat today.   Off to have a big glass of water and finish up todo list, then I can have a coffee break.   I want to go out to lunch with friends today, so I'll give myself a goal of what I want get done by lunch time. 

Jo

I value my time and use it wisely - Journey

kromer 9 CI

kromer - 28 Oct 2011 - 3:56pm

Feeling kind of down again today after yesterday's research disaster, but I can work anyhow!

For today I want to:
*Do PAS staining for 10 slides
*Put together presentation for my adviser
*Mail harvey fellows material, get thank-you gifts for my recommenders
*Image slides, resuspend probes
*Clean up bench

*Go to presentation
*Finish rough impact essay

Vic 10/27/11

vic - 28 Oct 2011 - 8:05am

Show up, suit up and look up (done)

I am always amazed/humbled at the healing energy I have found here in PA with PA friends (Who I never even met.) The PA  connection has helped me to keep getting up no matter what.

I read that HP's Grace grows best in fields of Gratitude. I find that my fields of Gratitude can easily be overgrown with weeds of unforgiveness, negative self talk, etc., etc., and and pretty soon the good plants are choked by the weeds.  This weeding process is not a one time deal for me,it needs to be done continually and consistently, and PA is one of my best tools to help with this. Thanks for being here. Progress not perfection.

the power of gratitude

clement - 28 Oct 2011 - 11:49am

There's this verse in the bible i love and refer to often:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

for decades i just thot the thanksgiving part was an instruction. but i have come to realize that it is, as you say, the garden out of which transcendent peace grows.

----------
the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748

"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb

((Love the visual of fields of gratitude Vic))

tracy-la - 28 Oct 2011 - 9:55am

Thanks for the fields of gratitude analogy. Better than field of dreams!!  hugs, tracy-la

My Day Today

lennon - 28 Oct 2011 - 5:28am

I want to thank my Higher Power for this program, this website, the telephone and online meetings, and my life.

I want to thank Hypatia for starting this trend.

Thing I have done

Went to the 5:45 a.m. telephone ACA meeting

Things I will do today

1. Take shower

2. Get dressed

3. Go to the 7 a.m. telephone DA meeting

4. Go to the 8:30 a.m. telephone CLA meeting

5. Eat breakfast

6. Go to the 9:45 a.m. telephone CLA meeting

7. Go to the dermatologist at 12 noon

8. Go to the pharmacist to get my medicine

9. If I have time, go to the Social Security office

10. Go to work at 5:30 p.m.

11. Go to the 10 p.m. telephone DA meeting

12. Eat dinner

Thanks for letting me share

Rexroth Check In

Rexroth - 28 Oct 2011 - 5:10am

Thanks Hypatia for reminding me of one of my most loved slogans from a long time ago and for starting the thread

Did not sleep well as kept waking up thinking about what to do next and woke early

Done:
Up prayer and reflection
Dealt with emails and posts
Washed up and cleaned up a bit
Had a bath and washed hair

Todo:
Finish clearing up for visit by landlord this afternoon
and I'm finding it hard to think beyond that

Regards Rexroth

Rexroth Check Out

Rexroth - 28 Oct 2011 - 4:08pm

Done:
Dealt with landlord who was reasonable and helpful and I was reasonable as well which was a big effort
Sorted out clean camping stuff for storage
Arranged assessment appointment with psychologist - he is the person who helped me get over my depression and I hope so much he will be able to see me on an ongoing basis
Washed up and put rubbish out
Wrote journal
I have spent a lot of time lying on my bed surfing the web and listening to the radio and I can't concentrate and feel very uncomfortable.

Todo:
Prayer and reflection
Bed and sleep

I can't think what to do next. I am very grateful for thoughts from yesterday and still can't work out exactly what to do but I know I need to do something or I will simple not function any longer.

Night Folks

Rexroth

Hypatia's check-in

Hypatia - 28 Oct 2011 - 4:23am

Good morning all!

Strange day today - over half my clients have cancelled, so I've got a whole chunk of unexpected admin time.  Now I need to use it proerly - I've been complaining for ages I don't have enough admin time.

10.20   Clear in-tray

10.50   referral letters for S

11.20    client appointment

12.30    lunch and shopping

1.30      today's report

2.00      report for S

3.00      file client letters

4.00      clear web e-mails

4.30      Tuesday's reports

5.30      anything urgen

5.45      home

Hypatia's check-in version 2

Hypatia - 28 Oct 2011 - 10:46am

Bizarrely my employers net nanny won't let me edit my own post as it has been categorised as violence!  I can read it, and reply to it, just not edit it!  So I'm trying again

10.20   Clear in-tray

10.50   referral letters for S

11.20    client appointment

12.30    lunch and shopping

1.30      yesterday's reports

2.00      report for S

3.00      file client letters

4.00      clear web e-mails - 22 left to do

4.30      today's reports

5.30      anything urgen t

5.45      home