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.

Noob

29 August, 2012 - 4:16pm - alfreda

Hi

Ok, I mostly get by in life as am really good at bullshitting and pulling things off at the  last minute...but am interested to do better. My all-time low was getting into one of those "unable to open the mail" spells, which led to me not noticing four reminders to renew the car insurance, after which my husband got pulled over for driving without insurance and banned for six months.....but I do blame a lot of it on stress (have a busy and hugely stressful job which I have done well for years, thankfully...I just don;t have any reserve energy when i get home).

Today I have started on the household budget I set myself to do six months ago, but have yet to send a response back to the financial adviser I met with a month ago to help me do some better financial planning. 

I Don't want to feel like an uncontrolled addict, I don't really want to do a 12-step programme for anything as it feels kind of weak, but I'd certainly like some tips for  getting on with stuff and it not being so unutterably tedious! have seen some good tips here so far.

So hi all, and my question for today is, when you have got all the way into actually getting started, how do you stop yourself going "meh" when it is 80% finished?  Sometimes I just can't bear finishing.

Cheers!

 

Alf 

‹ Glad to be directed to this program - New Member Realization: I am actually allowed to be happy ›

Thank God! I'm not the

notsure - 2 Sep 2012 - 6:39am

Thank God!

I'm not the only person with a pile of unopened mail. It's not as if its all bad news, I haven't even done anything with my Tesco Clubcard points and have once again missed the exchange deadline

Thank God, I'm not the only one who doesn't finish anything (apart from a book) it does all start to feel pointless and oh wouldn't it be better to read that book again instead of tidying the kitchen table or maybe I should post something on a website instead of ...:blush:

Welcome, notsure!

movingalong - 2 Sep 2012 - 10:16pm

That's right. You're not the only one!  Isn't it amazing to learn that you're not alone? And that there are so many of us working together to overcome this?

I know that on some days, things may seem pointless ...
but there really is HOPE.

Glad to have you with us!

to Alfreda re: "not finishing"

movingalong - 1 Sep 2012 - 12:22pm

Hello and welcome!
Have you read the "PA tools of recovery"?
http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/files/PA_Tools.html
I find the tool "Ask Yourself Why" to be very helpful when I feel blocked.

For me, my blocks are usually a combination of irrational fear based on some old incident in my life that's no longer relevant ... and a 'rational' concern based on the reality that I am missing a piece or, must learn a new skill, or need advice, or I'm doing steps out of order.  I address both and then can move forward.

For your block on finishing, ask yourself -- are you afraid that finishing will give you more responsibility than you can handle?

What part of this fear is irrational -- and can you offset it by calming techniques such as deep breathing, fresh air, and nice music; or perhaps counseling/therapy?

If you have fears that people will expect more of you, can you allow yourself to be *YOU*, and not subject to other people's whims?

Edit to add, more info here:
http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/reason

welcome alfreda!

kromer - 29 Aug 2012 - 4:39pm

Glad that you are here! This program has helped me a lot, and I hope that it will help you too.

I hear you on not wanting to feel "weak," I've often felt that way myself--but I've realized, using meetings/tools/the steps to get my work done, is a lot stronger than not being able to do my work :)

Finishing is hard! At least as hard as starting! But I think many of the same techniques can be used. When I hit that "meh" point, I will try to plan out exactly what I need to do to finish, and then use the tools/tips on this site to get through each one. (And sometimes, when I think I'm at 80%, the task is done enough, and I just need to get up the courage to hand it in as is.)

Thanks Kromer. It's nice to

alfreda - 29 Aug 2012 - 4:53pm

Thanks Kromer. It's nice to be welcomed.

Alf