PROCRASTINATION

 
I am a self proclaimed procrastinator... Not only do I procrastinate, but I am amazing at it!
This is something that I know plagues many of us, and I realized today (in a roundabout backwards sort of way) that I have learned some great tools to combat this weakness of mine.

Here's the thing; when we procrastinate, are we enjoying it? I have always been of the philosophy that if I am going to do it, I'm going to make damn well sure I enjoy whatever I am doing while procrastinating...

 But I can't pretend that I don't have that little nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me of all the little things I have to do that I haven't done yet. UGH, hate that voice (mine is really quiet and squeaky).

What ends up happening in my world is that I will get some time off and end up wasting it because all those little things have added up and I now have a days worth of things to do.

Back in my student days these things were pretty much always study, paper writing, or reading related (let me add here that as good as I am at procrastinating, I've taught myself to be an even better crammer, last minute paper writer and BS spitter-outer...).

In my life today these things are usually household organization related; doing laundry, doing the groceries, changing my tires, doing my accounting etc... My procrastination always leads to the menial task becoming much bigger, longer and more daunting; I have 10 loads of laundry to do instead of 3, we end up wasting money ordering food because there's so much nothing in the house, or I end up driving through the summer with winter tires because I never make the appointment and need to buy a whole new set the following winter because I have ruined them (true story)...

So I waste time, and often money for nothing! When I know full well that if I had just gotten er' done when I should have I'd be much happier, more organized, and honestly, sleep better at night!

I guess the root of it is that we tend to procrastinate doing the little things in life that we know we have to do but we just don't want to. And in the end who suffers? WE DO!

I have finally gotten to a point in my life where I have decided to grab the squeaky voice by the reigns and tell it where it can go, so I have developed my own little tricks to help avoid procrastinating. I imagine we each have our own little versions of these tricks, hopefully mine can inspire you to find yours. One thing I promise you is that you will feel so much happier, clearer, satisfied every day that you know that your stuff is in order!

Most of my current issues pertain to day to day house things. My hubby and I both work more than full time, and this, plus the fact that these things are often no fun, lead us both to slack. We realized over time that the best way for us to beat the procrastination was to make it a routine.

*rou·tine (roo-teen) - noun - a customary or regular course of procedure. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/routine*

We love to do what we want, all the time. I work full time, but for the most flexible boss I have ever known in life, and my husband works for himself, so we both have this need for a hippie like free spirited lifestyle. However, after many years we realized that if we don't enforce a bit of routine our reoccurring spats about stupid things were not going to go anywhere (... "Are you ever going to clean your side of the bed?",  "No! YOU clean the cat litter, I did it last time!", "I thought YOU were getting the change for the laundry!?", "I don't want to clean that, it smells!"...).

So we created "Cleaning Sundays" (and I enforced "Maintaining Everydays" ;). No matter what we have planned for the weekend, there's a block of time on Sundays that we use to "keep house". Given my anal organizational ways, I will usually spit out a list of what needs to be done somewhere between Friday and Saturday and determine who will do what. Then come Sunday night, it's done! The week becomes easier, and by the time we get to the next Sunday it always feels like there is less to be done and therefore we can begin to combat some of the bigger tasks (like reorganizing the closet, or going through clothes we don't need).

What goes hand in hand with building these tasks into my routine is simplification; I will do whatever I can to make annoying tasks feel less annoying or daunting. For example, I'll make sure that if I am missing any cleaning products for "Cleaning Sunday", that I buy them at any point in the week before that day. I try to break the task into smaller steps that I do in the days leading up to them so that sunday is simpler (like writing a serious outline for your paper before actually writing the paper itself, it somehow feels like writing the paper is just filling in full sentences after that).

Coming back to where I started, you know that roundabout backwards way that I got to this topic? Today I did something along these lines. I invested in a new gadget in order to simplify a menial task in my life, that I am so super excited about and already feel is totally worth it! It's motorized, self cleaning, cat litter box! (call me the crazy cat lady! I am proud of it!)

Some may not know the value of such a device, but I invite you all to check out this video, if nothing you will get a good laugh, and if you are a fellow cat owner, please know that its the best new gadget I have purchased in a while! I was even stopped in the store by someone who just had to tell me that she owns it and that its amazing!

http://www.littermaid.com/t-video-Littermaid.aspx

Just one more way to put to rest one of those menial daily tasks that neither of us feel like doing! Thank you Litter Maid, from the bottom of our hearts (and my husbands' stomach, as he gags every time it's his turn to clean the litter).

Let me know some of your favorite tips and tricks to help you avoid procrastinating!