Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wednesday – No Procrastination Day

So here’s a little update on yesterday to start with. I did fairly well in the morning with my computer time, though I did allow myself to go a little longer than I should have. In the afternoon I was on about 30 minutes and then I crashed for awhile, so all in all I did okay. But it ended up being pretty easy to stay off the computer most of the day yesterday. I had an appointment for my volunteer job at 11:00 that ended up going for 4 hours! I’m the personal assistant to my church’s Worship Pastor, and we do most of our communication via phone, text, and email, so I feel like the occasional long meeting is fine. I do most of the work from home, which is one of the reasons I need to examine how to do the work more efficiently. I have to figure out how to fit my duties into my restricted computer time.

The reason I chose computer time as one of the first things to work on is that it is probably the biggest interference in my life right now. I know you all understand just how very easy it is to sit down at the computer for “a couple of minutes” and end up being on there an hour or more. Computer time definitely gets in the way of housework, family time, etc. Plus it doesn’t help that I’m an excellent procrastinator. (If you need tips on how to procrastinate better, just ask me. I’m an expert!) ;) The computer easily becomes another excuse to procrastinate, so I believe it’s vital that my computer time be one of the first things to change so that I can be more successful with the changes to come.

I’ve decided to establish every Wednesday as “No Procrastination Day.” I’m not going to be very successful at establishing changes in my life if I’m allowing myself to procrastinate. This will be a challenge, for sure. It means that every time I want to say, “I’ll do it later.” I’ll have to stop myself and do it right then (as long as that thing that needs doing isn’t waiting on a diaper change – the diaper change will have to come first, I suppose.) Hopefully I’ll get really good at No Procrastination Day, and I will be able to expand it to two days a week, then three, then four… I just reread the post I wrote last year about procrastination for inspiration. Back then I had a strong desire to stop procrastinating, but I failed to follow-through. I mean, why do today what you can put off till tomorrow, right? Hehe. Seriously though, I think by establishing a protocol and working it into the new structure for change that I’ve made I can nip this thing in the bud.

So what are your challenges with procrastination, and what have you done that has helped to procrastinate less or not at all? I’d love to get a discussion going about this. Have an awesome No Procrastination Day!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, you're not alone in procrastinating or being addicted to the computer!! I can check all my emails and facebook and myspace from the convenience of my phone!! So I don't even have to be at my computer!!
Discipline this is the key!! Which is a challenge for me!! Self-control, temperance, discipline, whatever you want to call it is a fruit of the spirit so I HAVE IT!!! I just need to allow it to manifest more!!! When I researched the original Greek for this word it means dominion. This means *I* have the authority and rule over my flesh!! *I* have the ability to control what my flesh desires to do!!! Of course, this is a principle that I am still learning to walk out!! But the bottom line is I have the Holy Spirit and I already have the fruit of self-control, so I already have the VICTORY!!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Kimberly! That's very encouraging!

heidiy said...

Steph, Haley & I are big ol' procrastinators too. In our work lives (now, keep in mind, we both work on the computer ALL DAY, so you can imagine the facebook et. al. diversions we experience throughout the day), we have found that we're much more productive and less prone to procrastination if we hold each other accountable for what we're doing. We start the day with a list of tasks we'll have completed by X o'clock. Then we continue to check in with one another every time that deadline rolls around. Then we make a new list and start all over. We call it our game. Unfortunately, it's not very fun at all. ;) But holding each other accountable for actually working and not procrastinating throughout the day does work for us. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment when you actually complete the list of tasks you set down for yourself in the time allotted is a pretty cool boost in and of itself! Good luck!