Thursday, September 3, 2009

No Procrastination Day

I had originally planned for Wednesday to be "No Procrastination Day,” but I was so exhausted from having such a busy day on Tuesday that I ached from head to toe yesterday. I’ve never experienced anything like that before in my life! So yesterday I had to revert to doing just the basics, as well as a little laundry, and taking a nap. So, I’m going to make today “No Procrastination Day.”

I think “No Procrastination Day” is starting to become part of my life every day (just as I'd hoped). Monday I got a lot accomplished, including things that I’ve often put off in the past. And, even though Tuesday was so busy, I still got some laundry folded and made sure the sink was empty before I went to bed. In the past I’ve explicitly told Shawn, “I don’t do housework in the evening.” God is definitely renewing my mind and changing my attitude on that point! Yesterday bears the impact of “No Procrastination Day,” too, even though I had to put some things off. You see, in the past I would’ve used the exhaustion as an excuse to fore go everything but the bare minimum, but instead I worked fairly diligently on the laundry. Now, did I get any laundry folded and put away? No. But the fact that I worked on it at all really is a departure from the past.

“Gee, Stephanie, you’re really making it sound like you were a lazy housewife.”

Well, to be honest, sometimes I was. I also struggle with ADHD, which lends to the laziness (I haven’t been formally tested, but from my counseling background I know what it looks like, and a former therapist felt like I most likely have ADHD as well.) That means, not only am I distractible, but I also get easily overwhelmed with projects that contain a lot of steps, so I go into avoidance mode. I look at something that requires a lot of me and my mind starts swimming. I can’t figure out where to begin, so I shut down. And, if I get bogged down in something, I’ll just stop doing it. On top of that, my personality tendency is not to start something that I don’t have time to finish, so there’s a lot of times that I’ll tell myself, “I’ll do that later,” because I don’t want to start it.

The thing is, I do not want to be defined by these things. I want to be an overcomer. I do not want the things I listed above to be excuses for failures. On the other hand, if I don’t acknowledge the challenges I face I cannot defeat them. So, I recognize my flaws. I will not let ADHD keep me from God’s best life for me! And, I plan to do it without drugs. Nutrition and behavior modification are powerful tools in the battle against ADHD, so I plan to use them to their fullest extent. I’ve prayed many times that God would heal me of it, but I feel that He desires that I overcome it through His grace and strength. So, I will!

So, my “No Procrastination” goals for today are to fold and put away the laundry, empty the suitcases (it didn’t happen last week because I got sick), work out, and make bread. So what are your goals for today?

1 comment:

Shawn Stevens said...

What are my goals, get through work, do the budget, and spend some time with you planning the next couple weeks... with maybe a little time enjoying each other. ;)

Love, Shawn