The Procrastinator
If I had a 'super hero' name it would likely be 'the procrastinator', which actually is not a super power at all but a serious 'development area' for myself. I am one of those classic list makers, who has a list on almost every piece of paper I can find, but then loses it somewhere under other lists that are way out of date and only had one thing ticked off. I regularly justify this blatant lazyness by saying that "I work better under pressure", but this is utter bollocks and only leaves me laying awake at night wondering why I can't get to sleep but am instead imagining sneaking outside at 1:22am in the pitch dark to clean the car.
I'm not a morning person, nor am I really even a 'day' person, and I find it extremely difficult to get anything productive done during daylight hours for some reason. I find I even sleep better during the day, with the curtains wide open and the daylight blasting in. I suppose you'd say I'm a 'night owl', who's brain only really kicks in at around 9.30pm, and by this time, it's ridiculous to go and do half the things I should have, such as cleaning the car, or calling the tax office. It's not that I don't 'function' during the day; I get done what I absolutely have to, but if I could work through the night instead I reckon I'd be at least 4 times as a productive.
Putting things off leads to stress and anxiety. Just recently I heard a radio ad for completing the self-assessment tax form before the deadline, where the woman commented that after she'd sent it off she slept well for the first time in months. I can relate to this, and clearly a lot of other people can too, or they wouldn't have made an ad about it!
So if you, like me, have an arch nemesis in your head called 'the procrastinator', how do you stop making lists and start ticking things off? Here are a few things I'm going to start trying!
Don't make lists, make plans- Instead of drawing little tick boxes in a notebook (of which I have more than than I will possibly need for the rest of my life....got a slight addiction to buying pretty notebooks!), I'm going to start scheduling in my calendar when I'm going to do what I have to. For example, this morning I knew at 10:30am, I was going to call HMRC and sort out a tax issue. I did it. And now I know it's done, and I've got a refund on it's way, I'm amazed that it took me so bloody long! I was only on the phone for 10 minutes max! So ditch the lists, and pick up the diary.
Think of a reward- If I do all the things in my calendar today, I'm treating myself to a hot bath and handmade sugar scrub this evening! If I don't do it...It's a 10 minute shower and no pampering for me until I've done it. We're all suckers for a treat or a reward, and that's fine in my book! If it means I get stuff done I think I deserve it. We reward children with little gold stars, or pocket money, for doing well, so why don't we do the same for ourselves? I quite like the idea of making myself a 'star chart' for my pinboard wall in the kitchen! It's a good excuse to buy stickers at least...
Imagine how you'll feel when you've done it- I can't even tell you how nice it feels to have got that damn phone call to the tax office done and out of the way. And each and every time I do something I've been putting off, I feel the same way. So if I remember that I feel happy and relieved when it's done, maybe I'll be more inclined to do it sooner next time. It may feel like a drag to do some chores, but it feels amazing afterwards! Must remember this!
Rope someone else in- Having some help from someone else can be a big boost to get things done, and you can keep each other motivated to just 'do it'. Like having a gym buddy can help you stick to that exercise class commitment, having a 'to do' buddy gives you someone to answer to and encourages you to want to tell them you've succeeded! Send a text to your partner and tell them what you plan to get done that day, and all of a sudden you've got someone you have to be accountable to at the end of the day!
I've got a few more tasks scheduled for the day, the next one being to remove the auction lot number sticker from the mirror in my stair way that has been there since last summer, and to clean it. I put it where it was when I got home with it, to see if it looked nice there, and it's just kind of 'stayed'. Every time I walk up and down the stairs I see that sticker and it drives me crazy. Today it's going! Happy Monday fellow procrastinators. I'll let you know how I get on by the end of the week!
