May 2004 Newsletter

Procrastination Pattern

-Do not wish to be anything but what you are and try to be that perfectly. –St. Francis De Sales

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Encouraging Words

May 2004

Welcome to Encouraging Words monthly newsletter. This FREE newsletter is designed to encourage you to create a saner, more serene life. Please pass it along to friends you would like to inspire.

I hope you are all having a relaxing spring and working hard too.

One of the things I worked on was finishing my web site redesign: www.encouragingcoach.com I would love if you would check it out and let me know what you think or if you think I should change anything. And you can let me know what other programs, courses or articles you would like to see.

I also finished up the Procrastination E-Course

This has been an exciting course to write because of my many past struggles with procrastination. It's a month long course with 15 lessons to help you handle many of those procrastinations on your list. Today's article comes from that course.

Next up will be the f'ree New Habits E-course. My plan is to have it ready a little before June 1 and have a bunch of us working on creating a new habit together. I'll have a short daily e-mail with habit forming suggestions and questions, a messageboard where we can write our difficulties and "I did its!" I want the kick off to be June 1st, so be thinking of a habit you would love to add to your day.

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
--Abraham Lincoln  

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Procrastination E-course Day 1 ~ Why?

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -Douglas Adams

Does that sound like you? It used to be me, too. If I could put it off, I would. Until I realized I wasn't moving forward on any of my dreams, because I wouldn't do the work involved. I finally found ways to beat procrastination.

Procrastination Quiz How much of a procrastinator are you?

Why are you procrastinating?
I can give you all the tips in the world, but until you know why you are procrastinating, you still aren't going to want to do the work. If we procrastinate without thinking, it is very difficult to change. Once we figure out the why, we have something to work with.

I used to procrastinate on housework big time. I tried to make it fun and motivate myself to clean, but it didn't work. It wasn't until I discovered I didn't want to clean because my mom had impossibly high cleaning standards that I was never able to meet. Then I was able to tell myself that I don't have to have those standards. My house, my family, my standards. I still struggle with cleaning, but am able to tell myself I just need so much and then I am done.

Maybe you realize you are procrastinating because you are overwhelmed. You don't even know what to do or where to start. Some are easy reasons, I procrastinate on paying bills, because I don't like to do them. Perhaps you realize you are procrastinating because you are scared about the outcome. So, you are not fighting procrastination, but fear. Maybe you are feeling resentful that someone else in not doing this. Now we are getting somewhere.

Facing what is behind our procrastination is not easy, but you can handle it. You are amazing and are better than you think you are.

 

Action Plan

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Your assignment for today is to track when you are procrastinating. Print out this procrastination chart in Word or make up your own. To make your own chart make a graph with five columns. I'm Procrastinating On, Time, Feeling, Cause Could Be and Want to Do Instead of Action

Keep your chart with you throughout the day. Whenever you have the urge to procrastinate, write down what you are procrastinating on and what time it is. Now ask yourself what you are feeling. Are you scared, resentful, tired, thinking this isn't going to be fun, overwhelmed or a different emotion? Now see if you can pinpoint what might be the cause of your procrastination. Ask "Why am I procrastinating?". If you don't have an answer, that's o.k. Finally, write down what you feel like doing, instead of your work. Do you want to play a computer game? Read a book? Shuffle papers?

Bonus: If you still have slots open at the end of the day in your chart, think of other things you are procrastinating on and see if you can figure out the reason for those, too.

 

Procrastination List

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You might be procrastinating on...

Calls	Projects	Changing	Painting
Paper	Dreams	Talking to	Health
E-mail	Returning	Writing	Buying
Organizing	Fixing	Forms	Finishing
Cleaning	Mending	Replacing	Starting
Finances	Decorating	Reading	Following Up

 

If you want to e-mail me at with your results, I'd love to see what you came up with. Maybe I can even give you some personalized suggestions.

Tomorrow: Your Personal Procrastination Pattern

From the Procrastination Program by Beth Dargis

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Self-Care Tips for May:

·         Don't obsess

·         Finish this sentence from the book Change your Life by Rhonda Britten: I acknowledge myself for... And repeat.

·         Try one a shirt in turquoise, one of my favorite spring colors

·         Get a pot of hyacinths

"The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started." Dawson Trotman

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Relationship Ideas for May:

·         Plant a garden with your family

·         Try a new sport with a friend

·         Make jewelry with a little girl

·         Feed the ducks with a special person

"Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait...The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don't count."

   --  Robert Anthony