The No Excuses Project: ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’

Ouch – I thought about using this excuse when it came to writing this post (I haven’t thought of what I’m going to say – I’ll get up early and do it tomorrow…)  So forgive me if this isn’t the greatest prose, but at least I’m getting it done!  The refrain of ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ or ‘next week’ or ‘next month’ is probably my excuse of choice.  I’ve used it since early childhood as a way to get out of doing the dishes and somehow it never left.  I get plenty done and know how to stick to a schedule but I’m also pretty good at convincing myself that I’ll produce a better product if I put it off.  Sound at all familiar?

The best (if not perfect) solution I’ve found is to remind myself of what I’ll be putting off tomorrow if I have to make time for what I’m delaying today.  So, if I chose not to write this post now then that would mean I would be putting off doing some experimental photography and answering some emails already slated for that spot.  It’s important to me to get those done so here I am typing.  The other part of breaking the habit is to simply sit down and start – somehow the rest of it takes care of itself and I find the task done before I ever found a place I could stop midway in order to pick it up later.  It’s not perfect, I know but it does minimize the excuse.

The flip side that is worth mentioning though is to not regret making a clear choice.  Choosing to delay a task in order to spend time with your grandmother (or granddaughter) is not an excuse, it’s a choice and probably a good one. I grew up in a family that delayed all the fun things until every last chore had been dealt with. ‘Never put off tomorrow what you can do today’ being the favorite refrain. Which maybe why I rebelled so early.  There’s a happy medium to be found and  a big difference between delaying the laundry to help model the solar system and delaying the laundry to sit in front of the TV.

This concludes part one of the project – next week  it will be time to start looking at goals and what’s holding them back.

Technorati Tags: common excuses, procrastination

The No Excuses Project: ‘the timing isn’t right’

Even though I know darned well that the timing is never right, at least by my standards,  this is probably my most frequently used excuse.  Timing only becomes perfect in retrospect after you’ve achieved success and things didn’t fall apart like you anticipated.

I haven’t come up with a killer strategy for this one yet, except to remind myself that the bad things in life, like cancer and car accidents, rarely wait for the time to be just right so seizing the day for the things you do want is the only way to make sure they stay on the list. I think it’s also helpful to break down the resistence into smaller pieces such as money, time, the economy etc.  and find ways to adjust each and expectations so that things can still move forward. If nothing else, it’s worth getting some of the learning out of the way so that if you do have to try again at some later point there will be fewer hurdles.  It’s the challenge that makes things fun:-)

Next week: ‘Help will not be available when I need it’

Technorati Tags: postponing goals, procrastination

The No Excuses Project: Doing this will stop me from starting more important things

This week’s excuse, ‘doing this will stop me from starting more important things, is a common affliction for those of us with many interests and is often met with the reponse ‘better to do nothing at all than to do the wrong thing.’  It’s a hard one to undue because there are always more ideas and projects than their are hours or hands.  It’s the excuse that’s the problem, though.

Have I cured myself in a week? Not hardly, but I believe this one boils down to trust; trusting that things will work out, that neither time nor our lives are linear and that things can branch out to bring us back to the other fork in the road.  We take the path we are meant to take and the path we take is always the right one.  Do I sound convincing yet?

Somehow it’s easier when the passion or conviction is strong – I must go to Europe! and we go. When it comes down to choosing between a continuing education class in belly dancing or kaleidoscope making it’s a slightly tougher call. Maybe we are supposed to stay home and write that novel instead…

I think my only real answer is to  look at the project or question that is calling and ask if it in itself is an excuse, luring me away from dealing with what I know needs my attention. If it isn’t, than it is the right thing to start, or research, or ponder in that moment.  And it’s ok to set it aside later when something else legitamately calls.  Once the excuses are eliminated, it will be completed in due time.

Next week: It’s not my nature

Technorati Tags: excuses, procrastination, setting priorities

Projects met and nagging

No one is nagging me but me. However, I’m really good at it!  Enough that I’ve decided to dedicate next week to finishing repairing the porch (left over from last summer), getting the garden weeded and the backyard excavated and getting my dishwasher working again.  All of these things keep slipping down the list each week and I’m tired of feeling guilty every time I pass by. I’m hoping if I just focus on that for a solid week I’ll get them done and can get back to putting my attention to more creative things.

What I have gotten done, however is to get a first set of photography uploaded and available for sale on RedBubble.com:  http://julietchase.redbubble.com. That generates a whole new list of things to do around promotion and maintenance but this is a big first step.  When I see how many people are on there already with great work, I feel like I’m late to the party and start doubting myself. There’s not much to be gained from doing that so I’m constantly telling myself to stop and get on with it.  I can’t quite shake the feeling of waiting for something that’s about to happen.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, Health and Happiness, procrastination, self-doubt, solopreneur, the way to happiness

Moving forward, crab-style

This week has been all about figuring out which of the 10,000 things on the list would bring the most value. After the basics like paying bills were done there was nothing really critical or more time-sensitive than the others. So of course, I read, researched, and used all my other stock procrastinating skills.  Until I finished the online course, the books, and checked 80% of the links that I’d saved off for further review.  And yet there are still three blogs that need posts, two that need advertising and one (this one) that still says Hello, World because I haven’t been brave enough to just dive in and start making my mark.

But moving forward in these situations can be more like crabs walking than humans, where moving one foot  does tend to carry you in a particular direction.  Crabs though, have a few more legs to contend with and sometimes it’s just the middle leg that moves, preparing for forward momentum but not actually carrying the body forward until a front leg takes a step.  But it’s still necessary movement and certainly not wasted in the overall effort.  It would probably be a good idea for me to remember that crabs move sideways too!

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, getting things done, momentum, procrastination