Thursday Musings - Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow

Procrastination - (my definition)  never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. Or better still, next week! 

We all do it. I am actually quite good at it. In fact when it comes to doing things that I do not enjoy, I am a veritable expert at it!

A negative view of clean up day!

I am especially good at procrastinating when it comes to cleaning up around the house. 
The irony is that I can't stand living in an untidy or dirty environment, so there comes a time when I can procrastinate no longer.

Here is what I do to stop procrastinating.

• I make myself an appointment to do the job. Then I am committed to actually doing it.
• I make myself remember how good it feels when the job is done and I don't have to do it for a while.
• Whenever I can I play loud energetic music. The music seems to make the boring jobs like dusting so much more fun and I seem to get it done much quicker.
• I give myself a reward for completing the job. Even a cup of coffee seems to taste nicer when you add the satisfaction of a job well done.

We all have to do things that we do not relish in life, but putting it off seems to make it worse. Our mind makes molehills into mountains and it can seem to be all too hard.

One of the things that I have learned over the years is that the job that I am putting off  never seems so bad when I am actually doing it.

So stop procrastinating, make a commitment to doing whatever it is you are putting off and then just do it! You will feel so much better afterwards.

Hilary Thompson
The Out and About Therapist
Facilitator at Flourishing Relationships Retreats