G’day.
It is so easy to get distracted. It is even easier to indulge in a large dose of procrastination. I should know – I do it just about every day. This is not deliberate, although there are limitless people who would tell you with great glee that it really is.
One of the reasons I do procrastinate is I simply cannot find a topic that I think my readers, if there are any, would be interested in. You have no idea how many topics go through my head, only to be eliminated as I am sure they have been more than adequately covered by far smarter people than I.
So, let’s address the issue of procrastination, simply because it is a subject very close to me.
To start with, I have no idea why I do procrastinate. I simply do. And it is not only with my writing or anything related to writing. I can procrastinate feeding my horses, but they, at least, only lose out for a short time. Guilt drives me to feed them. And love. So they basically only may go without for maybe an hour, very unlike the ironing, writing, cooking and planning my business. Those things can stack up for weeks, even years like the ironing. 🙂
Steve Scott has some fantastic books on Amazon on how to develop habits to stop anyone procrastinating. I think I own most of them personally. I have others which are supposed to do the same thing. A habit is supposed to be formed over a period of time. I’m sure that isn’t true. I’ve had my bad habits since I was born I am sure. I have always hated cooking and the easiest of meals I can throw together that the family won’t throw at me have always been staples around here.
The funny thing about ironing is I actually like it when I force myself to start. I zone out into somewhere else and the clothing pile decreases. I love the smell of freshly ironed clothes, so why do I leave it for months at a time? No idea. Pure laziness I guess. Or I can find something, anything, that needs doing in preference.
I have some bad medical conditions, but none of them contribute to my laziness, for which I am profoundly grateful. I simply live with them. On a bad day one or another can derail me for that day, but I can usually cope. Illnesses just play to the laziness in a way, yet I don’t feel self-pity.
So why put off something for ages when I know it has to be done and the sooner the quicker I can move on? That is the question. I flit around the thing, such as keeping up with my blog posts and even write a few things down by hand which appear promising, but that is as far as I get.
So if you are like me, you aren’t alone. As for the others, don’t feel sorry for us or pour good advice into our ears. Some of us just seem to enjoy living like this. Our families are not worried and, if they occasionally get irritated and try to motivate us, it works for a short while then we are all back to normal. 🙂
I went through a phase not so long ago when everything was up-to-date. The family were stunned and kept giving me odd looks, while my husband kept making remarks about I should see a doctor. As for me, I was grumpy and very short tempered. When I stopped being Supermum, the world went back to normal and my family stopped tiptoeing around this stranger in the house.
So I guess what works for one does not always work for others. I do get other work done, just not on my blog as often as I would wish. I am going to try to get this part of my online life more level in the future, but things do happen. 🙂
Be productive, but don’t beat yourself up about it if you aren’t. The Universe will not collapse in a day or a week.
Stay well and happy.