I finally reorganized my underwear-and-sock drawer and in about a half hour, a drawer that was a literal source of stress became an easy-to-use source of peace. Why didn’t I do it sooner?
Tagged with: organizing, procrastination, tiny projects
It’s so easy to let fear get in the way of doing things we know will benefit us, like going to the dentist or planning for retirement. I hope this post might help you take action on something you’ve been putting off.
Tagged with: fear, procrastination, worth repeating
I think most of us procrastinate at least sometimes. (If you never procrastinate, you can go ahead and skip this post.) I used to be a terrible procrastinator, back when I was a writer. Since becoming an organizer 15 years ago, I’m better about it. But there are still tasks I put off. They’re usually tasks I don’t think I’ll enjoy. If they don’t have a deadline I have really hard time getting started on them.
Tagged with: procrastination, shannon wilkinson
Do you procrastinate on certain tasks? I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool procrastinator. When I was a freelance writer, I waited until the last minute to work on my magazine articles. Heck, I didn’t even start writing my very first book (in 1999) until the day after Thanksgiving and it was due on January 2! Take it from me, that’s nothing to be proud of.
Tagged with: procrastination, shannon wilkinson
Have you finished your taxes yet? If not, the government has a happy surprise: You have an extra weekend to get them done.
Tagged with: procrastination, taxes
I had a colonoscopy this week. I’m 53 (and a half) years old and for the past 3.5 years I’ve been putting off getting the screening colonoscopy—a procedure that can catch deadly colon cancer while it’s still treatable—that’s recommended for everyone at 50 years old.
Tagged with: fear, procrastination
This past weekend, I experienced the thrill of an empty basement in my own home. My husband and I live in a two-family home built in 1908. (We used to rent out the downstairs apartment, but now we live in the whole thing.) It has a scary unfinished basement that I joked was straight out of Silence of the Lambs. The limestone foundation walls and plaster-and-horsehair dropped ceiling shed dust onto the floor that is so bad we have special “basement shoes” so we don’t track dust around the house.
Tagged with: decluttering, emotions, encouragement, karel worley, paint away, procrastination, professional organizer
Do you have little organizing projects around your house that are constantly taunting you? Do you walk through a room, see a pile and say to yourself, “I need to file.” Then just keep walking?
Tagged with: decisions, empowerment, obstacles, procrastination, productivity
I don’t know where the year has gone so far, but it hit me this morning as I was making coffee that I’d better get started on my taxes! My niece and nephew will be visiting from Australia from April 2 to 12 and I leave for the NAPO conference on April 14, so I really need to file my taxes this month.
Tagged with: procrastination, taxes
I love this trick from Mark Forster about tricking your reactive mind into doing things that you have trouble starting. I shared it first in 2008 (!) and thought it was worth repeating today.
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on them?
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management, worth repeating
Do you have an idea for a project or activity that would make you happy? Have you been dragging your feet on getting started? If so, I have great news for you!
Tagged with: procrastination, shannon wilkinson
I’m always amazed at how powerful it can be to start on a project I’ve been putting off. Even the tiniest bit of effort is like a dam breaking; the resistance vanishes and then I can get going on it.
Tagged with: procrastination, productivity, time management
I’ve accumulated a few books I keep meaning to read and write about here. But even though I had loads of indoor time over the holidays, I still haven’t cracked them. It’s not for lack of interest, I promise.
Tagged with: books, denise may levenick, genealogy, jill farmer, joseph ferrari, procrastination, time management
We all know it’s smart to back up our computers. (We also know it’s smart to do lots of other stuff we might not be doing, like changing our oil religiously every 3,000 miles.) Sometimes actually backing up the computer feels like a big deal.
Tagged with: decisions, empowerment, obstacles, procrastination
I used to procrastinate on taxes every year. April 15 would roll around and I’d file an extension. Then I’d procrastinate some more. I was known to file two extensions.
Tagged with: procrastination, taxes
I used to be an inveterate procrastinator when it came to taxes. Back then, I was always afraid I’d owe money and the fear of finding that out would paralyze me. Not smart, I know. But it was my emotions, not my brain, making that decision.
Tagged with: freedom filer, procrastination, taxes
I’ve had to learn a new skill set. And I didn’t make it easy on myself.
I decided to sell downloadable products of my own creation on my website. By the end of the month, I hope, I’ll have organizing guides and an e-course for sale in a new Products section of this website. (And I’ll be offering a new coaching program.)
Tagged with: declutter happy hour, fear, organizing products, procrastination, productivity, wendy cholbi
Yesterday, I happened to catch a story on CBS Sunday Morning about procrastination, titled, The Whys and Why-Nows of Procrastination. I watched it because my DVR said that they were running a story on why people aren’t on time.
Tagged with: procrastination, punctuality, television
As Shannon and I discuss in Declutter Happy Hour, sometimes people don’t want to work on clutter because it’s just plain scary.
Tagged with: clutter, declutter happy hour, decluttering, emotions, empowerment, fear, procrastination, shannon wilkinson
Every now and then I read a message on a forum or somewhere from someone who’s lost all their data in a computer crash. That person is kindly reminding people to back up their computers, to avoid the heartbreak of everything vanishing into thin air.
I’m happy to say this isn’t one of those messages. I haven’t suffered a computer crash. In fact, I’ve had no computer problems to speak of since I bought my MacBook in July of 2007.
Tagged with: decisions, empowerment, obstacles, procrastination, productivity
Last week was one of those weeks I wasn’t at my desk much and when I was I had to be focused on urgent items. I’m not sure I actually looked at my to-do list all week, except to add to it.
Tagged with: autofocus, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, task management, time management
This is a guest post of sorts, from the fabulous Christine Kane, who helps people achieve their dreams. I’m reprinting it, with permission, from her newsletter. It arrived in my mailbox today and I thought it was so great I’d share it immediately. Incidentally, I wish I’d thought of the acronym CRAP for Clutter Removal Action Process!
Tagged with: christine kane, goals, procrastination, productivity
I have to update you on my progress with the Knitting Olympics over at Ravelry which is officially known as the Ravelympics. The idea is that you commit to knitting something you consider a challenge during the time of the Summer Olympics. I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to achieve with some focused effort.
Tagged with: goals, knitting olympics, lace, learn to knit afghan, procrastination
Some days I look around my home or office and say to myself, “I really need to xxxxx” and it’s a general task like, “get organized” or “reorganize my closet.” Sometimes it’s just “create some order around here” when things have gotten out of hand.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, order, procrastination, productivity, time management, unclutterer
Do you ever have items on your to-do list that just loom there? You know you need to do them, you think about doing them, but you just can’t get going on it?
Sometimes, you just need to get started and once you overcome the resistance and do the task, it turns out that it’s not so bad. This happens to me all the time. I build up tasks in my mind, thinking they’re going to take forever, then they take no time at all.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, mark forster, procrastination, productivity, time management
In my life right now, the answer to that question is T-A-X-E-S. I have to hang my head in shame and admit that my taxes aren’t done. But I’m quite sure they will be by the end of the day.
Tagged with: geralin thomas, procrastination, taxes
It’s amazing to me what a barrier to productivity, to progress, to peace of mind clutter can be. I see it in my clients all the time. And I know from personal experience.
Tagged with: clutter, decluttering, empowerment, feng shui, focus, priorities, procrastination, productivity
I was a writer for many years (mostly magazine articles and books) and I couldn’t work without a deadline. The deadline would dictate when I started working on a story and, to be honest, there was usually a lot of procrastination involved.
Tagged with: deadlines, mark forster, procrastination, time management