Thursday Thirteen #700

The other day I ran across something about procrastination that ran so true, I simply had to share the meme.

Procrastination is a big problem for many people. Amazon is loaded with books on the subject. But I think that last paragraph applies to me, if no one else. 

I am not lazy. I have done many things. I have written and published thousands of articles. This is blog entry #4,676, written since August 2006. I've three college degrees. I worked for law firms for 12 years. I freelanced and made more than many freelancers for a good 25 years. Then along came health issues and no matter how hard I fight them, particularly the ones in my head, I feel stuck. I don't do the bookkeeping as frequently as I'd like (I do get it done, eventually). I don't clean out drawers, or empty file cabinets. I don't do the filing when I should. But I am not lazy. 

Every day I make the bed, I do the dishes, I fix dinner of some kind and usually lunch, I do loads of laundry and put them away. I write in this blog. I talk to my friends. I text a friend who lost her husband nearly three years ago now and she asked me to text her every night, and I do. I take lots of photographs. I keep up with the stuff my husband can't. I pay the bills on time. The house doesn't look like rats live in it.

But I still feel like I procrastinate when it comes to moving forward with my life's direction. Mostly because I can't figure out which way to go. It's like I'm on a revolving circle, moving so fast that I can't see where I can step off without a reasonable fear of it not destroying me. Better to stay on the circle, right?

But not really.

Anyway, here are some procrastination tips from the experts. I've tried most of them, none have proven overly helpful. They're not going to when the issue is in between my ears.

1. Stop punishing yourself for procrastinating. Don't yell at yourself, just do it. (Yeah, right.)

2. Tackle the task for 15 minutes at a time. (This does work if I can actually force myself to do the 15 minutes.)

3. Break the task down into small chunks.

4. Do the hardest (or longest) task first.

5. Give yourself a pep talk. (My pep talks go like this: You are such an idiot, why can't you just go do what you want to do and get it done?)

6. Don't aim for perfection, just aim for "done." 

7. Promise yourself a reward when you're finished.

8. Make sure your workspace suits the task. (I can procrastinate indefinitely be deciding my desk needs to be cleaned off before I start a project.)

9. Put away the smart phone. Better yet, turn it off and throw it out the window.

10. Use an add-on to your browser to keep from getting on Facebook when you're supposed to be writing a novel.

11. Listen to calming music (unless you're trying to exercise and keep postponing it, then listen to disco or Uptown Funk so your feet will move).

12. Write a to-do list with set goals. (Finish one page by the end of the day. Clean out one closet shelf every week. Whatever.)

13. Avoid multitasking.

Good luck!

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 700th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.