It is amazing how time can get away so quickly. “I’ll do it tomorrow” slips into next week or longer. “I’ll start next week” quickly becomes next month, or next quarter, or next year before we realize it. Why do we put things off?
Recently, one of my co-workers moved away and left a big hole in our department. She was one of the most efficient people I have ever worked with. Her work was done quickly and it was always done well. One thing that always impressed me was her “do it now” workflow. When something came up, she just took care of it. I rarely heard the words “I’ll do it later.” That way her “to-do list” never got longer.
When I say “I’ll do it later,” what I am really doing is adding one more thing to my already long to-do list. Then I begin to feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to get done and the mental energy it takes to keep up with everything that I have to do becomes exhausting. Sometimes the important things get pushed behind things that are not as important. One thing my co-worker was very good at was quickly identifying things that were important and things that could be done quickly. If it was not a priority and it was something that was going to take some time, she would address it later, but by quickly taking care of the important tasks and those that could be done quickly, her to-do list was always short.
Procrastination is exhausting. A continually growing list of things that need to get done and things that I want to do can be mentally exhausting and it begins to create a feeling of failure. Completing tasks and taking things off that list is energizing and creates a feeling of accomplishment and victory.
Sometimes I miss a day, a week, or a month of writing. It isn’t a lack of ideas, but a breakdown in discipline. I have a list of ideas and half-written posts to share, but after a long, mentally draining day at work, I don’t feel like writing when I get home. I usually write in the mornings before work, but sometimes (like the last few weeks) I have been working on other projects in the mornings. It all comes down to discipline. The discipline to get done today the things that need to get done today and stop adding more things to that growing to-do list.
That is a character flaw that I need to develop into a strength. Perhaps I’ll start working on that tomorrow.
Me, too! 😜