What's up world.
Well. I want to discuss procrastination. Mostly because I'm relatively familiar with it and I've been working hard to eliminate it. There is a very big difference between rest and procrastination.. by all means I'm not saying that I shall never rest or recooperate. I'm talking about "delaying action." Also. I believe that some things are better left for "tomorrow" sometimes.. Maybe as you're going through your list or whatever you realize it would be MORE CONVENIENT to put it off until the next day.. this is not the same as procrastinating because if it's the truth it will make the circumstances easier and not more difficult. {However, if it makes the situation more difficult, you have indeed procrastinated} For further clarification I'd also like to say that I'm not a procrastination specialist or anything.. I've just come to THRIVE on the feeling of accomplishment. If the definition of procrastination is delaying action then the antonym is action or according to the internet "beginning" "advance" "go" Simple stuff, but I rarely thought of it that way. My thought process was... "I don't want to" or "I don't feel like it" or "WHY NO" Haha. This thinking is detrimental to success though. More than likely this feeling will come back tomorrow.. when now not only do you have things to do today, but you've also buried yourself in yesterday's problems. Boo to that. So. What are some solutions to this madness? Well. As I said.. I'm not a specialist or a professional I'm just experienced, so I'll share what has brought me success- I find that understanding processes helps to find your own. What keeps me going in those moments when I'd rather not complete a task? That sweet and satisfactory moment when the task is done. When I can sit and bask in my own awesomeness. So if all this awesomness is for the taking why does procrastination happen? I have a few ideas. 1. The dread of the task has made it seem more daunting than it actually is. I do this to myself a lot. Dread and dread and dread and then I finally decide to conquer it before I go mad and to my surprise it's much easier than I'd imagined. How much time did I waste dreading? How much unnecessary anxiety did I cause myself over such a small matter? 2. Waiting on perfection. Guilty. Always waiting for that magical moment when every obstacle has a particular solution. Or maybe a piece of equipment or tool is acquired to make the process "better." Lies. All lies. In cosmetology school one of my instructors always said "do the best you can with what you have" because commonly we think "things" can make the experience easier or faster but I don't believe that to always be true. For example.. keeping with the cosmetology metaphor I have somehow put myself in, It's not necessary to purchase a $200 pair of shears for a haircut, basic shears and some improvision will do. It's about skill not the tools. I'm sure there will be some disagreement here but honestly when it comes down to it either you have the skills or you don't and nothing is going to change that. If your success hinges on a certain object or circumstance then re-evaluate. As for the perfection part of this-perfection is imaginary-like pink unicorns. 3. Lack of Motivation Ugh. Just not motivated. No desire to complete the things that keep popping up in your head and causing you stress. Motivation is tricky. It's personal. Individual. So do what you need to do. Motivation= motion, action. Ha! Yup the opposite of procrastination. So do something. Chances are you will motivate yourself and not even realize it. Regardless none of this is moving you any closer to completing what it is that needs completion. Your poor task is just sitting there waiting to be crossed off. And oh that feeling of crossing something off. It's amazing. It's affirmation that you have done it! Become addicted to that feeling and you will no longer find procrastination comforting. Why should anyone find "delayed action" comforting? So stop delaying yourself and your future. Now go - do those things you need to do - you won't regret it =) ❤VintageModMom
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My blog went live on March 25 2014.
Almost 6 months ago. Not too shabby. Lately I have been in a state of reflection. Well that's a lie I'm always in a state of reflection. Regardless. Even in this small amount of time I have learned lots of things. Things about myself. Which is good. This was kind of the point. I've been stuck in a "discovery of self" for almost a year now. Well I guess stuck is kind of a negative verb I should say I've been on a "discovery of self" journey. I started this blog because as a new mom and wife I had things to offer. I wanted to share the things I was learning.. this still holds true. However, that seems to be a very small part of me. I have been reminded of certain things about myself, for instance: 1. I hate writing in 1st person. I have always LOVED English. Everything about it. Literature, poetry, grammar, sentence structure, words in general. I'm sure I missed something but I don't think anything is lost in translation here. As an english lover.. I have written tons and tons of papers. Never have I ever written in 1st person. As an English person that was a HUGE no no. So I have found it extrememly difficult to write in 1st person. It seems so elementary.. but we all have our struggles. This discovery alone has led me to rethink my blogging process.. of course posting recipes and diy's requires some instruction and personal experience via the 1st person. I get that. A blog is loosely defined as a journal. A collection of one's experiences etc. I was always a writer.. not much of a diary/journal keeper, and the journals/diaries I did have were usually written in poetic form.. or at least literary form.. much like this post. So. On the one hand I am exploring outside my comfort zone.. and on the other hand I sometimes find adapting to this nature tedious and frustrating. Either way. It's an experience. 2. I have yet to find a consistent theme. A consistent theme that I'm truly excited and inspired by. There are times.. times that I am excited to share something new, but it's not consistent. In order to counteract this I've been on the hunt. Searching through myself to find my passions. I know first and foremost I have forever and always had a love of the arts. All arts. Theatre, Music, Painting, Charcoals, Pastels, Oils, Watercolors, {I think I covered the writing part of the arts in #1 so I won't repeat but yes huge love for that stuff as well}, Photography, Broadway & Musicals, Design {all kinds- web, graphic, interior, fashion} and since becoming a mom and wife I can also add Crochet, Knitting, Baking, Food Arts in general..and I also hope to add sewing within the next few years.. I also completed cosmetology school and considerbeauty an art as well.. which I also love..okay so I love everything artistic. Creation is amazing. Art has no rules.. it does not judge and it's the most individual experience ever. Any teacher or observant person could note that if you hand out 25 of the exact same coloring sheets to 25 individuals the odds are pretty darn good that ALL of them will be different. Yup I guess I have a thing for individuality too. Thanks for that Thoreau and while I'm speaking of Thoreau I guess I should also emphasize my love for philosophy and knowledge in general or at least out of the box thinking.. At one point I wanted to write response articles or do literary analysis. I love deconstructing words.. Finding meaning and understanding through dissection of paragraphs and metaphors. THAT is exciting. So. Here I am. Realization of being caught up in the serious and mundane.. which is mostly imaginary. I do believe reality is only your creation. My reality is my responsibility. With this in mind I think it's time for shift in my reality. I'm going to emerge myself in the arts once again. I'm not completely disconnected. I still indulge in quite a few of my beloved activities but there is still some disconnection and I intend to close that gap. What does all this mean for my blogging future? It's actually a push in the correct direction. Changes will be made and they will be fantastic! I have been working on a new design.. not that this one isn't awesome but let's face it, it's a "stock" design. I'd like some individuality. To those of you who are still reading thanks for caring =) The future is coming and it's going to be awesome. Much love to you all ❤ VintageModMom It's a new month! An opportunity to start something new! I think I have just the thing.. It's something I've already started doing myself.. and I will tell you all about it! I had grown very much in love with my snooze button. Every morning my alarm would go off and I would hit snooze. At first I used that time to wake myself up. To be thankful and go through my gratitude for the day. That worked for a while. Until I started falling back asleep... A few minutes would go by and my alarm would sound again and I'd push snooze again.. It started so subtely..Just a one time snooze.It wasn't long before I was hitting that button like I was playing a tv game show and knew the answer to every question. Snooze. Snooze. Snooze. Until one day. I woke up late. Late, because I had snoozed the maximum amount of snoozes and my alarm had eventually given up and silenced itself. How dare you technology? And not only did this happen one day... it kept happening. I don't know about anyone else, but for me, waking up late sucks. I'm in a rushed-fast forward motion most of the day and my brain is foggy. I'm not sure how long this goes on... I wasn't constantly late. But more frequently than what used to be my norm.. I'm a pretty timely lady for the most part. Finally hubbs challenges me to stop hitting my snooze button... Which I accepted. Honestly, it was getting really annoying hearing that thing go off.. over and over and over. It was actually making my mornings worse. My alarm was nagging me every 5 minutes to get up.. or at least that's what it felt like.. but really that is not the case. I made the decision that I wanted to get up early.. I just feel better if I 'm able to get up and get my shower, have some coffee and have some breakfast.. I want that. Also. I can be quite the procrastinator so it's nice for me to be able to get all this out of the way early or I would just be in my pj's until noon. Which isn't favorable for me. So. I realized that I was just fighting myself. Probably why it was so exhausting lol. The first week was a challenge... A few times I literally just layed there staring at it.. contemplating my decision. But a few minutes would pass and I would pep talk myself up to get my day started. Once I was up and about I did feel more alert even if it did take a second to pull myself out of bed. So. Everyday for the first week I had a small struggle with myself each morning, but I managed to get through all of the week without hitting my snooze button. I felt pretty good about it. And it was a small victory hubbs and I could celebrate. We like to celebrate our positives =) Week 2. Week 2 went smoothly. Monday was a bit of a drag but I still managed to get out of bed the first time. I continued through the 2nd week as well. I went Monday to Friday without hitting snooze. This was fantastic for me. Only 2 weeks ago I was indulging in my snooze button. I was even setting my alarm earlier just so that I could hit the snooze button... and I was negotiating with myself the ABSOLUTE latest time I could get up and still maybe, almost have things ready on time. {sabatoge} I was glad to be leaving that habit behind. So we come to where I am now. The end of week 3. Even before I realized August was coming up I had planned to share this anyway just because of what happened next. This week has been the best week for me so far. I can't exactly remember which day this week it was.. I may have been Tuesday or Wednesday.. either way. One morning recently, I actually woke up before my alarm. I know it sounds lame, but I didn't wake up in a panic or because I was cold etc.. I gradually and easily woke up.. and I realized that my body's internal clock was starting to set.. so I just layed there.. I started to think about my day.. go through my gratitude and thankfuls and mantras and affirmations and all good vibes for the day.. After a few minutes my alarm did go off so I was right on time.. but I was already alert. That feeling was really spectacular. I used to dread mornings.. I'm not saying I leap out of bed or anything {it's usually quite cold in the morning.. we all know that struggle lol}.. but I feel better prepared for them. I feel like my body is becoming familiar with the set time I wake up each day and it's improved my life in just a few weeks. So if you're a snoozer I suggest you give this a shot. It's a new month! You've got 30 days to do something awesome. Why not make your mornings better? Would love to hear from anyone who gives this a shot! I suggest finding some positive things to say to yourself in the morning. Some reminders, some goals, whatever will get your gears turning and get you out of bed without hitting snooze! Much Love VintageModMom |
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