..so once again i almost started slipping into the old routine of not updating my blog, BUT this time around i actually stopped myself from doing so, which made me think about one simply thing, how simple is it to procastinate, how simple is it to not do things here and now, and just leave it for tomorrow - and somehow hope that it will go away, have you ever tried that ? okay so this is what i found out, i typically procrastinate the things i dont like doing (big surprise right??!!), but when i finally get my act together to do something about it, i realize that thing i didnt like to do, is no longer alone, uuuhhh it has brought its family and friends, i mean seriously think of it, you procratinate and all of a sudden additional stress is coming on top of doing something you dont like to do, let me just mention a couple of the "family" members, time, frustrations from others, stress from others, and finally the lack of proper execution or delivery .. i must have procratinate things a million times, and it never stops to surprise me, just how painful it is in the end - when i finally have to do the work - uufff ... its kinda like going to bed to late, the morning after you know you should have gone to bed earlier -- will you change this ? most likely not.. but here is one reason why you should stop your procrastination ... - it save you time in the end, yes thats right, you will eventually free up more time, time that you can spend on the fun stuff.. so no more procratination from my side .. never ever again - until the next time of course :-)) because stopping to procrastinating is really a mindset, and with a mindset the biggest problem is you - yes! you!! you need to fundamentally change how you do things, you need to get organized and clean up your act, and that my friends is not easy .. especially not if we are use to do things for a long period of time, its all about breaking your habbits, and thats difficult, and that is coming from an old dog like me..
so i will give you an example, on of my own examples .. i love to write (if you havent noticed), but i love to write when i feel like it, i have writen for newspapers, i have done articles, stuff like that, but what i really deep down always wanted to do was to write a book, yes me, a book... i had the ideas, i had the main charecter, i even had the story - it was all in my mind, never on paper, so it was merely a dream, nothing else.. 4 month back or so - i took a piece of blank paper told myself that today was the day where i would start, and believe it or not, i did start, i think 3 weeks later i clicked save on my notebook - my first ever book was a reality ... my first book, in 3 weeks - i have procratinated this for years, 3 weeks.. i felt so good that i right away started my second book, and then it hit me, i started procrastinating on that one .. so guess what i am doing during the weekend - yes, i am writing again no more procratination..
my point in the end really is simple, procrastination is going to get you anywhere - you wont win anything on it, you wont get a special badge for procrastination, you wont impress anybody with it, and in the end you WILL have to do it anyways, with interests of course .. - so take a deep breath, and get it done ..
.. so my book is done, not yet published - and thats okay, for me the most important thing was to write it, i am sure one day you will be able to find the following in a bookshop..
"The man with only one regret" a book by Martin Nielsen,
so till our next time, look out for that book :-)
so i will give you an example, on of my own examples .. i love to write (if you havent noticed), but i love to write when i feel like it, i have writen for newspapers, i have done articles, stuff like that, but what i really deep down always wanted to do was to write a book, yes me, a book... i had the ideas, i had the main charecter, i even had the story - it was all in my mind, never on paper, so it was merely a dream, nothing else.. 4 month back or so - i took a piece of blank paper told myself that today was the day where i would start, and believe it or not, i did start, i think 3 weeks later i clicked save on my notebook - my first ever book was a reality ... my first book, in 3 weeks - i have procratinated this for years, 3 weeks.. i felt so good that i right away started my second book, and then it hit me, i started procrastinating on that one .. so guess what i am doing during the weekend - yes, i am writing again no more procratination..
my point in the end really is simple, procrastination is going to get you anywhere - you wont win anything on it, you wont get a special badge for procrastination, you wont impress anybody with it, and in the end you WILL have to do it anyways, with interests of course .. - so take a deep breath, and get it done ..
.. so my book is done, not yet published - and thats okay, for me the most important thing was to write it, i am sure one day you will be able to find the following in a bookshop..
"The man with only one regret" a book by Martin Nielsen,
so till our next time, look out for that book :-)
My personal tip against procrastination >> write ‘to do lists’ with whatever needs to be done that day. Use just a small peace of paper which you can have with you in a pocket or a wallet. Once it is on the list it’s not so easy to ignore it or postpone till later. It is still there until you tick is as done and finally you can through away that paper – what a relief! (notice another advantage - you can enjoy tearing the paper to tiny pieces or crumple it to a ball :)
ReplyDeleteFor sure, the best thing is to do the things immediately. My problem is e.g. answering emails >> When I finally get to it after a week or even longer, I need to read the email again (or I occupy my mind thinking about the answer too long) and apologize for not answering – just a waste of time (and the person was already disappointed anyway).
Another thing is long term activity – like your book writing. My experience for this is a thesis, some translation or any assignment. Here the most important thing is ‘to start’. One Czech saying goes like: “Vzhuru do toho a pul je hotovo” meaning “start at once and a half is done already”.
And another important point! Don’t forget it is your decision to do it and it is you who assigned this task to you. If you do not like it, don’t waste your time doing it at all! – I mean anything. Don’t let yourself waste your time doing things you don’t like. Don’t let yourself be depressed – there is no reason for it.
…sorry for being too long… marketa
What a great comment, i especially love the idea of ripping it into tiny pieces, kinda like saying "yeah i got my freedom back" hehe.. one of the things i kinda get frustrated with is how much i am addicted to calendars and to-do lists - and idea on how to make life just a tine bit easier ? appreciate any thoughts and ideas ..
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your book. I'd like to read it when it's available. As for me, I have the opposite problem: I operated my life like a stack (ok, geek's talk..), last in first out. and so unless the task is quick to finish, it usually gets pushed down the stack, until naturally gone to the deep end. So nowadays, I'm trying to get it to be a priority stack instead. And since the beginning of this year, I learn to live simply, living with less and with just things that matter most. In the mean time, keep writing. You have a follower here
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Quynh, and when i finally get my book printed you will get a special edition :-))
ReplyDelete