Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

Thursday 3 April, 2008

No frills.  Just start.
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CI for Lark at 10:40pm

Well, I didn't get all I planned done today. My main work project turned out to have some problems beyond my control, so it took up some time and energy from another project. I wish I'd have done a little better on the latter, though. I didn't put much stuff away, however, and I'm upset with myself for that. I WISH I'd be better at cleaning, putting things back, etc. I'd appreciate any suggestions if you folks have any. This has become a recurring problem for me.

cleaning

I don't have a problem with cleaning. What I do is clean whatever I notice is dirty when I notice it's dirty. I usually put things away (have to, my apartment is so small). When things start to get untidy, I take a few minutes and straighten things up. It doesn't take long if you keep up with it. Cleaning doesn't have to take a lot of time, either - it's just a matter of cleaning whatever you notice is dirty. I see something needs dusting, and I dust it. That way I don't need to do things on a schedule. It's usually fairly neat and clean in here.

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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

I see something that needs dusting....

and I find a zillion reasons why it is too hard to go find the thing to dust with, notice that the shelf which looks crappy is no worse off than the rest of the house. I am making some progress with this, but certain tasks, ie, washing the kitchen floor, which really doesn't take a huge amount of time, takes a huge amount of emotional energy! I try to do it all in short irregular spurts. I never can seem to finish.

Me,too

Lark,

I have great difficulty cleaning, putting things back, etc., so I have no words of wisdom, only comisseration (sp?).  I did actually finish loading the dishwasher tonight and will start it before going to bed, so that is better than many nights when I am so tired from the day, I leave some - or all - of it for the AM, which justs makes it harder to start the day, especially since I am not a morning person!

Baby steps, as some here wisely say...

rec

pro procrastinating on bedtime again

I have an early morning appointment with a trainer at the gym tomorrow. I need to go to bed!!!!

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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

finally, I'm ready for bed

Teeth are brushed, jammies on. Now I just have to get into the bed. :-P

'Night all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

G'night!

Sweet dreams!

(shoo! ;D )

putting off going to bed is a problem for me, too

I do that, too.  It is as if the effort required to get to bed seems too much, and so I procrastinate in that area, too, and as you note, the consequences - starting the next day tired which justs feeds the procrastination monster more - are not worth it!

I am very impressed that you are meeting with a trainer at the gym - way to go!  You deserve a major pat on the back for that.  I have trouble making myself exercise regularly even though it makes me feel so much better and gives me more energy.  An appt with someone is probably a good way to go - harder, and more costly,  to put that off!  Good luck getting to bed and at the gym tom.

rec

rec, we have a lot in common

That's exactly why I procrastinate on bed. The "getting ready" part seems like a lot of trouble.

And the only reason I'm getting any exercise at all lately is the trainer. I have to show up for these appointments because I'm paying a fortune for it.

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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

guess who's still awake...

Why do I do this? I'm tired! Why don't I go to bed? I'm like a little kid resisting bedtime.

Getting up from the computer now to brush teeth...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.

Up too late Thursday!

What is it, National Up Too Late Night tonight?  Must be something going around!  I've just stayed up way (way) too late myself, surfing the net, and I haven't done that in quite a while.  Guess I'd better extend my March Internet moratorium through April!

O.k. . . off to bed, now.  Good night, all!

Falcon

International Up late?

Urgh, terrible day at work today. No work.
Can we blame the moon or something?

Anyway,
*pokes*
G'night Falcon.
Sweet dreams!
;D

card carrying member

--clement

Recycler CI 9:45pm EST

Hi!

We're still having alternating Spring/Winter/Spring/Winter-ish weather here.  Today was cold & rainy again.  So tonight for me was more about warming up & resting.  I did fix dinner and write letters to 2 friends.

I don't feel like flossing, but I will try, since Kaoba was able to.

Have a good night, everybody! :)

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here! :)

Falcon Thurs. night CI

To do with no frills, no nonsense and no foolin' around (well o.k., maybe just a smidgen of foolin' around.)  Wink

  • Eat
  • Answer email
  • Hang laundry
  • Get ready for bed

Falcon

Grail CI, 1.30pm (Friday)

Not a good day so far.
Should have used check in

Figured I was just packing up one project, then getting onto another, with an undetermined workload, so there wasn't anything to put on the CI list... big mistake. Almost zero productivity. Managed to make it to this site, and wandered round making OT posts instead!

So,
* two rechecks - one already complete.
Project 3 - this is tricky, because I'm sharing it with someone else, so there's no list of what I *have* to do. So, goal -
* 5 units completed today!
* Leave by 7.30pm
* Go to friday cafe socialising.
* Put washing on (yep, I'm down to rummaging around odd socks :rolleyes: )
* Guitar

rec CI - I am trying this again!

Hi all! 

Although I've been reading here often, I have not posted in awhile - I realized that I am even procrastinating posting here!  How bad is that??  I guess it is due mainly to the fact that, like Joe and others here have said, I am so behind (at work and at home), feel so overwhelmed and seem to have such difficulty getting anything done lately, I am embarassed to put my failures in writing.  But when I have posted before, it has helped me be more accountable, especially when others follow up with even a brief comment that makes me feel like someone else expects me to get the things on my list done (at least some of them, anyway - some is better than nothing, I try to say to myself!), so here goes:

TO DO:

Calls:  SD, DM, AF, JW, BB, Dr. J
E-mails:  CM, TP, NM, PP
Send docs out FedEx
Send card, flowers? to M family
Pay bill, set up on autopay

Thanks for everyone's encouraging words,

rec

rec

I am glad you are back: owning up to your failures is essential to recovery. Even if you can't post them here, putting them down on paper helps and then sharing with someone helps.

One little step at a time

Thank you, e

Thanks for your encouragement.  One failure I regret the most - and will own up to here - is not keeping in touch in the past several months with a couple of friends - I realize that although for awhile I was beset with various family/work crises that made it very difficult to keep up, now I am not calling or contacting them primarily because I feel so guilty about not keeping up with them.  While I know this is silly, it still has paralyzed me for some time, during which I only feel worse about myself.
 
Anyone else had this problem?

Thanks again, e - I appreciate your support!

rec

put off calling friends--ABSOLUTELY

and the longer it goes, the worse it gets.  If it's a day or 2, i can say, i've been busy.  But if it's been 3 weeks, then what would i say?  And after 3 months -- ?

I am afraid people will think i dont like them or dont want their company, but that's not true at all.  I really value their friendship.

When i face it and force myself, i am always rewarded by connecting with a good friend.

I wish you well with your struggle.

Calls to friends

I do this, too, especially when I'm low on energy or bogged down.  And I've felt that same cycle of putting off calling because I feel like a dunderhead for having put off calling for so long!

And yet the odd thing is that whenever an old friend calls me, I never think "well, what took you so long, you putz!" but always "wow, I'm so glad you called, it's great to reconnect."  And probably my friends feel the same way when I (finally) call them.  If I'd remember that, I'd do a lot better at keeping in touch!

Falcon

re: friends calling us

i've noticed the same thing.  I am never critical of my friends for not calling me, but am of myself for not calling them.  Why is that?

And it is nearly always a joyful reuinion, no matter how long it's been.

Thank you, clement

Thanks for your kind words and sharing your experience with this problem.  I feel better about making those calls in light of your comments, and hope mine go as well as yours did!

rec

Re: Contacting friends...

Oh dear,
that's also so very much me...

I think I procrastinate, and thereby am late or miss going to social events, partly because I'm feeling guilty about all the other times I've been late, or missed social events and so thinking about it makes me feel bad. Vicious cycle!

Just remembering that it is a want to, not a have to, helps.

friends....

and family... I love them all, but rarely if every bother calling or writing. And social engagments? pffft! The best I can manage is a Friday after work drink. It is all so.... exhausting. It is too expensive to go out, and my husband and I are too perfectionistic to have people over without getting the steam-cleaner out! I did not grow up this way, but the guilt and shame are all mine.

Joe K's CI

Mon, Tues, Wed, and now half of Thurs I have procrastinated.  Of the past 27 hours of work time, I have actually worked for only a few minutes (certainly less than 30 minutes).  However I have skipped all my walking breaks because I am too busy---too busy doing nothing.  This must be insanity.  Today, I have 5 hours left in the work day.  But there is no way that I can make up in these 5 hours for the past 27 hours of doing nothing.  When my boss asks me what I have done, I don't know what I am going to say.  It is much easier to go online, read random articles on wikipedia, and look at e-mail than to try to prepare my talk, especially since I can never make up for all the lost time.

Joe K                      

miserable time to own up to boss

i can not tell you how many times i have been in your exact situation--procrastinated for a week, or month, and it's time to meet w/ boss or write status report and what is there to say?  I can't say that i was stuck or that the work was harder than expected, because those aren't true, and i dont like lying.  I feel like i have no defense.

My procrastination especially lately has been trasformed by setps 1-3 of the 12 steps (on the site if you're new to them).  So i am trying to admit my procrastination more lately.  I still have not "come out" totally.  That's still too scary for me.

But i have gone into these meetings w/ the boss and used this compromise:  "i've had trouble focusing."  And i've realized that i am not the first person my boss has supervised that has had a week or month here and there where they just haven't been able to make forward progress.  I'm sure my situation is worse, but it's not like every other single person that reports to my boss every month has all kinds of amazing status to report.  There's a mix there.

And you know what?  My boss *wants* to know that the problem is my focus, because he *wants* to help me solve that be he needs me to be successful for his own success.  So, while i haven't totally been honest, instead of talking about silly things like other ways to approach the work, we at least discuss ways to be better focused next month, which at least is in the ballpark of what i need to hear.

Anyway, i haven't been fired.  And it's actually refreshing to be at least partially honest--that's just my value system.  Altho there are people here who have been fired for their procrastination.

So joe i wish you luck.  It is not fun--i know.  I'm with you in spirit.  Please post back here and let us know how it goes, good or bad, so that your story can encourage others.

Giving it a try today

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful comments.  I'll give it a simple try today (see my post under today's (Friday) check ins.
                      

so many reasons to put things off

dread, fear, the don't wanna's, celebrations, boredom, denial, they have a mysterious way of freezing me in non-productive time. I can even lie in bed staring at a wall for hours, thinking about working, but getting nothing done. Thankfully, posting is an action which can break the inertia. Owning my feelings and my failures and celebrating the slightest success helps me start the ball rolling. When I keep posting, keep coming back and when all else fails, go to the chatroom and write down I am doing, even if it is nothing 'productive' can be life altering fo rme.

Keep coming back!

how is it going, Joe?

rec

A little better today--only 75% useless

A little better today. Thanks for asking.  I only wasted 75% of the day rather than 99% of the day.  Tomorrow is my last chance, so I suppose I'll do the heroic last minute finish.  I have been doing things this way since I was about 12 years old.  Now I'm 46 years old.  How do I break the cycle?
                      

25% useful!

Hi Joe,

Hang in there. . . and congrats on the 25% improvement rate! 

Edited to add. . . I really like what Kromer says about just doing a little at a time.  It's way easier to commit to 10 minutes (and actually get 10 minutes of work DONE) than thinking "now I have to stop procrastinating and spend the whole rest of the day working" which can be overwhelming & leads the brain to think "I'd better not stop procrastinating, or I'll be overwhelmed!"

Falcon

Good point, Falcon

Falcon,

Your point ["It's way easier to commit to 10 minutes (and actually get 10 minutes of work DONE) than thinking "now I have to stop procrastinating and spend the whole rest of the day working" which can be overwhelming & leads the brain to think "I'd better not stop procrastinating, or I'll be overwhelmed!"] about how our procrastinating brains work is very insightful!  I need to focus on working for 10 minutes, as you say, instead of thinking about all there is to do, because I have felt very overwhelmed lately and it has led to more procrastination than ever!

Thanks,
rec

Hey Joe...

It's not the work, it's the... fear that keeps everything frozen?
I don't feel afraid, I just can't seem to stop myself procrastinating, but, it always ends up that I am doing everything, desperately, instead of my work.
I was in somewhat the same state last night (and that's after a *good* week).

Keep doing your walking breaks. I found I was able to start working when I started closing all my browser windows because I was 'going home' and then in the desire to get things 'tidied' before I left, started doing some work. And once on a roll, it's all good. And if that doesn't work, well, you're going home/on a walk, and that's just as productive as doing nothing.

Also, doing the CI's been helping, just writing out the list of what I have to do.
Really detailed, each unit. I didn't think todo lists helped, but, in some cases, it reduces the fear to a 'known' quantity rather than, avoiding all thought (and work) on a project so you don't have to find out how far behind you are.

Anyway, Good luck! work hard!
:D

(See, if you do get it done, remind yourself it was the *work* you did, not 'luck' that got you through it - locus of control, blah blah blah psychology)

Thanks for the comments

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing  --Steven Covey
                      

hi joe!

Sorry a missed you in the chatbox!

I was in almost the same situation as you yesterday (afraid to talk to my advisor because I'd gotten so little done the past few weeks. ) It's scary! But I confessed that I hadn't gotten much done, showed him what I had and it was fine...hope it's all right for you to!

Just remember that *some* work is better than *no* work. Maybe just pick a small part of preparing your talk (write an outline? make your title slide?)  and commit to working on it for 10 minutes, then let yourself stop. That way you can make progress without being overwhelmed.

Best of luck, I know you can do it!

bravo, moving!

short, sweet, to the point. going now.

today:
water x, meds x, passport x, glasses x, shelving x, paperclip thing x, circulation x

tonight: gotta figure out the three tax things I put off, call mf and get on with life!

8:55am CI for Lark--No Frills Today

"No Frills" is a pretty good theme for today--or maybe we can make it a tradition for Thursdays here. I have outside work for today, and it's going to rain later. If I procrastinate too much, I'll get wet. Simple (no frills?), huh? If we could get co-workers to spray us with water when we procrastinate, perhaps that would help us move along!
Today:
 morning routine
 spiritual time
 heat workshop
 finish first section of work project A
 when delivery comes, finish project B
 put things away in workshop
 return movie
 spend half hour on project C
 check in here around noon

kaoba 8am

Update: I did what I said I would do, except I am still finishing my cup of coffee while already starting to work. I'll brush my teeth right after. What I need to do right now, no sidetracking:

( ) prepare checks and deposit slips for bank errands

That's it. Will check back in when I'm done.

kromer 7:30 CI

Starting a little late this morning, but that's all right.

Big goals for the day:
*Study biochem, do pset
*Do Spanish HW
*Go to classes
*Do 2 good hours of work on thesis
*Go to church thing (maybe...)
*Read through bio lab questions

To start: 30 min going over biochem lecture notes, then do Spanish HW.

kromer 11:35 CI

Worked on biochem, did most of my Spanish, went to Spanish class, had a reasonably healthy lunch, and now have been goofing off online for about 20 min. Time to turn on my website blocker and get back to work!

I have class at 2:00, but I have a nice long chunk of time before then. I'm going to use that time to work on biochem. I need to finish going over my lect. notes, then start the pset. I think I can finish studying and get one pset question done before class.

kromer 5:20 CI

Did my biochem studying, did half a pset question, went to bio class, had dinner, have been goofing off for 30 minutes-ish.

I have a meeting at 7 (which I decided to go to instead of the church thing), so I need to get to work!

I'm going to turn on my internet blocker.
I'm feeling kinda down, so I'm going to email a friend.
Then, I'm going to keep working on my pset and finish it if possilble.
Back after my meeting (around 8 or 8:30)

kromer 8:55 CI

Emailed friend and at least made some progress on pset (though I'm still not finished)
Went to meeting, it ran late, home now.
Back to working on pset!
Update 10:20 figured out question 1, will take 20 min to write it up and then move on to question 2.

kaoba 6:45am

Good morning! Great thread starter, straight to the point.

I have dispatched my people to work and school (we start early here), and now, before getting sidetracked with anything else, I am going to get groomed and dressed, have breakfast, pick up the kitchen, and brush and floss my teeth.

I'll report back when I am done.

Edge's CI - 11:50AM

Lol, perfect starter, Moving :grin:

Ok, this is what was left over from yesterday... I'm finishing them before adding my new to-dos. *crosses fingers and gets to*

What I would like to do today:
- call M and get the name of the restaurant
- download cycling pics onto laptop and send to R
- send R feedback on her article
- test the newsletter graphics on email
- confirm Friday cycling with cousin
- prep tomorrow's to-do
- tell WoW friends I'll be away for a month
- check out biz syl.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action - Walter Anderson

Edge's CI - 1:25PM

What I did so far:
x shower
x test the newsletter graphics on email
x download cycling pics onto laptop and send to R (in the process of sending now - uploading takes time :( )
x send R feedback on her article
x check out biz syl.
x confirm next week Friday cycling with cousin

What I would like to do today:
- call M and get the name of the restaurant
- prep tomorrow's to-do
- tell WoW friends I'll be away for a month

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action - Walter Anderson

Edge's CI - 5:45PM

Ugg...ate too much at lunch..don't feel so good x_x"

What I did so far:
x shower
x test the newsletter graphics on email
x download cycling pics onto laptop
x send R feedback on her article
x check out biz syl.
x confirm next week Friday cycling with cousin
x dust living room

What I would like to do today:
- call M and get the name of the restaurant
- prep tomorrow's to-do
- tell WoW friends I'll be away for a month
- dishes
- upload and send cycling pics to R
- do Ar homework
- call ice and get outline of newletters
- call biz teacher and ask what to do/when to meet
- laundry
- meds

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action - Walter Anderson

Edge's CI - 6:25PM

Wohoo! Got that dreaded phone call out of the way :-D Was quite pleasant, actually ^_^

What I did so far:
x shower
x test the newsletter graphics on email
x download cycling pics onto laptop
x send R feedback on her article
x check out biz syl.
x confirm next week Friday cycling with cousin
x dust living room
x call M and get the name of the restaurant

What I would like to do today:
- prep tomorrow's to-do
- tell WoW friends I'll be away for a month
- dishes
- upload and send cycling pics to R
- do Ar homework
- call ice and get outline of newletters
- call biz teacher and ask what to do/when to meet
- laundry
- meds

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action - Walter Anderson

Edge's Closing CI

I didn't get a chance to update this last night (Thursday) because I wasn't feeling well at all, but am doing so now.

What I did so far:
x shower
x test the newsletter graphics on email
x download cycling pics onto laptop
x send R feedback on her article
x check out biz syl.
x confirm next week Friday cycling with cousin
x dust living room
x call M and get the name of the restaurant
x prep tomorrow's to-do
x laundry
x meds
x upload and send cycling pics to R

Left Undone:
- tell WoW friends I'll be away for a month
- do Ar homework
- call ice and get outline of newletters
- call biz teacher and ask what to do/when to meet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action - Walter Anderson

movingalong's no frills Thursday

In prepare for creating yesterday's check-in thread (April 2, 2008), I was hunting the graphics area here at the P.A. website.   I found those two completely different pictures -- one indicating someone had dug themselves into a hole in their office, and the other with a joyous pink panther climbing out.  I just had to post them both together yesterday.

Today, I decided to not even LOOK at the graphics.  Because creating a "thread starter" has been a major form of procrastination for me !

So my Thursday will be "no frills".

I just need to START.

No ruminating,  No fancy fonts.

Just start.

My goals for Thursday:

  • Work on taxes for 1/2 hour in early morning.
  • Have breakfast, shower, get dressed.

  • Drive to my jobsite safely and arrive 15 minutes EARLY!
  • Work at a reasonable pace, and not be distracted by fancy fonts and colors.  Just make the reports and print them out.  All that matters is the data!
  • Check on pets during lunchtime.
  • Call for appt with Dr. P.
  • ---  movingalong