Procrastinators Anonymous

as i posted in today's check-in thread (31 jul 2008) in response to agnus's spiritual time that lasted all day, i've been setting my timer for 1/2 hr for my quiet time /w god. Some days, when it goes off, i realize i have gotten distracted repeatedly for the whole 1/2 hr.

That makes me feel this step in a palpable way. It directs me immediately to step 2--if this is going to get better, it's going to be god. And as a result, step 3, please, god, i will let you fix me.

Hi Pro Buddies!

What unmanageable looked like to me: I was having household & other projects to do; but would feel overwhelmed and avoid/go into Procrastination mode.

Solution: PA gives me a place to check-in daily; PA helps me feel a sense of accomplishment for the things I actually do (small or large). In the act of typing it for CI, a degree of organization is naturally added (which wasn't happening before).

Summary: on my own, I experienced powerlessness/unmanageability to a larger extent. Participating in PA gives me the kind of improvement I wasn't having on my own. Thank you, Pro & PA!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

I posted this elsewhere but it really belongs here as well..."I started by admitting that I've exhausted every possibility for overcoming procrastination, and remain powerless to stop doing it. Regardless of my feelings and apparently without my permission, I somehow was dealt a body that cannot stand the stress that procrastination causes me, and a mind that can't stop trying to get away with it anyway. That wicked combination makes my life unmanageable."

Procrastination can lead me to death, jails or institutions. I have health problems, some directly caused by procrastination. They require treatment that I neglect when procrastinating. I have legal and financial responsibilities that I criminally neglect when procrastinating. I am prone to depression and anxiety that worsen when I procrastinate, right to the edge of institutionalization.

Before PA I tried time management classes, life coaches, tough bosses, easy bosses, self-employment, switching financial institutions, treating procrastination as a character defect in other 12 Step programs, working at home, working at an office, working at the library, working to music, working in silence, working with others, working alone, batting my eyelashes, setting timers, using alarm watches, asking non-procrastinating friends to hold me accountable, pulling all-nighters, pulling back-to-back all-nighters, excess caffeine, illegal drugs (long ago), beating myself up, physically harming myself, crying, denying, admitting defeat, begging forgiveness, lying, blaming, dramatizing, creating diversion crises, seeking pity, screaming at God and myself, lying on the floor refusing to get up for 3 days, counseling, intervention, geographic cures, punishing myself, setting goals, refusing to set goals, praying, meditating, claiming I have excessive "creativity," suspecting I have Alzheimer's Disease, researching brain disorders in an attempt to diagnose and treat myself, homeopathic remedies, herbs, eating certain foods, abstaining from certain foods, exercising more, exercising less, sleeping more/less. None of these efforts cured me of procrastination.

What ways did you try for managing your procrastination before PA?

Hi!

The on-line tools of PA help me move more in the direction that I need to be going. Thanks PA! Just being able to check-in and talk with Pro Buddies, is definitely a power greater than myself! I wasn't doing half as good without you! [and I mean *you*, fellow Pro Buddy! Talk to you later!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

For Me step 3 is about choosing to change and allowing The Higher Power to direct that change. I it is a step about honesty and integrity in my life.

For me it is about stopping the procrastination and accepting the outcome when I stop procrastinating. It may mean that I still do not complete the tasks and being willing to accept the consequences of that.....rater than procrastinating, not completing and then creating a crisis or some sort of chaos to excuse the non completed task. It may mean acccepting my limitations, the consequences of my limitations and being able to live with the limitation and consequences.

If I stop procrastinating I may find out what I am capapble of. This may mean sucess in or failure .....
I may turn my life to the higher power and initially I might not like the consequences of the decisioin to change....

Hi!

I like my Higher Power He helped me find this program, which is already making my life better Thanks, HP!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

I listen to a podcast called 'A Quiet Mind" by Robert Jackson, and I recently listened to an old podcast from 2006 about self-honesty, that really made sense to me.  He says our natural tendency, after facing some less-than-flattering truth about ourselves, is to condemn ourselves for that fault.   We must not, however, beat ourselves up about this truth.  We must look at ourselves honestly and deeply, with love, in order to make a change. 

From Benestrophe, about Step 4:

The purpose of this inventory is correction, not chastisement. To move from denial of imperfections to self-condemnation is no movement at all. Honesty requires a certain detachment. We must be willing to take responsibility for our responses to Life, and we must be willing to forgive ourselves. To judge oneself is no different than to judge another. Beating ourselves up over past mistakes only serves to make us miserable, and when we feel badly about ourselves, we bring unhappiness to those around us.

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

Hi!

Pace yourself in a written inventory: List/describe a Good Character Asset immediately after listing each character defect. This will help prevent feeling overwhelmed from listing all the character defects at once. End each journaling session with a Positive Asset!!!

It's helpful to have a sponsor, so they can guide you through an inventory booklet, outline, or plan.

In my other programs, I have done several 4th/5th steps over the years. Right now I'm going through the process of the final details of a divorce, plus will be moving in the next 2 months. When it's time to do my next inventory (say in a year or two), I will probably do it in one of my other programs, and include PA reflections within that 4th/5th Step which will cover larger topics such as the divorce as well.

4th and 5th steps can be helpful ways of Letting Go of the past, so we can be ready to Move On in our lives when the time is right.

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

With my other programs, I also worked Steps 1-3 with my sponsors, so that by the time we got to Steps 4 & 5, I already had a high level of trust with them. I've been fortunate: all my 5th steps have gone well, and I've gotten a feeling of relief from them. They've helped me Let Go, accept the past as part of my life, and move on more than I could have on my own. I've still got a year or two to go before I'll be ready for another 4th-5th step; most likely I'll work it with my current sponsor.

This is an on-line group. If I didn't have an in-person sponsor from my support group, I would probably call a local Inter-Group for AA or Al-Anon, and ask if they knew a temporary sponsor I could talk with (long enough to do a 5th step). I've read sometimes people do 5th steps with a counselor or clergy; I guess it's what each person is most comfortable with.

Step 4 can take some time and reflection to prepare; Step 5 is a relief and a way of acknowledging where I am and where I have been. And lets me get ready to move on.

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

For Step 6 related to procrastination, I had definitely become ready for my Higher Power whom I call God to begin removing that defect of character.

Like others have said, I had started to feel overwhelmed, and would sit around, not sure of what to start on so not starting things, so definitely not having a feeling of accomplishment.

Somehow came across PA or a link that led to it, then started practicing ideas from this group.

Now that I am doing a Check-In every day, it is beginning to lodge in my consciousness that I am accomplishing SOME things each day/week/month, where as previously they all kind of blurred together, not registering. And every now & then I now achieve something on one of the previously procrastinated projects

However simple these small accomplishments are, they help me acknowledge what I am doing, and then I feel motivated to try several more things each day/week than I might have otherwise.

So to my Higher Power & PA, I am truly grateful Thank you, HP & PA!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

Convalaria's idea about having a Step Thread is benefitting me, because in my other group's Step meetings, we discuss Steps 6 & 7 in the same session. This PA thread is reminding me, that while Steps 6 & 7 are related, they are actually two different steps. Thanks, Convalaria!

[However, since this is the format I'm used to, I will start by saying:] Step 6: were entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character. Having been in recovery for a few 24 hours, I try to be cooperate with my Higher Power as much as I can, and to try to be aware of when he is providing me with new insights, helpful tools, etc.

Step 7: Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. I need to be spending a little more time with my Higher Power. This would be a good prayer for me to include each day.

Oh my own, I wasn't doing so well on removing my character defect of procrastination. With my Higher Power helping me through PA, there are usually 1 or more modest improvements/actions daily. So thanks, HP & PA!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

I've done Steps 8 & 9 before, even though some of the people didn't really "get" what I was doing or why. However, I made the effort.

Since then, I have mostly been able to use my program to Prevent adding future amends. (lol). Or, I've been able to do 10th steps as I go along, so things don't build up.

When doing my next 5th step with my sponsor in my local program (12 step, but not PA), I'll review situations that have happened the last few years, and see if they think I need to make any other amends. Most likely, as my local support group says, it's more like I need to continue making amends To Myself.

My local group also clarifies, just inconveniencing someone usually does not count as "harm." So that is why it's helpful to work this step with a sponsor, to help weed out unnecessary false guilt, etc.

Also, a lot of amends can be made as Living Amends, which is me treating the other person better, "with a clean slate." I do that version of amends regularly.

My local group also says, for persons in the past who have died, Step 8 can be done by writing a letter to them, and then either reading it to your sponsor or at their graveside or other location. I haven't actually done that one; but I'm just mentioning it in discussing Step 8.

Steps 8 & 9 sound challenging, which they can be; but you really prep for them in Steps 4 & 5. And in talking with your sponsor, their feedback can make this step A Lot Easier.

Anyway, one of my goals in my remaining life is to not having to do more 8th/9th Steps ;) Talk to you later!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

When I first got into recovery, I lived in Kentucky (USA) due to a family member being in school. Since they were almost ready to graduate, I knew I would move in about 6 months. So that motivated me -- for any amends I needed to make in Kentucky, I knew I needed to do them before I moved.

For the people with which I directly did a 9th Step in person with them, they didn't really "get" what I was doing, and I don't know that it meant much to them. However, it meant something to me; it let me have a clean conscience, and feel like I had cleared the air, and could have a new start when I moved back to my home state, and that I could leave the past behind.

Since then I have worked really hard on Not Adding Additional Things To Make Amends About, lol.

When I am ready to do my 4th & 5th Steps again, I will talk with my sponsor about those. I will also journal & discuss whether any other possible Amends are warranted for events over the last number of years.

Living Amends also work really well; I'm glad they work for most of my situations now. Thanks, HP!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

When I first got in 12-Step program, I was told this is one of the Steps that anyone can start doing, even from the first day they were in the program.

During the several 24-hours that I have been in 12-step programs, somehow new occasions keep coming along, in which to work this step ;)

Well, I have found it to be a helpful step.

When I first notice things going off track, I try to use the next opportunity with the other person, to bring up the situation and start a discussion. Usually it turns out to be No Big Deal, gets me back on the right path, gives me a clean conscience, etc. ***Prevents Future Episodes of Steps 8 & 9!!!!*** lol

How Procrastinators Anonymous helps me with Step 10: Since I am checking in every day that I am in town, it helps me acknowledge what I am doing/not doing, which is sort of a personal inventory.

With a written list, I can notice which things need to be done, and made a Course Correction (when we were wrong promptly admitted it). [Some Course Corrections are more challenging/take longer than others ;)

Anyway, "Keep Coming Back" is What It's All About!!!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!

Hi!

"As we understood God"/Power Greater than Ourselves.

Instead of going it alone as we might have in the past, now we are in a Fellowship of Companions who understand and have also wrestled with many of the same challenging thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that we have. We can experience acceptance and enouragement within this fellowship, and also learn and have inspiration from successes and sharings of those among us. This fellowship is a resource/Power Greater than ourselves, for which we are thankful

This is sufficient for working the program.

For those of us who may have, obtain, or consider having an additional specific Higher Power, this is a personal understanding which can be allowed to continue to be experienced at whichever time/pace is healthy and natural for us. If it is preferable for us to not have a specific Higher Power, that is the perogative of each one, and all are welcome in the program with respect for whichever understanding is the experience and preference of each.

Just my humble opinion And thanks for any other opinions/experiences, too! Keep coming back!

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here!