stop procrastinating

“If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” ~Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” ~William James

“The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself.” ~Rita Emmett

Finally emptied one of several old work tote bags – procrastinated three years, but now it’s done.

to attack tasks that I have been putting off:

Went through three boxes of miscellaneous items – procrastinated for years, but now it is done.

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” ~Wayne Dyer

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy”. ~Denis Waitley

“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.” ~David Allen.

I have way too much left unfinished. Time to get to it and get things done.

Have completed some things that I have been procrastinating on:

Change hall light bulb – procrastinated 4 months on this, but now it’s done.

Wash and set up cat water dispenser – procrastinated 3 weeks on this, but now it’s done.

Went through some bags and odds and ends that I had put down haphazardly and left in the way of things and threw a bunch of things out – procrastinated 4-5 months on this, but now it’s done.

“If you wait until all the lights are “green” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top.” -Zig Ziglar.

“Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!” ~Donald Gardner

“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” ~Jerry West (LA Lakers).

This last one especially hits home with me since I am dealing with several health issues that make it harder to do many things. I have to remember that I should move forward on things that need doing even (or especially) on the days when I am in pain or otherwise feeling bad instead of thinking that illness is a good excuse for putting off doing things.

“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.” ~Olin Miller

“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” ~Eva Young

Obviously, I’ve come across some quotes on procrastination. I’ve found that reading them helps tune me in to exactly what it is about procrastination that I detest so much. I guess I’ve been procrastinating about dealing with my procrastination!

I’m starting to make some progress on this, but I haven’t yet figured out a solution to my procrastination that I can apply consistently. I’m just grateful to be moving forward on some projects that were long overdue. I am reading articles on overcoming procrastination, though, and trying to learn why it is that I do it in so many areas. For some tasks, it’s easy to figure out – I just don’t like to do them. There are other areas where I procrastinate and they are things that I enjoy, so I don’t know why I put things off.

One of the few German sayings that I remember is “Morgen, Morgen, nur nicht Heute.” I like to call that the procrastinator’s oath.

Finally fixed my PC. That’s one thing that I’ve stopped procrastinating over. I have to give my Dad credit, though, as he nudged me into moving forward on it.