Can I Write This Blog Later?
I should have written this yesterday. I could have written it a week ago. I might have been able to do it before now, but I didn't. Why not? Because I have a tendency to procrastinate...there, I've said it!
With all the hustle and bustle in the lives of today's woman, it's the easiest thing in the world to put something off until tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next week. Please tell me this sounds familiar.
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).
I have no idea what will happen in my life this afternoon, let alone tomorrow. Scripture reminds us that in the grand scheme of things, our time is very short. God treasures every moment of it with us, but He also expects us to treasure and use it wisely in a way that glorifies Him.
So what projects do you have waiting for you today? Do you have the drive and energy to get them done? Are you seriously thinking about putting some of them off until later? Knowing that later may not come, or at least not happen the way we expect, how can we fight procrastination and do our work as unto the Lord?
* Figure out exactly why you procrastinate. Are you too busy with other tasks, or has laziness crept in, or have you found better things to do instead? Once you identify why you do what you do, you can plan a strategy to change your ways.
* Set the week's priorities now so that important things aren't put off until the last minute. Pull out that fabulous calendar and start marking it up. Note the tasks that have to be done by a certain time, so then they're glaring at you every time you look at that page.
* Sometimes chores on our to-do list are unpleasant and we "save" them for another time. Just for this week, plan on doing the icky stuff first to get it out of the way. Make special marks by them so you'll really pay attention to them and get them checked off.
* Break up all those great big jobs into little pieces. It's daunting for me to look at organizing my entire craft room all in one session, so I'm taking it area by area, a few minutes at a time. It may take a few days for me to get all the way around the room, but at least I'm making progress.
* Don't be ashamed to reward yourself for your accomplishments. Women often think that they have to plug along nonstop, but there's nothing greater than crossing a little something off your list and then reading a chapter in your new book. Stop mid-morning for a cup of tea on the front porch, or in the middle of the afternoon to walk the dogs. Looking ahead to nothing but more work makes the decision to procrastinate that much easier.
* Some days I have terrible focus. I need to be concentrating right here, but my mind and my eyes are all the way over there, maybe in the same place yours go. At those moments we have to buckle down for a little while, saying we won't move until this next little part is finished. Sometimes completing a small portion of our task relieves the discouragment of going on to the next part.
Right now I'm so proud - I resisted the urge to quit typing and go find chocolate. It's not easy sometimes when we're working on a project and the thought of procrastinating crosses our mind. However, there is great victory in completing the tasks for the day that God has given us. We can complete them with His help...and then go get chocolate!
With all the hustle and bustle in the lives of today's woman, it's the easiest thing in the world to put something off until tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next week. Please tell me this sounds familiar.
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).
I have no idea what will happen in my life this afternoon, let alone tomorrow. Scripture reminds us that in the grand scheme of things, our time is very short. God treasures every moment of it with us, but He also expects us to treasure and use it wisely in a way that glorifies Him.
So what projects do you have waiting for you today? Do you have the drive and energy to get them done? Are you seriously thinking about putting some of them off until later? Knowing that later may not come, or at least not happen the way we expect, how can we fight procrastination and do our work as unto the Lord?
* Figure out exactly why you procrastinate. Are you too busy with other tasks, or has laziness crept in, or have you found better things to do instead? Once you identify why you do what you do, you can plan a strategy to change your ways.
* Set the week's priorities now so that important things aren't put off until the last minute. Pull out that fabulous calendar and start marking it up. Note the tasks that have to be done by a certain time, so then they're glaring at you every time you look at that page.
* Sometimes chores on our to-do list are unpleasant and we "save" them for another time. Just for this week, plan on doing the icky stuff first to get it out of the way. Make special marks by them so you'll really pay attention to them and get them checked off.
* Break up all those great big jobs into little pieces. It's daunting for me to look at organizing my entire craft room all in one session, so I'm taking it area by area, a few minutes at a time. It may take a few days for me to get all the way around the room, but at least I'm making progress.
* Don't be ashamed to reward yourself for your accomplishments. Women often think that they have to plug along nonstop, but there's nothing greater than crossing a little something off your list and then reading a chapter in your new book. Stop mid-morning for a cup of tea on the front porch, or in the middle of the afternoon to walk the dogs. Looking ahead to nothing but more work makes the decision to procrastinate that much easier.
* Some days I have terrible focus. I need to be concentrating right here, but my mind and my eyes are all the way over there, maybe in the same place yours go. At those moments we have to buckle down for a little while, saying we won't move until this next little part is finished. Sometimes completing a small portion of our task relieves the discouragment of going on to the next part.
Right now I'm so proud - I resisted the urge to quit typing and go find chocolate. It's not easy sometimes when we're working on a project and the thought of procrastinating crosses our mind. However, there is great victory in completing the tasks for the day that God has given us. We can complete them with His help...and then go get chocolate!
Comments
Post a Comment