I love procrastinating!
It isn’t always a bad thing to take your time to sit and think about whatever pops into your head. Some of my best ideas and business plans were born out of daydreaming.
Allowing ourselves time to ponder is important I feel. Some may feel it’s lazy and that says more about them than you and another conversation all together.
Everyday I plan to do three things that I need to do and one that I want to do.
Having a ‘power hour’ to do three bitesize projects; pay the bills, write that email and plan healthy meals for the weeks food shop need doing. In the morning before 11am is when I’m at my sharpest. So, getting stuff done makes for a successful day. Small wins are a great boost.
A sticking point for me is exercise. I don’t really like doing exercise if I’m honest.
I like the way it makes me feel afterwards and that my clothes don’t look so ‘shoe horned’ onto my lovely pear shape, but I still don’t like working out. As our years advance we can’t keep expecting our bodies to be quite so forgiving can we?
I have friends who love to work out. One who would go to the gym and classes twice a day if she could. Bootcamp regulars that are often hobbling or strapped up with tape to ‘repair’ self inflicted damage are a popular sight at the school gates. I always convince myself that this is exactly why I don’t do it. Nice try Kelly, but those self inflicted extra lb’s won’t loose themselves.
We can, of course cause damage to our beautiful bodies by not exercising; but where is the sweet spot. I think I have found it!
I’ve started doing HIIT training for half an hour 4 times a week and although I still don’t practically enjoy it, it’s a small time commitment for visible results. I feel stronger each day and although my extra weight is slow to melt away on the scales, I have more lean muscle and my clothes are looking better on. I have had a few compliments too, which was nice.
I listened to an audio book a few months ago about getting things done. The simple technique involved having a starting ritual and this could be as simple as saying 5,4,3,2,1 to yourself and just starting … that’s it. So, I gave it a go.
Wow, what a revelation! who would have thought that something so simple could have a HUGE impact on all areas of your life.
Her method behind it went something like this. When we are tired, bored, lonely or a little unhappy we often talk ourselves out of things, especially those that are difficult. It’s at this point the negative self talk starts. You know, that voice that pops up uninvited to your pity party to remind you that whatever you were about to do was a bad idea because … you are fat, stupid, have no friends or ability … blah, blah, blah! I like to call this voice evil edna. Hello … It’s the feeling part of your brain trying to sabotage your energy again.
The starting ritual she suggested must be carried out as soon as you have the intensional thought to do something. Literally … I need to pay that bill today 5,4,3,2,1 … move towards the computer. I’d like to go for a bike ride 5,4,3,2,1 walk towards the bike and put your helmet on. If this is done straight away your immediate thoughts move to the pre frontal cortex of your brain and cannot get sabotaged by negative emotion.
Just start. That’s all you have to do. The rest will follow and you’ll feel a positive wave of ‘can do’ sweeping over you. It’s a good habit to get into and will absolutely love you back.
Recognising the need to relax and reflect is healthy too.
There’s nothing quite like making a mug of hot tea and taking yourself back to bed or to a cosy spot with a magazine to just chill.
The flip side of procrastinating is of course is putting things off because they are difficult, boring, require extra patience or attention and fear. Fear that if we start something we will perhaps fail.
The 5 second rule can work here too. Just start moving, mentally or physically toward your idea. Lean into it and explore even for 5 minutes. Most creative ideas start this way.
We can talk ourselves out of most things, but putting it off will only come back and bite you on the bum.
Try it x
pricklypear 