Procrastinating? Who’s procrastinating?

That would be me!  I know I’ve shared in the past that it takes a great deal of thought to plan and the these blogs.  I want to offer a useful tool so I try to plan thoroughly.  Today,  have struggled with my topic and even the simple act of sitting down to type.  Thus, today has become one large game of “how long can I wait to type something?”

I know I espouse NOT procrastinating, but sometimes we have to stand against our beliefs, too.  That might be today’s message!  Nothing is black and white.  When I say “don’t procrastinate,” what it really means is “do not procrastinate when you are ready to complete [a task].”  It is unrealistic to think that we will always be ready, always know a proper response, always have our acts together (although I am quite envious of the ability of some of you to always appear ready for anything! - You or your spouse know to whom I refer!) 😜

Let’s focus on the bigger picture then.  This post isn’t just about my troubles with blogging and procrastination today.  It’s about mankind’s ability to be flexible with our time, our energy, our desire and ability to enact change, and so much more.  I know that I’m a stubborn, willful human who likes to float into and out of the idea of that situations can be concrete and static.  In reality, very little in life functions in this way - neither in nature or in human-influenced situations.  Even stubborn ol’ me knows that.    

So what can we do when we get stuck in a rut? Perhaps its a seemingly endless cycle of procrastination that is negatively affecting our work, our relationships or our ability to make decisions.  Perhaps we are stuck in a boring cycle of the same items for dinner every day simply because we haven’t been inspired to something new.  Or it could be more odious to contemplate - perhaps we are struggling with deeper  issues for which we need to find meaning or purpose.   

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to this question.  It does come down to the individual.  All is not lost, however.  There are things you can do to get over the hump.  One strategy that I use when I’m stuck in that heinous cycle of procrastination:  set a timer.  I give myself 20 minutes of think—time.  When the timer ends, I engage in the waiting activity.  Even if the engagement is simply to step into the situation and observe.  If it’s my blog, I type one sentence, and often the next simply flows out because I have started the process.  Try it sometime.  If you’re worried, extend your timer to 30 minutes.  I don’t know that the amount of time is as important as simply giving yourself the deadline.  When the situation you’re struggling with is other than procrastination, other strategies will serve you.  The link below will take you article from Psych Central.  It covers a number os situations from embracing emotions to connecting to your support system.  It’s an easy read with great suggestions.  I hope you find it to be useful and provide you with hope!  

Strategies for tough situations

Now, before today ends, I do want to share the answers to yesterday’s Connections game.  

1.  A baseball, a salad, a football:  These are all things that are TOSSED.

2.  Corn, baby, olive:  These are all OILS.

3. The Navy, a deli, an absent teacher:  These all have SUBS.

Oh and Socorro has shared one more set of connections to challenge all of us today.  Here you go:

Oils, subs:  How are these connected?

I’ll share the answer in Monday’s post.  In the meantime, I hope you all have a restful weekend!  Try to squeeze in some fun.