26 February 2013

Procrastination is overrated.

'If you never ask 
you may never know
If you never stretch
you may never grow
If you never take action
you may never go'
~ Jennifer Gayle.

Wise words and ones I often hear myself telling my kids. But do I model it for them?
If I was honest with myself the answer is
sometimes
but not often enough.

For those of you who know the enneagram you will understand when I say I am a 9.
A 9 who finds it very easy to procrastinate.
Instead of doing what I really need to do,
I will do little, less important, things.
I also like to have structure and routine otherwise nothing gets done.
Once I get going it is easy for me to keep going,
but there are times (and sometimes a lot of times)
when I have a hard time getting started.
Unfortunately I can become very critical of myself when I procrastinate
which in turn leads to anxiety and more unproductive time.
A couple of good books teaching on the Enneagram.

Right now my life is very, VERY full.
Busy and full.
And this is not likely to change for some time.
There is certainly no room for procrastination.
No room for unproductive time.
No room for me to get anxious, overwhelmed and worn out.

Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining.
I choose to include all that makes my world full.  
I love being a mum and all that goes with that.
I want to be a nurse and so I chose to finish my degree (albeit slowly).
I desire to create and travel this new creative life.

My question is how do I work with my weaknesses (ie: procrastination, etc.)
and do all that I need to do and desire to do?

After a lovely chat and catch up with Steve late last night I could see some answers.

I can ask.
Whether for help, assistance, a cuddle or a chat.

I can stretch myself.
Letting go of fear and anxiety.
Giving myself small achieveable goals which lead me further down the path I have choosen.

 I can take action.
I can work on being more disciplined, organised and balanced.
Be intentional about what I say yes and no too.

And most importantly
interspersed amongst everything else.
I can stop being so hard on myself and cut myself some slack.

I am OK.
I am loved.
I am cherished.

And so are each of you.  xx
                                                                                                

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful post. I can relate to the self criticism. Crazy how we can treat ourselves so harshly, when we would never treat anyone else like that. All the best with your busy life.

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    1. Thank you Adriana. I seem to hear that a lot lately. People self criticizing. You are right. Most of us would never be that harsh to others yet we are so harsh on ourselves. The question is why?? Thanks for your best wishes about my busy life. As I read that I realised I must have some room as I had time to read your comment and reply. Or is that procrastination rearing its ugly head again. Thanks for stopping by. xx Jo

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  2. That Canberra Chick26 February 2013 at 11:46

    You already know how much I relate to this post, and that I'm a million times worse than you are when it comes to procrastination. What you may not know is that I'm missing you. I'm so sorry that the last time we got to talk it all ended up being about me. I so want to hear what is going on with you. What has been going on with you. What I've missed that's important.
    But I also hear you when you say that your life is full. And I don't want to contribute to you feeling unproductive. So if you ever do find yourself with room to breathe, I'd love to chat.

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    1. So glad we had that chat right after you wrote this message. I am missing you too. A lot. Which is probably why I keep talking to Steve about our Canberra trip. And then the other day I was looking for a book and when I came across Jean Becomes a Nurse I thought of you. Funny what we remember about conversations. I don't remember our last chat being all about you. Please don't ever feel like my full life has no room for you. My special people always have a spot. No matter what. Love you Canberra Chick. xx Jo

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    2. Oh and Renae, please don't think I consider our phone conversation procrastination. I consider it food for the soul. It was just what I needed today. Thankyou for being available.

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