I've been wanting to write this post for awhile. I've been working on a mantra of sorts for the past month or so that has been fairly enlightening for me. However, I deliberately put off writing about it because I wanted to have a better grasp on it first. Turns out, the procrastination is kind of ironic. My mantra is this:
Do It Now!Sigh. Easy to say, hard to do.
When the idea first came to me, I pondered a lot about the pros and cons of having such a philosophy. I also tried to weigh the practicality of it--was I going to drive myself crazy forever trying to reach its unreachable grasp? Or could I become that person?
My conclusion? I think I can do it! (See disclaimer)
*I confess that I haven't totally embraced it into my life; it's not my MO (mode of operation) quite yet. But I really, truly believe that I can become a non-procrastinator. It's all about remembering the purpose behind doing it and keeping a few rules in mind. Here are some things (in no way comprehensive) I've learned about "Do It Now."
1. If it takes less than one minute, don't think--just act! Put that coat on the hanger, pick up that piece of trash, respond to that e-mail, etc. You'll feel so much better and you'll find a little more space in your mind to focus on other things.
2. My physical well-being affects everything I do. Therefore, if I want to be productive (whether that be productively working, exercising, or even playing) I need to feel good. This is simpler than you may think. Eat when you're hungry. Go to sleep when you're tired (ok, ok, I know that's easier said than done for you moms). Take a walk when your eyes start to glaze over and your legs feel cramped because you've sat at your desk too long. Put on a sweater when you're cold. Go to the bathroom! (How many times have you not been able to fully enjoy your food, a conversation, your nighttime rest, etc. because you had to go to the bathroom. Ok, maybe I'm the only one who puts that off.) You get the idea.
3. More on sleep: when your alarm goes off, get out of bed! This morning I was supposed to get up and do Yoga. I did not get up. My justification? I went to bed an hour later than planned. Let's be honest here. Did I feel that much more awake/rested when I woke up at 7:00 than I would have at 6:00? No! It always takes me 5 or 10 minutes to snap awake, so why not get up and do something that will give me real energy?
Also, if you wake up 30 minutes or less before your alarm (or your child) goes off, you might as well get up. The rest of your sleep is not going to be very deep, so you might as well use that time to do something you haven't had time for. Like shaving! This one is even harder for me than getting up to my alarm. When I wake up too early, I feel defiant and want to say to the world, "You can't make me get up before I decide. In fact, I'm going to sleep in for 30 minutes now. Take that!"
4. When something pops into your head, either do it now, or write it down. Because chances are it will pop out of your head as quickly as it popped in. This may mean interrupting the task you are currently doing (so long as the task you are currently doing isn't easily forgettable). I have always had a problem with not being able to transition easily from one task to another. Once I'm doing one thing, I can't move on to something else until that one thing is done. But this, I'm discovering, really leads to lower productivity. I'm not talking about being a crazy multi-tasker. But I think you'll find that you don't lose that much ground on your first task, and bonus--you just got something else done in the meantime!
On writing it down--I have to be careful here because there's a part of my brain that feels like I've completed a task when I write it down. Post-its are much more effective for me than an organized list--I hate clutter, and I know I can't get rid of the Post-it until I do the task. However, that works much better at work than it does at home.
5. Do the dishes. Enough said? Sometimes it just looks too overwhelming or I'm just too tired. "I'll relax now by watching this show, and then I'll have more energy to do the dishes," I tell myself. But what about that nagging awareness of how messy your kitchen looks? Do the dishes now, and then you'll really be able to relax!
6. Also take out the trash and make the bed.
All of this is easier said than done--the days I really took this to heart were great! But often, the next day I wasn't up to it again. It's important to have balance and prioritize. Some days, there really will be something more important than doing the dishes--you'll know deep down in your heart when the excuse is valid or not.
It's hard to prioritize. But I'm realizing that it's like we've been told over and over: Put the most important things first, and everything else will fall into place. Say your prayers, read your scriptures, be with your family. The "Do It Now" idea seems to be most applicable to things. But I really think that it can be so easily applied to people. Have you received a request from your spouse or child to do something with them, and you say, "I will after . . . "? Sometimes we really can't stop what we're doing, but I propose we [I] limit that statement. Get a prompting to make a phone call? Do it now! Want to go on a walk with your sweetheart because it's so beautiful outside? Do it now! Somebody needs their feet rubbed? Do it now!
*My purpose in writing this post is to remind myself of the reasons why I chose this as my mantra and the ways in which I want to live it. I would hope that no one would read this post and feel any sort of guilt feelings. This is the way that I've found gives me motivation. Something else may be a better motivator for you. So I just want to make that disclaimer here.
I've been volunteering A LOT for the volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) program at BYU. With training and actual volunteering I've volunteered a total of around 74-75 hours throughout this semester. By the end of this week though I'll have 6 more. I am tooting my own horn a little bit here, but it goes to show even though you have a part-time job, full-time education, you can still make time for volunteering. Volunteering has been mostly good and has kept me pretty entertained during the time I am volunteering, but hasn't had a real big good feeling on me. And it may not. I am not volunteering for the glory of men, or the glory of God really, just because its important to give back and I feel like I am doing that a little bit by getting a bunch of people money.
