Momentum

It's important to make plans for tomorrow, next week or next year. But there is a difference between planning for tomorrow and living there, making so many plans in our heads that our focus remains in the future rather than the here and now...We must focus on today and the tasks at hand while leaving the worries of what will happen tomorrow in God's hands. ~ Lose it for Life Day by Day

It seems my mind is always swimming with lists of things I need to do and want to do and often times that prevents me from doing anything. I almost feel paralyzed to act while the to do list piles up around me. I begin to procrastinate because I don't know where to start. Then I really lose focus and would rather sit and play a computer game or read blogs than accomplish anything. However, if I can get moving and start seeing some progress, I feel AWESOME and that momentum keeps me going. Often times, just setting a timer for 15 minutes and telling myself I only have to work for 15 minutes is enough to get the pendulum swinging again. That is what I am doing today - 15 minutes of work on my to do list and then a 15 minute break to relax, read blogs, play on the computer, whatever.

I got up at 8:30 this morning and I already feel like I have accomplished a lot:
had my quiet time
washed, dried, and remade the bed
emptied the dishwasher
had breakfast (Sugar Pop cooked)
filed out a rebate form
paid a few bills and reconciled the checkbook
and in 5 minutes we will be going for a walk

I see a very productive day on the horizon and it makes me happy.

Readiness

READINESS
"God called to him...And he said, 'Here am I'" Exodus 3:4
When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, we give no answer. Moses' reply revealed that he he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry, "Here I am." Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty.
Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing--it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God's plan may be we are there and ready. Whenenver any duty presents itself, we hear God's voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in mean duties, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. "That they may be one, even as We are one."
Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready--he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself. ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

I thought it was interesting that this was my devotional reading this morning, the day following my post about procrastination. I need to break this procrastination habit so that I can be ready for the things God wants me to do.

Perfectionism and Procrastination

Today Beula wrote about this topic. A few days ago, Vickie mentioned the same topic. I suffer from these. Actually, I have a tendency to be proud of my perfectionism, but unfortunately it leads to procrastination which is quite embarrassing to me. I hate that I am a procrastinator. It causes me many difficulties.

For example, on Friday afternoon at work I was doing property tax renditions - that were due on Monday. They HAD TO BE in the mail on Friday and I was doing them at the last minute. I have had the forms since JANUARY! Why do I put these things off? I don't know if that is related to my perfectionism...or if it is just matter of not working on things until they absolutely positively have to be done.

I feel so much better when I stay on top of things that need to be done. But when I start lagging behind, I become paralyzed and I don't accomplish anything. I just can't get started. It is like my brain and my body just freeze and all my mind wants to do is play solitaire on the computer, while projects pile up around me.

However, if I can get myself moving and keep the momentum going, I can accomplish so much. I can be very efficient with my time and even amaze myself at how much I can do a little amount of time.

The problem is getting started. A helpful thing I learned from Fly Lady is setting a timer. Just setting a timer for 15 minutes and telling myself that I only have to work for 15 minutes is often all I need to get myself moving. And then once I am moving, I tend to stay in motion. But there are still days where I can not even motivate myself to set the timer. Why is that?

(By the way, I finally got my houseplants watered this evening. Poor houseplants, they are being neglected.)

Procrastination

I am a procrastinator. It is a really bad habit of mine. I always seem to be putting things off until the last minute. This morning I got a message (I believe it was from God) that I need to work on eliminating this bad habit.

I prepare a newsletter (print and web) for the local Emmaus community. I had not finished the one for February. I get up this morning...and my computer has rebooted itself and I've got a message about a critical file being missing. Just Great! Thanks to Sugar Pop searching the web on his computer (fortunately we have THREE in the house), I was able to at least get it running although there is still something wrong. I was able to forward my file for the print newsletter to my gmail account "just in case" it went down again. It occurred to me that IF I hadn't been procrastinating, I would have already finished the newsletter and I wouldn't have been quite so stressed about the situation.

So...today I have been on an anti-procrastination kick. Here is a list of things I have accomplished today. Other than the newsletter, they are all things I did consider procrastinating on, but I decided that if God is giving me a message to Do It Now Girl (DING!), that I better do it.
1. Finished print newsletter and forwarded to the printer.
2. Finished web newsletter and uploaded.
3. Checked the mail at the UPS store.
4. Got my oil changed (due 1/28)
5. Got my inspection sticker (due last month - grace period runs out Monday)
6. Filled up with gas (down to a 1/4 tank)
7. Put more toilet paper in the master bathroom

Hopefully this anti-procrastination quick will last through the weekend!

Heavenly Father, Help me to remember the message you have given me. Help me to make good use of my time instead of putting things off until later. Later you might have something else planned for me and I need to be available for your service. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.