The Procrastination Pit – It All Starts With A To-Do List
Posted on Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Stop Procrastination with a Do-It List.
We’ve all been trained to start the day, week, or month with a to-do list. We’ve been told that no goal can be accomplished without making a long list of things to do to arrive at our goal.
I’ve been writing to-do lists faithfully for many, many, many years now. And, I’m still a world-class procrastinator. Why is that? I examined my tendency to procrastinate recently as I was making my New Year’s Resolutions. Catch up with my thoughts by clicking on this link: You Only Need One New Year’s Resolution – Happy Procrastination Free 2011
Now, I can look at my to-do list all day long and find reasons to put off any number of things on that page. It’s puzzling. Why would a perfectly able-bodied person who has a relatively sound mind put off things on her to-do list? And, I’m not talking about things that can wait until tomorrow; I’m talking about things that are still on my to-do list for months, or even years!
Let’s get one thing straight first – I’m not lazy. When a project is crucial, I dig right in. When I walked my three marathons, I printed out my training calendar and went right to it. When I want or need to do something, I do it.
Ah ha! That’s what’s happening! I just had a ‘light bulb’ over my head moment. “When I want or need to do something, I do it.” That is the key – Do It!
Things on a To-Do list seem so arbitrary. Contrast that by putting things on a Do-It list and see how those tasks appear to you. “Do It” is an order, not something you can ignore, or slide onto a list for later.
If our goals were laid out in the same way, on a Do-It list, those goals become concrete, definite, must do, will do, done.
Starting today, I’m throwing out all my to-do lists and starting over. I’ll report back in and let you know how it’s going. Let me know, too, if this sounds like a good idea in your life.
p.s. No, this is not a new theory, but I just caught on! If you want to get off your ‘buts’ and Do It, you might want to get a little help by reading Do It! Let’s Get Off Our Buts by Peter McWilliams. Good luck with your adventure into eliminating procrastination from your life for once and for all.
I’ve been experimenting with making a list of the 5 things I must do the next day before I close down for the day. Of course still I have the big list that I can continue to procrastinate on, but I complete my list each day! 😉
Hi Pamela – Good idea. I like how you limit your ‘must do’ list to 5. It seems more doable that way, and not so likely to push off until tomorrow due to overload/overwhelm. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate the time you took away from your to-do list! 😉