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.
