On Procrastination and Half Finished. I am using this post in bald self-interest to help me focus on a couple of projects that I keep not doing. I want to do them. I really do. So what’s my problem?
At the onset of this winter, when night (and cold) started to dominate my biorhythms, I decided upon a couple of indoor projects. They had a vague end date: before the winter ends.
Both remain undone and are now a sigh and a weight every time I look over there, in that part of the house where they lay waiting. And it’s April already!
I will document how I apply the principles James Clear has laid out on how small (you know atom sized) daily or consistent actions are the way to get things done. I will use my highest priority project as a case study. I will report on my progress by the end of April, if not sooner.
This purchase has nothing to do with what I’ve learned from James Clear. But please do note how the paper is calming off-white, good quality, and with space to jot down ones to-do’s. My future self would tear off each week in victory and step-by-step mastery.
But I confess, the grid side has mostly remained untouched. We are using the blank sides of this nice paper in the kitchen for our grocery lists.
Toys, equipment, making lists, can be distractions. It’s not the same as doing and showing up.
Let me stop procrastinating and get to the heart of the matter. The Project: I really truly want to organize these photos (and some memorabilia) from my mother’s house. It’s emotionally loaded, needing a large table, messy during the process, and I know 100% I will be happy that I did it.
To review James Clear, below is his shorthand on how to create a good habit. There is depth and more context to each bullet item. Each works together as positive feedback loop. I’ll leave it to you check out his epic little book, Atomic Habits.
- The 1st law: Make it obvious.
- The 2nd law: Make it attractive.
- The 3rd law: Make it easy.
- The 4th law: Make it satisfying.
Ironically, moving this pile down to the dining room four months ago, where it would be visually obvious in our open concept space, became a giant ‘I’ll do it later’ move. I didn’t complete the plan, that is, I didn’t create a system that supported finishing. When company came over, I put the pile out of sight, then returned it to the same spot when they left.
Just writing this so far compelled me to take things out of the damn box and helped me think through the scope of this task. So here it goes:
I’ll will show up for 10 minutes each day. When our house guests come on Tuesday, I will move the project to where I can’t ignore it, in my I-still-love-my-redesigned office/studio (where I compose this very blog). I will allow myself to expand my thoughts and feelings by special posts, since that is fun and a way to articulate my whole complicated mother experience in the last few years of her life. I will celebrate when I show up for a minimum of 10 minutes. (Many options here.)
That’s it for now. I’ll catch up with you later on this, I promise.
-wb
I have a similar pile, yes organizing is good but part of our lives is revisiting those hard emotional places again and again to try to see what we want to do with them, if anything…. In the end. We all want to be tidy, but that may not be what our experience offers sometimes. ❤️
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You hit it exactly on the head Kathleen! The experience is messy with a tangle of emotions! For me there is a true drive to articulate via some semblance of organization. I’ll be able to revisit with more joy, knowing that I did that and can pass it along to family after I’m gone.