February 23, 2007 at 4:34 am
· Filed under Reflections, Uncategorized
What am I talking about??? The two P’s - Procrastination and Perfection.
These two words are going to be the end of me if I don’t figure out how to tackle them head on day in and day out. Some days I have a handle on them and other days, they rule me.
Procrastination has haunted me since I was a child. I have always figured that I just work best under pressure. The truth is, that I work best when I just get it done! For some reason, that just doesn’t seem to sink in when dealing with the more mundane tasks in life. It is hereditary - of that I am sure. My daughter gets a project at school and immediately gets it done, whereas my son (& I) will leave that thing to the night before.
Perfection is the other one. My attitude (which I know is so wrong) is that it is either perfect or not worth doing. Unfortunately, this way of thinking has affected my perception of housework - why do it - the kids will mess it up shortly. And my attitude towards fitness and weight loss - I don’t have the time to workout that I did when I was single and skinny - so why bother. And these are only two of the many facets of my life that are affected.
If I know these two P’s are so bad for me mentally, why, why, don’t I throw them to the curb? Any ideas? Strategies? Words of encouragement?
PS - I created that cool sticky with Image Chef (HT to Hsien)
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Phil wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 7:36 am
I’ll be stopping procrastinating tomorrow
Ingo wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 7:43 am
Wow! That is something odd to talk about - though most of us might know those “P´s”. And they seem to be connected.
A bad case of procrastination is right in front of me on my desk and responsible for some of the latest posts on my blog. It is a file I got from one of my partners (who solved HIS procrastination problem in giving that unsorted pile of papers to me). If you look at the file/pile you instantly know it: no way to understand what´s it all about. And that means: no way to do that task proper. Or perfect.
I remember a slogan (I think it was from NIKE): “Just do it”. That´s the point. Just do it.
Great post, Char!
Char wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 11:21 am
Phil - I see we have a similar problem.
Ingo - I wish I had about 5 different people to hand my procrastinations off to. I need to put Just do it on stickies all over the house.
Was Nelson Mandela perfect? Or how about Oprah? If you asked either of them that question, both would give you a resounding “No!” for an answer.
If that’s the case, then we can safely say that ALL great acts and great achievements are created imperfectly, couldn’t we? 
As far as the procrastination is concerned, this is why I do my Monday Motivation days. Because I, too, work best under pressue - so I just work with my natural instincts. Why fight it? So I create mini-pockets of ‘pressure’ so that nothing gets too far behind…
Is that the kind of ‘hat’ you were looking for?
Char wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Wendy - yep - just need that virtual kick in the rear from time to time.
Cool - so what are you going to get done today? 
Char wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Wendy -
So far today I have straightened up the living room and vacuumed it and I emptied the dishwasher.
I have also put the finishing touches on a web site for a client and sent it off for review.
Now, here is what I still need to do:
Clean the bathroom, sweep, declutter the countertops in the kitchen, straighten up my office, and do a handful of web edits.
Courtney wrote @ February 23rd, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I vacuumed today instead of writing and promptly wore myself out! (I’m 38 weeks pregnant).
I like that you pointed out that your procrastination is justified by thinking your work best under pressure. I make the same mistake myself.
I guess the best way to beat procrastination is to just start on one sentence..that leads to the next, and then the next….
Good luck!
Patsy wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 3:09 am
Go check out this web site: http://flylady.com it is all about procrastination ant what to do about it. I didn’t make a link so you will have to cut and paste. Lazy! I take bouts of procrastination, then I too feel guilty and wave my magic wand and take a nap. Then when I wake up - it’s all still there!
SOooooooo, did you get your stuff done?
Hugs, W
Michelle wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 6:34 am
That’s a cool graphic. Useful for all kinds of things I can imagine.
V-Grrrl wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Perfection used to hinder me but somewhere, somehow, I outgrew it in the last 10 years of so. I think becoming a parent forced me to relinquish the idea of control and everything turning out just as I’d planned!
Interestingly enough, procrastination appeared when perfection took leave. I NEVER used to put things off. I always jumped on tasks and got them done. Give me a deadline and I’d be ready a day BEFORE the deadline. Now I wrestle daily with procrastination. While I make LISTS, I don’t set daily or weekly goals. I think writing daily and weekly goals down and forcing myself to evaluate my progress every day would go a long way to making my life more productive.
Doris wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I still fight with procrastination every now and then. But somehow I have given more ‘perfection’ when it comes to housework since little Clayton comes along… there is just so much to clean up, clear up and get organised!
Doris wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I still fight with procrastination every now and then. But somehow I have given up ‘perfection’ when it comes to housework since little Clayton comes along… there is just so much to clean up, clear up and get organised!
Char wrote @ February 24th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Wendy - I got everything but my office done - and I still have an overflowing inbox of stuff to do.
Everyone else - thanks for all your words of encouragement - I am familiar with Flylady - I have been a Flybaby for years. Just not sure if I’ll ever get my wings.
[…] One of the things on my procrastination list has been getting all the patches on my daughter’s Brownie vest. She joined Brownies in September and has been on my case ever since about getting her all the gear (which the never wear anyway). In January I conceded and bought her the vest. […]
Kim wrote @ March 2nd, 2007 at 3:18 am
Is procrastination another word for fear? I’ve had an envelope on my coffee table for a week which needs to be sent to a potential distributor of the-petset.com merch…I haven’t figured out why I haven’t sent it yet.
Char wrote @ March 2nd, 2007 at 11:52 am
Kim, I think you are on to something. Procrastination is often related to fear.
[…] said, I am not always the most productive person. I frequently fall victim to my two arch enemies, procrastination and perfection. I have to really take great care in which projects I take on to avoid these two menaces. Over the […]
maybe rewarding yourself with a small treat once you’ve accomplished your to-do-list?
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