I remember back in college when one of my friends was getting ready to go on her first date ever. She was nervous and excited. When I asked her if she needed anything, she replied, "Yes. A way to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 hours!"
We chuckled about it, but that statement has stuck with me.
Whenever I have an event approaching - my birthday, a party, someone's wedding, I usually know well in advance that it's coming (especially if it's an annual event like a birthday). Knowing in advance means that I have the advantage of actually being able to plan and prepare for whatever I need to achieve before that date. Whether it's writing a paper for a conference, buying a present for a birthday, or losing some weight to fit into a particular dress for an event ... I have opportunities to work in a systematic way so that I am not frantically rushing to get things done at the last minute.
That's at least ideally how it should be.
However, procrastination is more my reality -- although I am getting better at not waiting to get things done until the last minute.
Up until last year, I was really was a big time procrastinator. I'd spend so much more time thinking and planning than actually doing. That would always leave me rushing to get things done at the last minute. An event would be coming up and inevitably the night before/the night of, I'd be upset that I hadn't worked harder to lose weight so that I would feel good about myself that night.
Although knowing the 'deadline date' in advance does give you time to work towards your goal, I think you can get sidetracked by the 'one won't hurt' mentality. Taking one day off from writing won't hurt, waiting one more day won't hurt, eating one piece won't hurt ...
If it truly is 'one', then sure, it won't hurt, but what I've seen is that one often turns to two which turns to three and so on.
I feel like over the past 18 months, I've been much more consistent in my good habits. I've been doing more than thinking/planning. Things haven't been perfect, but I've had many, many more good days than bad. I'm happy with the habits I've developed, and I feel positive about the things I have to still work on. Sometimes it does get overwhelming, but not to the point where I feel like I can't push forward and accomplish my goals.
This positivity is something new for me, and it's a feeling I'm really enjoying.
For the first time in ages I'm not approaching the end of the year thinking - what have I been doing? Why haven't I worked harder? Why am I so far away from my goals?
Shedding that negativity and dread is helping me stay focused and will hopefully help me end this year on a high note.
I started off this month with a great morning workout -- weights (whatever I could manage with my wrist) + HIIT. In the evening I had Kajukenbo where we started learning new things for the purple belt -- exciting!
We chuckled about it, but that statement has stuck with me.
Whenever I have an event approaching - my birthday, a party, someone's wedding, I usually know well in advance that it's coming (especially if it's an annual event like a birthday). Knowing in advance means that I have the advantage of actually being able to plan and prepare for whatever I need to achieve before that date. Whether it's writing a paper for a conference, buying a present for a birthday, or losing some weight to fit into a particular dress for an event ... I have opportunities to work in a systematic way so that I am not frantically rushing to get things done at the last minute.
That's at least ideally how it should be.
However, procrastination is more my reality -- although I am getting better at not waiting to get things done until the last minute.
Up until last year, I was really was a big time procrastinator. I'd spend so much more time thinking and planning than actually doing. That would always leave me rushing to get things done at the last minute. An event would be coming up and inevitably the night before/the night of, I'd be upset that I hadn't worked harder to lose weight so that I would feel good about myself that night.
Although knowing the 'deadline date' in advance does give you time to work towards your goal, I think you can get sidetracked by the 'one won't hurt' mentality. Taking one day off from writing won't hurt, waiting one more day won't hurt, eating one piece won't hurt ...
If it truly is 'one', then sure, it won't hurt, but what I've seen is that one often turns to two which turns to three and so on.
I feel like over the past 18 months, I've been much more consistent in my good habits. I've been doing more than thinking/planning. Things haven't been perfect, but I've had many, many more good days than bad. I'm happy with the habits I've developed, and I feel positive about the things I have to still work on. Sometimes it does get overwhelming, but not to the point where I feel like I can't push forward and accomplish my goals.
This positivity is something new for me, and it's a feeling I'm really enjoying.
For the first time in ages I'm not approaching the end of the year thinking - what have I been doing? Why haven't I worked harder? Why am I so far away from my goals?
Shedding that negativity and dread is helping me stay focused and will hopefully help me end this year on a high note.
I started off this month with a great morning workout -- weights (whatever I could manage with my wrist) + HIIT. In the evening I had Kajukenbo where we started learning new things for the purple belt -- exciting!
back at the gym
If procrastination was a gift, Id be amazing!!! i do it so well!!!
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