UN-Procrastination Day

One evening earlier this week, while sitting in front of the fire trying to compile my to-do list for the next day, I spotted a magazine that I had brought home from the library.  "I'll just read for a bit," I thought as I picked up the magazine and started to read.  I read about how to make a good first impression, some yummy rice recipes, and how to shortcut my spring cleaning (yes, I know it's only January, but I'm still working on my spring cleaning from 2008).  Then I came to an article entitled:  "This Is Your Brain on Procrastination".  Yawning, I thought, "I'll read that tomorrow" -- yep, that was my immediate reaction!  After having a good laugh at myself, and deciding that I might be able to use a few pointers, I settled in to read the article right away.

It turns out that procrastination is a biological thing ... no wait, it's a chemical thing within the body ... hmm, I'm not sure I got that right either ... it's a science thing -- hey, I was an English major, what do I know?  Anyway, the article claimed that procrastinating is something that most people do, but that the trick to overcoming it is to outsmart your brain.  It then suggested 7 ways to curb your procrastinating habit.  The first suggestion was to do the most dreaded job first (a.k.a. eat your frog first).  Wow, this actually relates to what I am working on this week!  (Does that mean that I can call it research instead of procrastination -- that's logical, right?)  Suggestions 2 through 6 were equally interesting, but the 7th suggestion was to have an UN-procrastination day -- a day where you make a list of all the things that you have been putting off and plow through as many of them as possible.  "That's IT!"  I thought, "That's exactly what we need to do!"

So Saturday was named "UN-Procrastination Day" (by the way, I Googled "UN-procrastination Day" while writing this post and have read 3 articles -- just call it more research!).  In the hopes of covering the most ground, we made 2 lists; one for me and one for Paul.  The article talked about a list full of errand-type tasks (things outside the house) but our procrastination lists were very home based, so we decided to tweek the idea a little bit and tackle our house lists.

My list looked something like this:
Christmas Thank yous -- I don't know why, but I have been avoiding this like the plague!
De-Christmas-ify the house -- it's always such a sad day when the tree comes down
Make a blogging schedule for the week -- I need a way to get back on track
Pants and Socks -- I have a pile that is approaching mountain status that need fixing in some way

Paul's list looked like this:
New door for the shed
Bathroom -- patch
                -- sanding
                -- paint trim
Install baseboards in hall
Put down transition strips

The lists don't look lengthy, but once we took into account the time required for each job, plus the fact that we would have 4 little helpers around who would still require some attention and feeding (they are funny that way), we thought it better not to get over ambitious.

By the end of the day, we were very pleased with the results and although we didn't get to everything on the lists, it was a very productive day.  Projects completed:  Christmas thank yous, all Christmas decorations put away (I even fixed anything that needed it before putting it away and took out anything that I hadn't used in the last couple of years!).  The weather didn't co-operate for making a new shed door, but Paul got the bathroom patched and sanded, and we now have baseboards and transition strips in the hall.  I guess that the pants and socks will be my project for the week.

 All in all a great success!  It is such a great feeling to be able to cross chores off our list, but even better is that they were tasks that have been on there for way too long.  Now to celebrate, but first ... just kidding!

One Bite at a Time

Okay, so the new year is upon us.  Have you made any resolutions?  Me?  I would like to be more organized, both at home and in mind.  I would like to live intentionally.  I would like to have more time for the things that really matter to me.  In short, I would like to live a simpler life. 

Sounds so ... simple, doesn't it?  But when I think about all that "simple" implies, I get kind of overwhelmed.  You too?  This year I am resolving to make some of those changes that need to be made One Bite at a Time.  Are you with me?

Click here to visit Simple Mom

One Bite at a Time is an e-book written by Tsh Oxenreider.  I have decided to use this great book as a jumping off point for making some changes and moving toward a simpler life.  I don't remember how I first came across Tsh and her blog, Simple Mom, but it has become one of my go-to places for inspiration and information for all things "simple".  She writes gracefully and honestly about life with children and trying to juggle all the things that need to be done, while searching for the right balance of work and play.

Tsh's new e-book, One Bite at a Time -- 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler is just right for new year's resolutions like mine because it's divided into 52 projects -- one for every week of the year (how convenient).  Each chapter contains great information to get you started and motivated.  There are also links to other resources if you are looking to learn a little more about a certain project.  I have been reading through my copy for a couple of months now but, shamefully, have not yet put many into practice.  Well, that is all going to change starting today!  The chapters are short and can be tackled in any order that suits you -- I am starting with chapter 39 (Create a Daily to-do list) and combining it with chapter 1 (Eat your Frog) -- see you can combine them too (the frog is fine, don't worry)!  Some will be easy, some will be hard, and some I will skip altogether.  But that is the beauty of this book, you can take what is relevant to you and apply it to your life in a manner that suits you.

So that is my plan for the New Year.  If you would like to join me, simply click on any of the links (where you can find lots more information and a sample chapter to peruse) in this post or in the right sidebar -- until January 10th, it's only $4.  I hope to be able to report regularly (dare I say weekly?) on what and how I am doing.  Feel free to join in the conversation and share what your resolutions are and how you are doing.  I'm off to decide what flavour of frog I will eat tomorrow!