My Mom sent me the following email:
Having somehow managed to be super productive of late I thought about how I could pass on whatever wisdom I've garnered. After I sent the message I realized that I should share this wisdom with the world - or at least my readers, and those random people who find me while Googling "Underoos" or something less benign.
So, here are the tips I sent my Mom on how to stop being a slug - use one at a time or all in conjunction to pack a real punch:
1) Do not sit down when you get home.
2) Put on music, fast music - not the TV (unless the task at hand can be done in front of the TV - like crafting).
3) Depending on the project, set a timer.
4) Reward/bribe yourself somehow - a half hour of TV, money. I just "paid" myself $5 for finally taking some action on some boxes I wanted to sort and donate. Now I can buy a mocha latte with no guilt. I earned it!
5) Remember that your future self will thank you.
6) Do one task only. Do not get distracted by another task (unless you can do them at the same time, like laundry and pretty much anything else). If necessary, write down the other task you discovered you need to do and do it some other day.
7) Sometimes being a grown-up is forcing yourself to do something. Sometimes it's allowing yourself to sit on the couch and eat bon bons. You've just got to find the balance. [Question - have any of you out there ever actually eaten a bon bon? I think that may need to be a goal of mine. Goals are good. Goals involving bon bons are even better.]
8) Prioritize - what will make you feel the best if you accomplish it? Of the top three of those things, what can be done the fastest for the most instant gratification?
9) A "To Do" list is always helpful. Crossing things off is cathartic, but the act of writing them down is as well. Instead of your brain spinning out of control with the number of things you need/want/should do they are captured on a piece of paper. The more I have stuck in my head the more overwhelmed I am and the less I actually do. I get stymied in my own thoughts.
There you have it, Sassy Pant's anti-slug suggestions. Now, go out and be productive! And report back if any of these helped.
I haven't heard from you in a while - busy? I've been totally busy at work, myself. It's always either feast or famine! Then, when I get home, I'm a lazy slug because I'm so beat! Then I get depressed about being a lazy slug, so I feel even less like doing anything. I'm working on snapping out of it. Arrggh.
Having somehow managed to be super productive of late I thought about how I could pass on whatever wisdom I've garnered. After I sent the message I realized that I should share this wisdom with the world - or at least my readers, and those random people who find me while Googling "Underoos" or something less benign.
So, here are the tips I sent my Mom on how to stop being a slug - use one at a time or all in conjunction to pack a real punch:
1) Do not sit down when you get home.
2) Put on music, fast music - not the TV (unless the task at hand can be done in front of the TV - like crafting).
3) Depending on the project, set a timer.
4) Reward/bribe yourself somehow - a half hour of TV, money. I just "paid" myself $5 for finally taking some action on some boxes I wanted to sort and donate. Now I can buy a mocha latte with no guilt. I earned it!
5) Remember that your future self will thank you.
6) Do one task only. Do not get distracted by another task (unless you can do them at the same time, like laundry and pretty much anything else). If necessary, write down the other task you discovered you need to do and do it some other day.
7) Sometimes being a grown-up is forcing yourself to do something. Sometimes it's allowing yourself to sit on the couch and eat bon bons. You've just got to find the balance. [Question - have any of you out there ever actually eaten a bon bon? I think that may need to be a goal of mine. Goals are good. Goals involving bon bons are even better.]
8) Prioritize - what will make you feel the best if you accomplish it? Of the top three of those things, what can be done the fastest for the most instant gratification?
9) A "To Do" list is always helpful. Crossing things off is cathartic, but the act of writing them down is as well. Instead of your brain spinning out of control with the number of things you need/want/should do they are captured on a piece of paper. The more I have stuck in my head the more overwhelmed I am and the less I actually do. I get stymied in my own thoughts.
There you have it, Sassy Pant's anti-slug suggestions. Now, go out and be productive! And report back if any of these helped.
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