I was gonna write about this, but i didn’t feel like it…lol..just kidding!
In the past few months as i have been mostly absent from here, i have experienced a whole lot of those days. It’s been on my mind to write about it here so I’m gonna give it a try.
We all know about this pesky little problem. You wake up and know that you have a hundred things to do – from running errands, getting to the gym, making those phone calls to addressing relationship issues and paying the bills. Life , unless you live in and ashram and subsist on psychedelic mushrooms everyday, contains a whole host of what i call “have to’s”.
Now , we could get into what is a have-to, want-to, or should-do debate but i’m gonna focus on all of those as being a part of the average adult persons life in general. And sometimes you just do NOT feel like dealing with any of them.
Deep down you KNOW that you do have a choice. It may not seem like it, but you really do. You don’t have to go to the gym, you could allow your body to rot and decay. You don’t have to pay the bills- you could just get into debt and lose it all- including a place to live, your car, etc. You don’t have to to run those errands- you could just forget about them and let the chips fall where they may. But this isn’t really what we want in the long run.We know that by doing those things that aren’t always pleasurable in the short run, we can avoid discomfort or even tragedy down the road.
So , how do we deal with it?
Well, first and most importantly i want to say i am not suggesting that we never take a day off, or a vacation or just turn off our phones or laptops and just enjoy nothingness.I believe we all NEED those moments because they get us through the overwhelming ones that pummel us like waves in a maelstrom.Take a day , a week or a few hours for yourself on occasion to just relax- obviously.
But on MOST days you are gonna have to get up and get through it some how. And here is how i do just that:
- I make a list- or several lists- from day to day, week to week, month to month- in my little notebook from the dollar store. It helps me plan ahead so that when i do get my butt out of bed, i have a sense of what i need to accomplish in what time frame. Always, always know at least what your next day encompasses
- i need to have things in place the night before so that i don’t waste time or energy on the small stuff- finding items, backtracking, and/or having to sift through piles of paper or laundry. I don’t have to think about what i want for breakfast or what to wear either if i plan ahead.I take items out to my car that i might forget otherwise.I plan what i will put into my lunch for work. I clean up any messes that might distract me ( dirty dishes, overflowing trash, etc)
- when i wake up ( for me- i do not set an alarm unless i have an appointment) my first thought has to be “I have XYZ to do today and by getting up now, i can get started”. I cannot allow myself to think of a dozen excuses, or how i can procrastinate, or how nice and comfy my bed feels.
- Once i rise i have a pretty set ritual. If that ritual gets interrupted( and sometimes it does) the rest of my day is usually worse for it. So i try my absolute best to be stick to a routine.
- I also visualize myself accomplishing these tasks while i am going through said ritual.
- For me, waking up takes about 2 hours. Yup- you read that correctly.To be fully awake and productive my ritual includes coffee, catching up with emails , messages and social media, as well as a hot bath. This sets me up for success and i am ready to tackle the day.
- Once i have accomplished getting my body and mind in motion, the next step is getting out the door or on the phone, etc. This is where i tend to get stuck more often than not and my mind begins to play tag with thoughts about how i can avoid or rearrange things so i don’t have to deal with life…haha! On the rare occasion my mind succeeds , i feel really guilty and even more stressed which just dominos. Reminding myself that” i CAN do this” is my less violent version of a whack on the side of the head.
- I put one foot in front of the other, get in my car or on the phone, and without allowing any further debate- i act. Action is the crucial part. It doesn’t require a bunch of immediate “thinking” at this point because all the pieces are in place – any further thinking just leads to digression.
“The act of digressing; deviation from a regular or appointed course; especially, a departure from the main subject under consideration; an excursion of speech or writing.”
…and this is what i want to avoid at all costs.-I ask myself how i will feel if i avoid my obligations, how i will feel if i put them off and how i will feel if i get them done. The answers are easy enough.
By the end of my day, if i have stuck to my guns and not deviated ( at least not too much) i can sit back or relax a bit and savor the satisfaction of a job( or jobs) well done. But i don’t rest on my laurels for too long– i soon start the process over again by planning for the next day- not just in my head, but in a viable, realistic way ( see above steps).
One final bit…
It’s hard. It’s really hard sometimes. Some days everything in my body and mind screams at me to just put things off or avoid them all together. But i know how much better i feel about myself when i get the things done i set out to do.
It does NOT mean i have to , without fail, do every.single.thing. on my list every. single.day. But it means i have to do most of it.
And what doesn’t get done goes on the next days list.I don’t allow too much time to lapse between meeting daily goals . After all, if i keep not doing something, it won’t ever get done.I will never feel that sense of accomplishment and will perpetuate the guilt/procrastination/defeat cycle.
I Push through the laziness, the negative self talk, the excuses.
Try it-You will be glad you did!
Wake up! 