Thursday, December 15, 2011

Are You A Procrastinator?


I find that I have an awful habit of putting things off.  I put off taking my medicine.  I put off going to the doctor.  I put off paying bills.  I put off doing work that I don't like.  I put off reading my book club books.  I put off so many things.  Some would call me a procrastinator, I like to call myself a person that prioritizes the important things and some of these things just aren't that important to me.  I usually get the book club book read before the meeting. Okay usually at the last minute but I get it done.

I am not always like this.  I go through phases.  For months I will be so on top of things.  I am organized and have a clean desk.  I try very hard not to put things off.  Or maybe I just put other things off.  Things that are less important.  Like refilling the refrigerator with soda. 

Then I don't know what happens but I lose interest and I start to put things off.  My desk gets messy, I don't keep ahead of the piles of paper.  My work makes a lot of paper work.  I have many piles of paper that can get very disorganized very quickly.

One thing that makes me put things off is when I get sick.  If I am ill for a week or two, I am thrown for a long time.   I can never seem to dig out of the pile of mail that collects, the pile of laundry, the pile of paperwork.  It is all I can do to keep it together day in and day out.  Just doing the little things like eating, taking my meds, working, and going to doctor's appointments are about all I can do.  The rest is so extraneous.  I focus on what I have to do and not on what I could do. 

Are you a procrastinator?  How do you handle procrastination?  Let me know your story.

10 days until Christmas

1 comment:

  1. I have never been much of a procrastinator but with ra, I can procrastinate. I don't think it is the traditional characteristics of a healthy procrastinator but rather illness driven. And in this case I don't consider us procrastinators but rather copers in the sense of trying to regain strength from say a bad flare. I try not to beat myself up over it but at the same time I don't EVER want to pay late fees on bills and such. So it is all a balancing act. What I have found that has worked great for me is to get rid of trivial stuff in my life that can and does clutter it up. For example, I use to love to collect things. Not anymore. Too much moving, dusting, etc. etc. I now collect things in my mind by viewing them online and appreciating them there. There they don't collect dust. I try to use only one main credit card for say 6 months then I rotate. This way I have only one cc bill to remember and deal with rather then a multiple of ones. Things like that. Anyway I can cut down on how many things I have to do be it with paper or things...that's what I try to do. Don't let it get to you. Life with chronic illness changes us. Be flexible on yourself. But please don't pay late fees :-)

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