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
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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