Go!Go!Go!

I think that the Nike slogan, "Just Do It!" is pretty wise for some things. Let me explain, I tend to be in what a personality test I took labeled me as a "thinker". If you are similar in this type of thought processing you "think" about doing things, but it is hard to get to the action portion. It can be good because I'm very cautious when I make decisions, but it also is just a breeding ground for laziness and procrastination in specific areas. There is a bible verse that says, "Do not eat the bread of idleness." I have to remind myself of that at times. I also can lean towards perfectionism, which is where I hesitate to do something unless it's "right" the first time. My best friend made a comment a few years back that she had never met anyone that read so much about cleaning, but didn't actually "do" it. Hahah! That is me in a nutshell in some areas. Thankfully, I was very blessed to live with two amazing women (Amy & Abby) who really emphasized to me by their example, that the things I procrastinate only take 1/2 the time I think they will. They really showed me that it is all a matter of keeping up with everything a little at a time and being consistant (not letting mail, dishes, dust, laundry pile up sky high). In fact, Abby helped me organize my closet (she could be a professional organizer) in an hour when I thought that we would need to block off 1/2 a Saturday to get it done. The lesson learned: stop thinking about when and how you're going to do it and actually start working on it.

In the last few months, while adjusting to my new role as a wife, I've really tried hard to turn over a new leaf in the areas that I'm prone to fall into procrastination. I hope that some of my experiences can help or motivate you as well.

Sucess Story #1: The name change after marriage was going smoothly, but I was dreading going to the DMV. I had procrastinated on this task because, well it's the DMV. I would rather go to the dentist than the DMV. It was starting to effect me though because my driver's license had the wrong address and name. Not good. One day, I went to our bank to change my name, then went to a store to return something, and then a light bulb went off when I realized that I had all the paperwork together and could size the moment of opportunity to go to the DMV. I had to push through my laziness - by not thinking about less important things I'd rather do instead. Literally, I had to turn my car in the direction of the DMV without thinking about it. There was actually a rush of excitement and a voice saying, "Go! Go! Go!". Well, I walked into the DMV at 3pm on a Wednesday and waited for a total of 5 minutes before they called my name. The entire process only took 25 minutes. I'm so glad that in that moment of putting off this dreaded task - I pushed through and just did it instead of thinking about how much I didn't want to do it.

Sucess Story #2: Laundry is my most dreaded household chore. I recently informed my husband to his surprise that I'd rather clean the bathroom than do laundry. I think there should be one machine that does the washing, drying and folding! Where is that robot from the Jetson's? I was much better at completing all of these steps in college because there was a consequence of having laundry left in the washing machine: your stuff would be taken out and put on the table for all to see. Also, there was a narrow time window of when the laundry mat had washers available.

Well, our washing machine broke a couple of weeks ago (Paul went down to the Leasing Office to complain looking pitiful in mismatched socks and shorts in cold weather). As a result, we got permission to use a washer in another apartment. We had to carry our laundry to another apartment to get it done. There was a catch too: it had to all be done by 4:30pm to take the key back to the leasing agent. Paul and I were so motivated - we were watching a movie (of course) - and every 20-30 minutes he would pause it and we would rush over to move the laundry process forward! We accomplished our goal. It was very rewarding!!

After our machine was fixed, I decided to wash all my laundry. I've done probably about 16 loads (our machine is tiny). It has really felt amazing to see the end of the basket. I hope to maintain this by keeping up with it once or twice a week. :) That's all for now. I hope this little sampling helps you get things done too!