{"id":5194,"date":"2019-11-10T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-10T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5194"},"modified":"2019-09-30T20:04:11","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T01:04:11","slug":"choose-not-to-master-the-art-of-procrastination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5194","title":{"rendered":"Choose Not to Master the Art of Procrastination"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Choices change our lives\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My ability\nto procrastinate amazes me. You might say I\u2019ve mastered the art of\nprocrastination\u2014 and I don\u2019t recommend it, but I do have to deal with it. I can\nfind more things to do to keep from doing what I need to do than anyone I know.\nIdleness is not my problem. I stay plenty busy, but I stay busy doing things I\ndon\u2019t need to do. Like the definition, I am the classic example of \u201cputting off\nintentionally and habitually doing what should be done.\u201d Sometimes I abhor\nmyself for this trait so I will share my train of thought that leads me astray.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nexample, as I wait for motivation to write, I might repeat some pithy sayings designed\nto motivate me to get started. I repeat them to myself as I sit at my computer with\nthese results: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe\njourney of a thousand miles starts with one step.\u201d WOW! Just thinking about a\nthousand-mile journey makes me tired. You know, I didn\u2019t get much sleep last\nnight. Maybe I should take a nap and get started after I feel refreshed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo start\nis half the battle.\u201d Oh, that reminds me that I wanted to record that\ndocumentary they are showing tonight on PBS about the Battle of Gettysburg. I\nbetter go set the DVR right now before I forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSteady,\nslow, and consistent can accomplish more than brilliant spasms of work.\u201d Brilliant!\nYes, I want this thing I\u2019m writing to be brilliant, but my mind doesn\u2019t seem\nreal sharp right now. I bet if I played a game of computer Solitaire it would\nsharpen my senses. Keeping the mind active helps ward off Alzheimer\u2019s, you know.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do\nyou eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!\u201d\nThat reminds me I skipped lunch. Maybe I should make myself a sandwich. Better\nyet, I\u2019ll just pop out and get a burger. Where is that coupon I had for a\ndollar off the combo? After I eat, I\u2019ll feel like working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLife is\nlike a coin you can spend anyway you want, but you can only spend it once.\u201d Maybe\nI should put all those coins I\u2019ve been saving in that Mason jar in those little\nnickel, dime, and quarter wrappers, take them to the bank, and see how much I\nhave. I could use the money to buy my burger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t put\noff until tomorrow what you can do today.\u201d Where is that to-do list I was\nmaking for tomorrow? I just thought of a few more things I need to put on it. Better\nput them on the list now before I forget. I just love checking off things on my\nto-do list when I get them done. But what did I do with that list???    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo farmer\never plowed a field by turning it over in his head.\u201d You know, my Uncle John is\na farmer. He\u2019s pretty old and I haven\u2019t talked to him in a while. I think I\u2019ll\ngive him a call. I always feel so inspired after we chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe road\nto hell is paved with good intentions.\u201d Where is that Steve Greg book I was\nreading about hell, anyway? Maybe I should read a little of it. Hey, if there\nis anything that will motivate me, it\u2019s thinking about going to hell. Motivate\nme???? What is it I\u2019m trying to do? Sorry, I lost my concentration. What was I\ntalking about? Oh yes! Procrastination!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I\nthink of this quote by St. Augustine: \u201cGod has promised forgiveness to your\nrepentance, but he has promised tomorrow to your procrastination.\u201d Now that\u2019s\npretty pithy! And here\u2019s another one that works well for me: \u201cJust do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this\u2026<\/strong> We can never redeem all the wasted\ntime (Ephesians 5:16) so just do it! Do it now! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One final thought\u2026 <\/strong>I found this on the internet while\nprocrastinating. Old habits die hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procrastination is my sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It brings me naught but sorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that I should stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I will…tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~Gloria\nPitzer<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choices change our lives\u2026 By Barbara Dahlgren My ability to procrastinate amazes me. You might say I\u2019ve mastered the art of procrastination\u2014 and I don\u2019t recommend it, but I do have to deal with it. I can find more things … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}