Thursday, December 28, 2017

The Procrastinator’s New Year’s Resolution



The Procrastinator’s New Year’s Resolution

Okay, I suck at New Year’s Resolutions.  I can’t really think of one thing I’ve accomplished based on some yearly promise.  Of course, I know why this is… I’m a procrastinator and I give myself a whole year to get my resolution done.  Yeah.  Not a good idea.  Things change – work gets crazier, kids’ needs fluctuate unpredictably, priorities shift.  It’s easy to dismiss an unspecific goal, with a good enough reason, over the course of 365 days!

“Unspecific goal,” about that:  Taking one of the things I’ve learned in my many years in Weight Watchers, goals are important, but staying motivated is even more so.  As a writer, it’s kind of funny to spend so much time with my characters goals, motivation, and conflicts, but not enough on my own.  However, I’ll save that tangent for another day.

Goals are important, but if it’s something like “I want to save $20,000 this year,” without following it up with a plan, nothing will magically make it happen.  Instead, motivation dwindles and it seems impossible.

I know all this, but still get myself caught up in the same cycle, and it’s becomes a “maybe next year.”  This year, there are so many things I want to accomplish, and right now I am extremely motivated, so I am striking while the iron is hot!

A recent conversation with a friend brought up the merits of planning days in advance – like a calendar at work, but making sure to allot time for all your goals.  Example: Write from 8:00-9:00 – or even just 15 minutes, as long as time is devoted to the goals each day.  So I am going to give it a try – after all winging it hasn’t helped.

I’ve also realized I have too many things vying for my time and it can be overwhelming.  Passing thoughts, like; clean out nightstand, look up romance beat sheets, pick up highlighters.  In order to keep track of all these tasks coming to mind randomly throughout the day, I’ve dedicated a small notepad to keep track of them and clear up some mental space.  We’ll see how it goes!