"I didn't have time to get that done today!"
Have you ever said this before?
This is my go-to excuse when important things on my "To-Do List" get ignored and pushed off to the next day... to the next day... and to the day after that. In a sense, it is true, I ran out of time to get that one thing done today, but it is not because I was busy doing other important tasks. It was not because other things I was doing were of higher priority- unless you consider Netflix and Instagram scrolling a high priority. I wince even just typing that. I am 100% guilty of procrastination, and that is why I never get things done.
I have come up with every excuse and rationalization in the book to justify my laziness too, such as, "I deserve to treat myself to a break", "I do not have much going on today, so another episode won't hurt", "I am not even motivated to do my schoolwork; if I start now, my work will be bad quality".
Yeah, I know, this is sad. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this!
Now, maybe you do have your priorities straight and spend your time well and still do not get certain things done that you wanted to. Hey, at least you keep busy. That is great! I, on the other hand, need a lot of work in this area.
That being said, even if you feel you are the chief expert on time management, this post might still be worth reading in that it can be a refreshment to what you already know, or a change of perspective! I am writing to answer for myself and other readers... Why do I fail to complete tasks? Why do I procrastinate? Does this affect more than just me? (Just to give you a hint here, yes, procrastinating can affect more than just you!)
Now, before you continue reading, I challenge you to have an open mind about what I write. This topic has stuck in my mind for some time and has brought about new perspectives for me. I feel like a lot of articles I read online about procrastination tend to soften the term to just a struggle that we are to embrace and try to overcome- like getting stuck during a test or lacking motivation... And yes, procrastination can fall into that sort of "struggle", but I think there is another way of looking at procrastination that reveals a little more dirt under the rug than what we typically associate with it. So here goes!
In my daily life, this definition goes a little further: delaying tasks of high importance by doing trivial tasks or meaningless activities, usually because I do not want to do that task of higher importance.
I know the dishes have to get done, but I scroll on my Instagram for awhile beforehand.
I know I have a writing assignment due tomorrow, but I go and eat a bowl of ice cream before working.
These are some pretty obvious examples but I have also learned that procrastination can be deceitful by postponing important tasks with other tasks that feel important, but do not necessarily have to come first.
The kitchen is trashed, but I spend the entire day cleaning out my closet (ever so slowly as I go through all my boxes of yearbooks and memories, of course).
I need to study for an exam, but I never got my run in that day, so I go out and run 5 miles at 8 pm... (Trust me, this only made it harder to study afterward- I just wanted to sleep!)
In both of these examples, I can think, "Well the closet needed to be organized, so I got important things done today!" or, "Taking time to keep myself physically fit is super important! I need to do it or else I will not be able to focus." However, I know that when I think honestly about it, I was more interested in putting off something I should have done and replacing it with something that was easier or more enjoyable. This is not going to help me in the long run!
Furthermore, the things I choose to do between the time I wake up and the time I go to sleep show what matters to me most!
To demonstrate this, I started writing a list of things I have already done throughout the day instead of a "To-Do" list in the beginning of the day. After practicing this a few weeks, I realized that I make the time to run, workout, and scroll on my phone every single day, but cleaning up more around the house? Studying more? Doing something that can help/benefit others? Those tasks were not done nearly as frequently!
You may have noticed that little blurb I threw in the previous paragraph about "doing something that can help/benefit others", and that brings me to another point... Let's see the dirt under procrastination here. Why is it that I can find time every single day to run (often for more than an hour), workout, and even clean up my own things like cleaning out my closet, but fail to do things like cleaning the kitchen, remembering to buy groceries, planning dinner, or even just remembering to text/call someone when I need to?
I am SELFISH!
Woah, I said it. Am I the only one guilty of this?
I procrastinate when the real priorities in my day are not about me, because I find it a heck of a lot easier to get things done when they do benefit me, Even my procrastinations make it about ME! I believe I deserve to sit back on my phone, to watch some Netflix, to organize things that can honestly wait, to chat on the phone with a friend, the list can go on and on.
Here is some more dirt...
Procrastinating can affect more than just the person procrastinating!
Here is an example:
Many of my friends know I was (sometimes still am....) the one to verbally commit to things, then forget to follow through. Why? Because I procrastinated about what I said I would do until my brain gave up putting it in the forefront of my mind, and I forgot about it! I used to accept this as just a trait of mind. My friends would laugh and say, "Oh, Grace, so forgetful." I just laughed along and accepted it! Not my fault I forget things, ope, or is it? The truth hit me in the face a few years ago when I procrastinated from simply marking my best friend's birthday party on the calendar... and what do you know... I get a call one Saturday from that friend asking if I was going to be there any time soon because I was running late. I FORGOT HER PARTY! Yeah, I was the worst best friend that day. That is when I realized that I could not just settle for me being forgetful. I could have set a reminder on my phone. I could have marked it on the calendar. But I procrastinated with that very simple task because I clearly did not make my best friend a priority. You better believe I hurt her feelings that day! Thankfully, she still loves me despite my selfish mistake and we laugh about it today, but there is something to be learned here: procrastinating pushes off tasks that we honestly do not care enough about to go ahead and do, and this can end up hurting others! Just keep that in the back of your mind.
On a different note, I do know people who are extremely busy and hardly spend any time sitting down to chill during the day (*cough cough* MOMS *cough* *cough*). There is another question to be posed in this situation. Does being busy all the time mean your time is being spent well? I have had many conversations with my Mom about this, as she is one of the busiest people I know! Do you know what she says? As busy as she is, she says she is sometimes guilty of not spending enough time in her life at home. She can easily get caught in doing about a zillion other things to help and serve others, but while doing that, misses out on the time to serve and spend time in her own home with the people that are closest to her, like my Dad! Do not get me wrong here, having a full schedule of serving and helping others is a great way to keep busy (instead of procrastinating at home!), but even then, there is a need to reflect and ask yourself, "Is this honestly the best way I can be spending my time?", "Do my priorities reflect the right values in my life?"
How do you know where to spend your time, or what you should value most? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says,
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God."
Therefore, is how you are spending your time bringing glory to God?
Matthew 6:10 also says,
"Let Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
This verses challenges us to place value on what furthers God's kingdom. This includes serving God, serving in your church community (I have a lot of room to grow in this!), and serving others. I just want to mention that serving others means serving our own families too, so I am not saying to go and serve outside the home 24/7, because family is a huge priority that can be overlooked.
Keep in mind that the Bible has a lot to say on how we spend our time (I could write a whole other blog post on this!), but the Bible does not say one word about making yourself number one. There is not a single verse that says, "Thou shalt serve thyself." But this is what a whole lot of people like to teach and live by! I may refute this idea mentally/verbally, but if I am living it out, then this is becomes my philosophy, and it is nothing close to God's call, so it has to go!
With an open mind, ask yourself how you spend your time. Do you procrastinate like crazy? Do you prioritize yourself over God and others? Do you squander your day away by doing a hundred trivial tasks you thought were important while ignoring the most important things at home? Maybe you struggle with your time in a way that is different than any of the points I mentioned! If so, tell me about it! No one is perfect, so we can all at least sympathize with each other's weaknesses and help each other to grow, right?
No matter what the struggle is, God gives us the grace to be able to change and mold into His image, so there is hope for us!
I encourage you to prayerfully work to change your focus to spend your time in ways that reflect what should matter most in your walk with the Lord, to glorify Him and further His Kingdom!
-Grace Bushre
Have you ever said this before?
This is my go-to excuse when important things on my "To-Do List" get ignored and pushed off to the next day... to the next day... and to the day after that. In a sense, it is true, I ran out of time to get that one thing done today, but it is not because I was busy doing other important tasks. It was not because other things I was doing were of higher priority- unless you consider Netflix and Instagram scrolling a high priority. I wince even just typing that. I am 100% guilty of procrastination, and that is why I never get things done.
I have come up with every excuse and rationalization in the book to justify my laziness too, such as, "I deserve to treat myself to a break", "I do not have much going on today, so another episode won't hurt", "I am not even motivated to do my schoolwork; if I start now, my work will be bad quality".
Yeah, I know, this is sad. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this!
Now, maybe you do have your priorities straight and spend your time well and still do not get certain things done that you wanted to. Hey, at least you keep busy. That is great! I, on the other hand, need a lot of work in this area.
That being said, even if you feel you are the chief expert on time management, this post might still be worth reading in that it can be a refreshment to what you already know, or a change of perspective! I am writing to answer for myself and other readers... Why do I fail to complete tasks? Why do I procrastinate? Does this affect more than just me? (Just to give you a hint here, yes, procrastinating can affect more than just you!)
Now, before you continue reading, I challenge you to have an open mind about what I write. This topic has stuck in my mind for some time and has brought about new perspectives for me. I feel like a lot of articles I read online about procrastination tend to soften the term to just a struggle that we are to embrace and try to overcome- like getting stuck during a test or lacking motivation... And yes, procrastination can fall into that sort of "struggle", but I think there is another way of looking at procrastination that reveals a little more dirt under the rug than what we typically associate with it. So here goes!
pro·cras·ti·na·tion
/prəˌkrastəˈnāSH(ə)n/
noun
- the action of delaying or postponing something."your first tip is to avoid procrastination"
In my daily life, this definition goes a little further: delaying tasks of high importance by doing trivial tasks or meaningless activities, usually because I do not want to do that task of higher importance.
I know the dishes have to get done, but I scroll on my Instagram for awhile beforehand.
I know I have a writing assignment due tomorrow, but I go and eat a bowl of ice cream before working.
These are some pretty obvious examples but I have also learned that procrastination can be deceitful by postponing important tasks with other tasks that feel important, but do not necessarily have to come first.
The kitchen is trashed, but I spend the entire day cleaning out my closet (ever so slowly as I go through all my boxes of yearbooks and memories, of course).
I need to study for an exam, but I never got my run in that day, so I go out and run 5 miles at 8 pm... (Trust me, this only made it harder to study afterward- I just wanted to sleep!)
In both of these examples, I can think, "Well the closet needed to be organized, so I got important things done today!" or, "Taking time to keep myself physically fit is super important! I need to do it or else I will not be able to focus." However, I know that when I think honestly about it, I was more interested in putting off something I should have done and replacing it with something that was easier or more enjoyable. This is not going to help me in the long run!
Furthermore, the things I choose to do between the time I wake up and the time I go to sleep show what matters to me most!
To demonstrate this, I started writing a list of things I have already done throughout the day instead of a "To-Do" list in the beginning of the day. After practicing this a few weeks, I realized that I make the time to run, workout, and scroll on my phone every single day, but cleaning up more around the house? Studying more? Doing something that can help/benefit others? Those tasks were not done nearly as frequently!
You may have noticed that little blurb I threw in the previous paragraph about "doing something that can help/benefit others", and that brings me to another point... Let's see the dirt under procrastination here. Why is it that I can find time every single day to run (often for more than an hour), workout, and even clean up my own things like cleaning out my closet, but fail to do things like cleaning the kitchen, remembering to buy groceries, planning dinner, or even just remembering to text/call someone when I need to?
I am SELFISH!
Woah, I said it. Am I the only one guilty of this?
I procrastinate when the real priorities in my day are not about me, because I find it a heck of a lot easier to get things done when they do benefit me, Even my procrastinations make it about ME! I believe I deserve to sit back on my phone, to watch some Netflix, to organize things that can honestly wait, to chat on the phone with a friend, the list can go on and on.
Here is some more dirt...
Procrastinating can affect more than just the person procrastinating!
Here is an example:
Many of my friends know I was (sometimes still am....) the one to verbally commit to things, then forget to follow through. Why? Because I procrastinated about what I said I would do until my brain gave up putting it in the forefront of my mind, and I forgot about it! I used to accept this as just a trait of mind. My friends would laugh and say, "Oh, Grace, so forgetful." I just laughed along and accepted it! Not my fault I forget things, ope, or is it? The truth hit me in the face a few years ago when I procrastinated from simply marking my best friend's birthday party on the calendar... and what do you know... I get a call one Saturday from that friend asking if I was going to be there any time soon because I was running late. I FORGOT HER PARTY! Yeah, I was the worst best friend that day. That is when I realized that I could not just settle for me being forgetful. I could have set a reminder on my phone. I could have marked it on the calendar. But I procrastinated with that very simple task because I clearly did not make my best friend a priority. You better believe I hurt her feelings that day! Thankfully, she still loves me despite my selfish mistake and we laugh about it today, but there is something to be learned here: procrastinating pushes off tasks that we honestly do not care enough about to go ahead and do, and this can end up hurting others! Just keep that in the back of your mind.
On a different note, I do know people who are extremely busy and hardly spend any time sitting down to chill during the day (*cough cough* MOMS *cough* *cough*). There is another question to be posed in this situation. Does being busy all the time mean your time is being spent well? I have had many conversations with my Mom about this, as she is one of the busiest people I know! Do you know what she says? As busy as she is, she says she is sometimes guilty of not spending enough time in her life at home. She can easily get caught in doing about a zillion other things to help and serve others, but while doing that, misses out on the time to serve and spend time in her own home with the people that are closest to her, like my Dad! Do not get me wrong here, having a full schedule of serving and helping others is a great way to keep busy (instead of procrastinating at home!), but even then, there is a need to reflect and ask yourself, "Is this honestly the best way I can be spending my time?", "Do my priorities reflect the right values in my life?"
How do you know where to spend your time, or what you should value most? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says,
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God."
Therefore, is how you are spending your time bringing glory to God?
Matthew 6:10 also says,
"Let Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
This verses challenges us to place value on what furthers God's kingdom. This includes serving God, serving in your church community (I have a lot of room to grow in this!), and serving others. I just want to mention that serving others means serving our own families too, so I am not saying to go and serve outside the home 24/7, because family is a huge priority that can be overlooked.
Keep in mind that the Bible has a lot to say on how we spend our time (I could write a whole other blog post on this!), but the Bible does not say one word about making yourself number one. There is not a single verse that says, "Thou shalt serve thyself." But this is what a whole lot of people like to teach and live by! I may refute this idea mentally/verbally, but if I am living it out, then this is becomes my philosophy, and it is nothing close to God's call, so it has to go!
With an open mind, ask yourself how you spend your time. Do you procrastinate like crazy? Do you prioritize yourself over God and others? Do you squander your day away by doing a hundred trivial tasks you thought were important while ignoring the most important things at home? Maybe you struggle with your time in a way that is different than any of the points I mentioned! If so, tell me about it! No one is perfect, so we can all at least sympathize with each other's weaknesses and help each other to grow, right?
No matter what the struggle is, God gives us the grace to be able to change and mold into His image, so there is hope for us!
I encourage you to prayerfully work to change your focus to spend your time in ways that reflect what should matter most in your walk with the Lord, to glorify Him and further His Kingdom!
-Grace Bushre
This is MEEEEEEE!
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