Good day, this is Revvell of Bodacious Living on The WIN!

Before we begin, if you’re in a position to do so, please pause this and get yourself a pen and paper as we’re going to do a bit of work/play today. If you’re driving, then, drive on and do this later.

We’re going to being today with your first conscious procrastination tip ~

In the morning, procrastinate on turning on electronics. This includes, t.v., radio, computer and cell/land phone.

I’m always astonished when I see a t.v. in someone’s kitchen. My sense is that, IF you leave off the tv in the morning, you’ll have anywhere from 10-20 minutes to play because it’ll take you less time to prepare and eat. Give it a shot for about a week. For days, 1-3, procrastinate on turning on the tv and see what happens. See how long it actually takes for you to make and eat breakfast.

Yes, I can hear the wailing ~ I need to know what’s going on in the world! Is this true? Really? Why? So you’ll have other things to focus on rather than what’s going on in your own life? Just let it go for now and do the experiment and see what happens.

Now you have an idea of how much time you can have to do other things! Maybe it’s movement! Just 10 minutes of movement, 3 times a day will have a powerful effect on your metabolism, your mood, your attitude so, begin with 10 before you eat!

But it’s not enough time to go to the gym you say? There are so MANY things you can do outside of the gym! Take a quick walk about the block; DANCE! Do some bodyweight movements. One of the few magazines I subscribe to is “Self” and they very often have some great bodyweight or light hand weight movements. I’ll be putting more on my site, Bodacious Living.com.... Currently I’ve got some under the Revvellations menu, then, “Movement Snacks”...

Have you been complaining you don’t have time to read? Practice a language? Learn or play a musical instrument?

I recently got a piano ~ which I actually received for free ~ and picked up some books on how to play. It’s very relaxing, inexpensive and fun to learn new things!

Now, about that computer! If you’re like me, the first thing you do is turn on the computer in the morning. I can rationalize that in so many ways yet, what I’ve found is, #1, it’s an addiction;  #2, it’s really not a necessity to turn it on ~ email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  can wait! That’s what’s GREAT about email! It’s not going anywhere and, you can respond at your leisure! If it’s about business, what time does business begin? If it’s personal, and important, they’ll most likely call, yes? But then, early in the a.m., you might want to turn off the ringer on your phone or, turn off your cell completely as well.

One thing that seems to be missing in our busy lives is, undisturbed time. We HAVE to immediately respond to a text, the phone ringing, email, etc. PROCRASTINATE on these things!

Know this ~ the mind lies. It will do whatever it can to keep you mundane and into your same old routine. Change scares it which is why, thinking about not being electronically connected might make you anxious!

Not knowing what’s going on in the world is not the end of YOUR world. As a matter of fact, not knowing may totally enhance it. How? Less anxiety; you’ll have more time to focus on things that matter to you here and now; more time focusing on family if you live with them; more time to focus on what you REALLY want to accomplish in your day.

How often have you found yourself distracted by what’s on t.v. or irritated when reading email and a family member wants and/or needs some attention?

How often have you procrastinated on something that had a deadline because you were  tweeting or wasting time with people you don’t even know on Facebook or playing Farmville? How often have you been late for an appointment or even ignored a class or something of importance because you wouldn’t get offline?

How many times have you almost gotten into an auto crash or run a light or stop sign because you’ve been texting?

PROCRASTINATE on texting while driving! They can wait! Your life and the lives of others you may involve in a crash are more important than chatting.

How do you know you are addicted to texting? Facebook? Twitter? Email, etc.? When you do any or all of those things more than once or twice a day OR, when you “try” to go or even think about going 1 full day without them! How often do you go online to check email? FaceBook? Twitter?

How often and how much time do you spend playing computer games?

How often are you late for appointments or fail to meet deadlines because you’ve been on the computer doing anything BUT your work?

How often have you wanted to go somewhere yet couldn’t because you had to finish something that you’d put off?

Now, you get to use that pen and paper. What I’m going to do is give you some sentence stems and, what you get to do are complete them with 6-10 different endings.

Understand, it’s always better to work sentence stems with someone who is trained in using them to assist you in going deeper into the sub conscience because the first thing the mind often comes up with is ~ “I don’t know”. After two or three, the monkey mind will say “That’s it! I can’t think of any more”...  A therapist, such as myself, knows ways to get beyond the mind’s denials.

Let’s begin with a few and I’ll give you some responses as examples to help you get started.

Here’s your first sentence stem ~

One thing that happens when I procrastinate is ...

    Now, come up with 6-10 different endings to that beginning...
    Possible Endings ~

    I don’t get to go out with family/friends because I HAVE to finish/do something I’ve put off
    I never do as good a job as I would if I took the time to do the research first
    I feel last-minute stress and frustration
    I tend to not meet deadlines
    I’ve called in “sick” because I needed to take that day to do what should have been done earlier
    I make myself feel bad one more time

When I get things done on or before time ~
    I feel elated
    I feel good about myself
    I have time to relax before the next project
    I usually do a much better job
    I feel proud of myself
    I’m not as stressed
    I reward myself with some play time

One reason I procrastinate is ~

    I don’t feel I can do a good enough job ~ so end up not doing one and proving myself right
    I feel that if I do a good job, they’ll expect more of me
    I’m sorry I said “yes” when asked
    I don’t know how to say I don’t want to do it
    I’m afraid I’ll fail

If you do these sentence stems every day and don’t look at the previous day’s answers, you’ll go deeper and deeper into your understanding of why and/or how you procrastinate. Many people never look this deeply and therefore continue their old habits.

Consider these ~

    If I don’t respond to text messages ~

        The responses are not only about what will happen, but how will you feel.
    If I leave the computer off in the morning ~
    If I don’t answer email right away ~
    

What you might see is how our minds will rationalize and create excuses for doing things. For instance ~

    If I don’t respond to text messages right away, my friend will think I’m ignoring her (Well, you are, temporarily!) Yet, who is more important? O.k., the correct answer is you! You, your time and your work and life are valuable. There is only one of you!

Do you EVER feel frustrated when friends constantly text you and you are in a hurry and or have to get something done? You feel you have to respond and, it breaks your flow creating stress! Be able to say, “Can’t talk now, I need to do something. I’ll get back to you soon” in whatever shorthand you use. (no, I don’t text.)

One reason I don’t text is, when I met my then boyfriend, now husband online, we spent quite some time instant messaging. At some point we realized that we could say what we wanted to say in a fraction of the time if we just called.

Yes, I know. I hear people saying ~ Yes, but if I’m in school, or a meeting and can’t call... Well, hey! How about being where you are at the time you’re there? Is what they are texting you THAT important that it can’t wait? What they are texting MAY be more interesting than a meeting or school class yet, when are you ever where you are?

My husband has a service business where he goes to various functions and he told me one day that most of the kids at the party are texting about when and where the next party will be. They’re never at the party they are at!

Here’s the final sentence stem for this edition ~

    When I think about turning off my electronics for a day ~

        I feel anxious
        I feel relieved
        I can’t stand the thought of not having noise (company) in my house
        I wonder what I’ll do with myself
        I’ll be all alone!!!
        How will I know what’s going on in the world?

There was a point in my life a few months ago when I realized I had stopped reading and creating. I had hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of jewelry making products, books and magazines that I’d not touched in MONTHS! I didn’t sit, relax and read books anymore. My carrier oils for creating body care products, were going rancid.. GALLONS of them! My essential oils had gone untouched and books unread because I spent so much time on the computer.

I’ve since learned to consciously turn the computer off and have created a few places for myself downstairs, away from the office and the computer, where I can wrap up in a blanket and keep myself warm and comfy with a book, highlighter and tabs. I now consciously procrastinate on answering email, playing computer games and/or checking tweets and Facebook.

    What can you consciously procrastinate on to get done what you want or need to do?

Enough for today.

Until next week this is Revvell of Bodacious Living.com saying have a most bodacious day!

Bye for now!