Put off until tomorrow...

Deut. 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

 ...what you want to get done today. Yesterdays words of wisdom were from my mother. “It could be worse.” Remember I told you she tells me that all the time? Well last night while telling her of my ailment in my back, she said, “Well put off until tomorrow, what you want to get done today.” I scratched my head and started laughing, because my mother means well and since her stroke six years ago, things don’t wrap around her brain right.

But it got us both laughing, and at this point I need it, really need it. The tricky part is, how am I going to relate that to writing?

Okay, here goes. I tell all the students in the writing courses to NEVER put off writing. I tell them it is essential to get what is on your mind, onto paper and write, write, write. You can’t stop and edit, you have to keep writing or the muse will be gone in a puff of smoke. It’ll be airborne and fizzle out and the next day when you try to recapture it, it’ll be gone!

So don’t take my mothers advice unless you’ve overworked your body into a ripe old age whilst still young, and need to give it a rest! Her words are for us only to rest when you have a God slap moment, and He says, it is time to rest.

As you sit at your computer for hours upon hours, you are whittling your bodies spinal cord. Always remember to leave that place that you find so much enjoyment in and remember to walk around, exercise those legs, move that body. Some bodies have overworked all their lives and when sitting at the computer, it has become a disease that will eat and nibble on parts you never worried about because the computer kept you blind to the inner infestation. DON’T put off until tomorrow, what needs to be done TODAY!

I’m going to wrap up this week with the blessings of this year. Just to name a few.

1. My faith ~ My faith is a blessing because as troubled waters wash over me, it is my faith, that keeps me grounded.
2. My Church ~ It is through my church that I see the people as lit candles in a darkened world.
3. Sight ~ Taken for granted, people go on every day amusing themselves; they survive on the me factor, and when something is taken away, THEN they take notice. SIGHT is a blessing, cherish it.
4. My writing ~ I am blessed with my writing. If it was not in me to write, surely I would not be alive.
5. Snow ~ Although I don’t like driving in it, it is a beautiful layered purity that melts my heart and cleanses my spirit.

Thank you Mrs. Sue and Mrs. Carol for being a true friend and giving me hope in each new day I’m allowed.

Procrastination!

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~William James
***

Have you ever heard the words, “Don’t put off til tomorrow, what you can do today?” With me, procrastination seems to be my middle name.

I’m always putting off something one way or another. In my writing world, I’ll say, “I’ll write about that tomorrow.” And guess what, four days later I’m still trying to put it all together in my head so I CAN write about it.

Even this post, I started writing it and wound up veering off topic and wrote a poem instead. At least it is writing, right? I wanted to start a new blog, I put that off. I wanted to wash up the floor, and beau began to wash the walls. I wanted to wash clothes but instead I played computer chess (which I won a few games, I might add!)

I just want to procrastinate, I think it is in my blood, the genetic gene pool. I believe it was inbred into my system to put off whatever I can and it will just go away! I don’t believe that, but if it is genetically mutated into my system, how do I get rid of it?

How much do you want to bet that this post gets put off again. It is 9:00 am Monday morning, and this is not getting posted within twenty minutes that’s for sure!

Okay, let’s figure out what causes this Procrastination.

1. The number one cause is DISTRACTION. You can be distracted by an email, a phone call, or by surfing for things unrelated to your writing, like FACEBOOK. By allowing these distractions to consume you, you are also allowing Procrastination to fester like a mold!

2. CHORES - Have you ever had a chore to do, and put off writing, to do that instead? To be honest here, I do it all the time. My chores seem to come first where writing is concerned. Mowing, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, all important aspects of my procrastination disease.

3. PRIORITIES - What we see as a priority, may not be a priority, and it takes us away from our only chance at the quiet stillness of the morning. The time, for me,  that I can really dive into writing.

4. ATTITUDE - Yup, attitude. I have the attitude that I’ll get to it when I get to it. I put it off because I think it will still be waiting for me when I get there, not realizing someone might get there first. They’ll grab the thought right out of my head and act upon it, where me, I’ll still be sitting back with my attitude in check, and putting off what was supposed to be DONE!

5. Last but certainly not least....THE POTHOLE SYNDROME - A dear friend told me this weekend: We all have our own roads we must travel on. Sometimes during the ride we run through large, gaping pot holes. Other times it's smooth sailing. No ones road is perfect. So don't worry about it. Just keep your eyes on the finish and God will help us through the pot holes. ~ M.D.

I needed to hear that. I need to fill those potholes with the flowers of my writing and that nasty ol’ disease PROCRASTINATION can hopefully, flee! Finished 9:39 a.m.!