Procrastinating

I spent the last hour waiting to think about what to write, breaking a cardinal rule of mine: don't wait to be inspired to write, but start writing so I can get inspired. Clearly, I was just staring off into space and wasting time, rather than kicking my butt into gear and focus on the pen and paper in front of me to get something down on writing. Today, I just didn't feel like writing, and was instead feeling inadequate, tired, lazy, whatever, but I definitely didn't feel like being productive, and so I just chalk it up to not setting myself up for success to allow a better set of circumstance so that I could write. I didn't get a good night's rest, I didn't set the coffeemaker in advance, I slept in...whatever the cause, I knew better than to break my routine, and so sabotaged any morning productivity I could have had.

As I was conscious of my own procrastination, I kept encountering all these ad campaigns that perpetuate the idea of "not having time" to do anything and continue to sell a miracle product that allows you to do whatever-it-is effectively in 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 90 seconds, whatever. I couldn't help thinking of the irony; that here I was wasting a perfectly good hour, and knowing that I am pointedly ignoring my pen and paper, and here were all these gadgets, pills, systems, and workout techniques that will help me in my overburdened, no time to spare lifestyle. No one ever talks about not having a routine or ritual built in to one's life, and instead of putting the blame and responsibility where it belongs (on the person choosing not to improve his or her life), people would instead prefer to hide behind this "Time" culprit. "Time" has become this magical super-enemy out to sabotage every good intention a person would like to achieve. "Time" along with some of its other minions, like, "Slow Metabolism" and "Getting older" like to spread mischief, discord, and chaos in a person's otherwise neat and orderly plans. Really? Does the current modern population not have enough time, or are we just too embarrassed or deluded to acknowledge that we are either incapable of or refuse to create action plans in our life that will help us reach our goals? Are we so "unselfish" that we "put others before ourselves" and let our bodies, goals, dreams fall by the wayside so that "others" can succeed? Who really deep down believes that? Because what I see day to day, both in the general public (to which I am unfortunate enough to encounter each and every day) and in the media, are people who allow life to happen to them, rather than be in control of their own life choices. It's like all this talk about "Time" is more like a symptom and not the real root cause that may hinder a person from achieving their goals.

I'm gonna be honest, the way the current "healthcare" system is with the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies turning doctors into prescription Pez dispensers, it's obvious that this society is used to being medicated for its symptoms and hiding or ignoring the true root cause of a person's dis-ease/illness/problem. However, this topic is a whole blog on its own, and there are several "natural health" sites that rant about this everyday.

Now, the root cause that has allowed someone from fulfilling their goals may be numerous, from fear of failure or too much pride to ask somoeone for help. But, the bottom line that seems to address many of these problems seems to be to write down goals, and then an action plan to achieve those goals. Keep writing and revising those goals until they are very simple and actionable and can be a priority, actionable item that one can do each day. That's the basic principle behind all of those organizational gurus out there. They simplify one's life and streamline all the essential things into an actionable to-do list. Because really, how can anyone achieve one's goals when one don't even know what it is one wants to do with one's life?

Ben Franklin used to carry his mission statement and philosophy with him wherever he went, which he kept in a little notebook that also contained various to-do lists that would help him achieve his goals. Of course, in the modern context, his system is what we call the Franklin system, and is best known through the Franklin Covey company. (By the way, I really like their mission statement: "We enable greatness.") Now, this is the point in which most people drop off, because again, they would be foiled by that "Time" nemesis, as in, "I don't have time to write down my goals, wonk wonk." But really, what is more important than prioritizing one's life? What could possibly be more important than that? And really, it doesn't take long. Even as little as five minutes of sitting down and scribbling on an index card or restaurant napkin will help to focus one's thoughts. And yes, writing things down is critical. I don't just say that because it's my preference, or that I'm a writer, or that I have a freakishly photographic memory that is helped when I add kinesthetic memory to it. When a person writes things down, it's like they own a piece of it, and this sense of ownership might just tip the balance of motivating him to achieve his goals. And, if he writes down his goals on an index card that he can carry with him and which becomes a constant reminder of those goals, then maybe, just maybe, he'll have a realistic timeline of one day achieving those goals.

Speaking of Franklin Covey, I think it's marvelous that I spent like $200+ investing in a system that I don't even use anymore. However, I understood the value of that daily system, and have since replaced it with a zip up portfolio from Levenger which I use as both a wallet and an agenda. I kind of rigged it up myself buying random accessories, but I knew what kinds would be useful and practical for me because of my experience with my Franklin planner.