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I stared at this computer screen for at least 20 minutes before I even came close to putting something on it. Then I checked my Facebook for 15 minutes and when I was finished with that, I stared at the blank screen some more. In fact, just the mentioning of Facebook has reinvigorated a desire for me to check it again (this time I was able to resist).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny how easily we can be distracted by simple thoughts when we\u2019re afraid to continue with something or even begin something. It\u2019s so much easier to tell ourselves that we\u2019ll get to it eventually \u2013 and genuinely believe that we will \u2013 but we end up sweeping it under the rug.<\/p>\n

Getting things done<\/h3>\n

Despite my inability to get things done without at least a little procrastination at some point during the project, my view on starting and finishing things fall in line with something Pablo Picasso once said: \u201cOnly put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may delay, but time will not.
\nBenjamin Franklin<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fact, I\u2019m sure most of us feel this way. We all understand the importance of completing a task and we all understand that that task most likely won\u2019t be completed unless we take the time to complete it.<\/p>\n

Rarely do we come home to find an essay we\u2019ve been putting off magically completed. Rarely do we go to work to discover that we have nothing to do because it\u2019s already been done for us. Rarely does the great work get written without the writer.<\/p>\n

Historically procrastination has been viewed as a negative thing, both theologically and societally. Though, at some points in history (particularly the aristocratically driven French culture of the 17th and 18th centuries) not doing things was considered the height of gentlemanly \u201cpursuits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Excuses in All the Wrong Places<\/h3>\n

We procrastinators look for excuses for not doing things as often as we possibly can. These excuses range from the simplistic (i.e. \u201cI can\u2019t make all of these party invitations right now because I\u2019m sick\u201d) to the insane (i.e. \u201cI can\u2019t write this report that may cost me my job because I have to play with my cats all day\u201d).<\/p>\n

The simple fact of the matter is that whether the task is easy and unimportant or complex and very important, we usually have the time to do it or, at the very least, the ability to make the time to do it.<\/p>\n

Stop psyching yourself out by convincing yourself that you can\u2019t run because you don\u2019t have the right kind of shoes or that you don\u2019t have enough time in the day to work on that book you\u2019ve always wanted to write. Chances are there\u2019s a shoe store right down the street. Chances are that the reason you don\u2019t have enough time in the day is because you spend a good chunk of it watching reruns of Friends or catching up on Game of Thrones.<\/p>\n

So ask yourself what\u2019s more important: What happened to Tyrion this week on my favorite show? Or\u2026where could I be if I\u2019d sit down to write that book?<\/p>\n

You see, excuses are just that: excuses. It is defined as \u201cto release from an obligation or duty.\u201d Excuses were created to take the blame of not doing something or doing something wrong and removing it from ourselves.<\/p>\n

We have more control over our lives than many of us like to believe and that is why we need to take the time to think and reason out how we can do things rather than stubbornly giving them up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about time we became a little more stubborn about persevering and a little less obstinate about opting out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Responding immediately is attractive because it\u2019s very rare even though it seems so obvious. It\u2019s so rare because most people procrastinate. In fact, you may need to upgrade systems, streamline, automate and change your whole manner of responding to people and tasks in order to provide an immediate response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[8,18,22],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emmerain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}