My son came to me with an issue he wanted help solving. “Mom,” he confessed, “I’m a procrastinator. I’m scared, and I need help.”
OK, sweetie. Can we talk about this later?
Oh, did I mention, he comes by it honestly?
Needless to say, I’ve spent quite a bit of time examining this issue for myself. Which allowed me to put off doing whatever else I was supposed to be doing because, after all, wasn’t this important too? In all seriousness, I know a little bit about procrastination. I know how to examine the reasons for it and how to address each one. Is it something that’s difficult to do? Boring? Are you creating artificial time crunches to motivate you? Are you overwhelmed? Tired? I also know that the easiest answer is the hardest solution: Just DO whatever it is you’re putting off. Easy, because it’s a simple solution. Just do it. Nike says it all the time, so how hard could it be? Well, it’s difficult because if it were truly easy wouldn’t it already be done? Of course! My son’s Bar Mitzvah tutor hit the nail on the head when we discussed this yesterday. She reminded us that when you are busy procrastinating, you’re also spending time and energy worrying about whatever it is you aren’t doing rather than spending the time and energy getting it done. Right. Simple.
So, I decided to look for a book. This is what I do. Have a problem? Someone has written a book to tell you how to solve it. As long as you don’t procrastinate too long in actually reading the book, the solution is already out there. How do you talk to a child about procrastination in a constructive way? I found this book on Amazon.com: The Procrastinating Child: A Handbook for Adults to Help Children Stop Putting Things Off. Brilliant! Just what I need!
And guess what?! It’s out of stock. Of course. Here’s the punch line: Even Amazon knows me too well. They reminded me not to put off until tomorrow the back-ordered book I could order today. Seriously. I ordered it.
Mission accomplished. Oh wait, I have to read it when it comes… but I have time for that… later.
Cari's Raw & Random Thoughts 