Kick my A*s - I deserve it....

[furryfriends57]

I am so fed up with myself perhaps some of you expert ladies can kick my ass to make me cop on - the word procrastination was made for me. The problem is I never seem to see things through, the house is a mess, the little bit of savings I have aren't earning any interest but I don't move it, things at work build up and go late cause I can't seem to juggle what needs doing, have a thesis to write but can't even start it. I waste so much money by buying food for recipes but they don't get made. Is there anyone out there that has managed to overcome procrastination or have any tips because this way of living is getting me down but I keep putting off doing anything about it - oh the irony of that!!
At least I finally posted this cry for help...... Thanks for reading.

I'm a fellow procrastinator, but my top tip is this: Lists are you friend!

Sometimes even just loads of little things can be overwhelming. Personally I find it really helpful to write everything I need to do down. It is oh so satisfying when you can cross one off! If things need to be done by a certain date (ie. your thesis) put it at the top of the list. Set aside a couple of hours a day, turn everything off (phone, tv, radio, internet!) and FOCUS!

I know this is easier said than done, but things like moving your money can be done quickly. Spend an hour researching where your money will earn the best, long term interest. Apply for an account online, details will be sent in the post. When you have everything, transfer the money. Sorted.

Do you enjoy cooking? If you buy ingredients for recipes I'd assume so, but it is a waste if you can't find time to make the meals. Either meal plan and make yourself stick to it, or resign yourself to being a last-minute-meal-maker.

Tidying the house (if it's really bad) always takes longer than I think it will. I get easily distracted if I find interesting things! So maybe allocate a day per room. Get bin bags/charity bags and be ruthless! Rope the kids or your partner in if you think they'll be helpful. If they'll be more of a hindrance then do it when they're out. Do not be put off when you make more mess while sorting - it's part of the process! I can focus much better on other things when the house is tidy - clean home clean mind, or something like that.

Decide what is important to you and focus on it. If having a tidy house would make you happier than cooking a meal from a recipe, then plan something easy for dinner and crack on with a clear out.

With regards to your thesis, if possible could you get yourself to a library to research and begin writing? Personally I work better if others are working around me. It's far too easy to flick the tele on if you're home alone and not knowing where to start with it.

Good luck!

Oh Whatatreat, thanks so much for repyling with those great suggestions. I thought I was such a lost cause no one would reply (sorry af arrived today so queue a whole pile of self pity). Have you any suggestion for how to meal plan I've googled it a few times and haven't seen any really logical approach.
Thanks again :)

Oh no, I think you're allowed to wallow in self pity in that case!

And it's no problem, I'm awful at motivating myself sometimes but always feel so much better even just thinking about how I'm going to tackle the regular mountain of stuff to do!

Meal planning does save a lot of effort and wasted food if you manage to stick to it (which can be tricky sometimes). It depends a lot on how often you shop, and whether you tend to buy perishable items. If I was buying fresh veg and salad, I'd make sure that these were planned for early in the week. Sounds obvious, but I often find sad, past-it veg languishing at the bottom of the veg drawer!

If on day 1 you use 3 potatoes from a bag for jacket spuds, day 3 you could makes wedges from the remaining, with salad which would still be okay.

I've realised that there's no shame in frozen veg! If you eat things like rice and pasta a lot, then you just need to plan what you'll be putting with it. If you want to do a chicken pasta bake one evening, work out quantities before you go shopping.

I hope that helps, it's hard to explain without knowing what you tend to eat. Mine would go something like:

Monday: Stuffed jacket potatoes with salad
Tuesday: Spanish chicken casserole with veg
Wednesday: Fish bake with salad and potato wedges
Thursday: Chuck-it-in risotto with remaining fresh veg + some frozen
Friday: Pizza and salad
Saturday: Pasta bake
Sunday: Roast

Decide what you like and what you'll need for the week. If I haven't planned what to eat I often become disinterested and find it even harder to motivate myself! So I work out quantities before I go shopping. If meat is on offer I'll but the extra and freeze it, but will make a note of what I have in the freezer.

Also, and this may sound obvious, but shop and meal plan after you've eaten. I can become VERY enthusiastic about what to make for dinner when I'm hungry, which leads to more expenditure as I buy all those delicious deli counter things that I can't resist! My ideal meal would be a lot of wine and cheese ;)

Hope that helps :)

Hi...I'm another procrastinator (in fact I was in the middle of decluttering the airing cupboard but got distracted by checking email...then f/b...then MN...and here I am! Oops!)
Anyway, all I would add to WhataTreat's very helpful tips is to give yourself a time target to get things done in - for example I've allowed myself 20 mins to declutter the cupboard (not counting this distraction time. of course!)
It's when jobs seem to be endless that I get unmotivated. So I tell myself that in 20 mins time I'm going to have a decluttered, tidy airing cupboard containing only things that I've decided I WANT to keep, and it gives me s target within a timeframe IYSWIM.
Also, I read that one of the reasons people procrastinate is because they're perfectionists, which is quite true in my case. I've had to learn that it's better to actually DO some things, even if they're not done perfectly, rather than do nothing at all.
Must go, have a cupboard to finish off.... :)

Great to hear I'm not the only one, its making me so mad with myself as I see so often how difficult it makes life when I don't do things when I should - for example I bought two baby presents and cards but I still have them and now both babies have outgrown the presents. Its such a waste of money and time. I wonder is procrastination genetic or learned behaviour, maybe if its genetic I can blame someone else and while I'm trying to work out which I'll put off doing some more stuff thats crying out to be done, oh me oh my.

Work out when you are most effective (are you a lark or an owl??). Do the mundane easy tasks when you are at your least effective. Force yourself to do the stuff that you keep putting off because it is hard, unpleasant, difficult when you are at your best. Visualise how you will feel when it's done and jump in. As soon as you start to take control of the thing you are putting off you will start to feel better.

With the thesis set aside a set amount of time (not an unrealistic amount of time - don't think I'll work on that all day - you won't, you will find other things to distract you). Give it three hours at the beginning. Start writing - do a mind map if necessary at first but put pen to paper. It is so much easier to cross out and edit than to start from scratch. Don't sit looking at a blank piece of paper. get energised with ideas and get them down. If you build a frameowrk and break it down into chunks it will be so much more manageable and you will be able to track your progress and get the good feeling that comes with working through a task.

Simplify your life. A place for everything. Do not allow piles of homeless stuff to accumulate. Take control - it is a great feeling. Any post that you get - recycle or deal with it immediatley. Junk mail pick it up and recycle it before you take your coat off.

I had to come up with coping strategies as I was dorwning working full time and being a mum to a toddler but it is a great feeling to get on top of things. It's probably quite sad of me really but I get a great deal of satisfaction of being on top of things.

Synchronise all your appointments with your work/study diary. One place for all appointments. Put birthdays and anniversaries as recurring appointmentrs in there. Wherever you work/study have a stash of birthday card and blank cards that can be sent as thank yous with a stash of stamps. Get a diray reminders a few days before a birthday - spend ten minutes writing a funny and thoughtful message, get it posted and and hey presto you are a kind and thoughtful friend with minimum fuss.

You could be me! I am a terrible procrastinator - leave things till the very last minute like paying credit card bills etc, work stuff seems overwhelming and always left till folk are chasing stuff up

As someone said, lists are your friend! Recently I've taken to making a spreadsheet each lunchtime at work - with about 20 lines, with for example Kitchen 20mins, Bathroom 5 mins, Living room 10 mins, Kitchen another 10 mins etc. I use a different colour font for each room and when I get home stick it up on the fridge and pick from the list and cross off throughout the evening. It's quite satisfying and I find myself going oh OK then, I'll just pick another 5 min slot or another 10 min one before I have a cuppa. Often don't manage to get through the whole list but that's fine - there'll be a fresh one the next day - it's amazing what you can get done in 10 or even 5 mins!

All of you organised ladies are recommending lists, I have tried this previously and have found that it was so long I couldn't get to the end of it and then stopped the list , same thing happened with the work list. Any top tips on how to stay motivated with listing as with work, home and dc the end is never nigh

I am so happy to have found MN to be able to ask questions like this. I will get the notebook and start listmaking. I suppose I'm just lazy really but boy does it make life hard work cause I'm always on the backfoot and the money thats wasted makes my eyes hurt.
Thanks for all your replies and if any serial procrastinators have found other solutions that work I'd love to hear them as well.