Master of Procrastination

It’s a title I’ve given myself for a LONG time. I remember putting off a project in my eighth grade honors English class. It was a Tom Sawyer report and I put it off day after day until it was the day before the assignment was due. I remember going to the school with my mom, feeling completely desperate, and talking to my teacher, asking if I could have a slight extension. She said I could have one extra day, so I spent the next day and a half working on this project–I’m pretty sure that was my first all-nighter. I got the project finished, turned in, and I’m pretty sure I got a decent grade on it. Whew!

What did that experience teach eight-grade Adrianne?

It taught me that due dates are flexible. It taught me that I could put things off until the last minute and if I looked and felt desperate enough, I could get away with it. It taught me that I had the ability to “wing it”…”just wait until the last minute, sprint for a little bit and it’ll all work out”.

As I moved onward through life and school I tested these lessons I’d learned over and over again, and about 80% of the time, they worked in my favor. I learned where to draw the line. For example, tests were not flexible, whereas most of the time projects were flexible, sometimes with a slight grade penalty. Certain teachers were more lenient than others.

Outside of school, I tested the line with weight. I’d let myself eat whatever I wanted and then when I knew there was a big dance coming, a date, an event where I’d want to look better or when I knew I’d see someone who’d made fun of me in the past, I’d stop eating breakfast and lunch a week or two before the event. I’d run on my treadmill and run up and down the two flights of stairs in my house. I’d do hundreds of crunches everyday.

I didn’t ALWAYS procrastinate, but when I did things worked out all right. I could lose 10 pounds in a couple of weeks. I could turn assignments in late. I could apologize if I let a friend down.

I could talk about this for ages, but the point I want to make is this:

I have been a habitual procrastinator. I am comfortable with procrastination because it’s familiar.

But procrastination comes with a high price. What price have I paid for procrastination?

I’ve paid in dignity, self-respect, integrity, esteem in the eyes of people I respect. My first semester of college I procrastinated going to my classes. I registered for early morning classes every day of the week. I had a really good friend from high school that was in one of my early morning classes and he noticed a few weeks into the semester that I was not showing up or doing my assignments and he got pretty concerned and talked to me about it. I told him I’d be fine and I thought I’d be able to pull it all off before the end of the semester, but nope. I ended up with a D in the class.

Other costs have been hurting or offending people because I’ve put off difficult conversations. I have failed to keep my word. I have neglected my health.

(I do have a lot of good things going for me too and I know that, but I need to get my point across here that procrastination comes with a price.)

I have been struggling with procrastination since I was a young kid. It’s a life-long struggle I’ve dealt with and I am ready to change. I am ready to be a finisher, a being of completion!

I am ready for a new version of me, one who can be counted on and is a finisher. I am so ready to develop habits I’ve been putting off developing because I have thought I had more time. I am ready to finish projects around my house. I am ready to get healthier. I am ready to set a better example for my kids and follow through on all the things I say to them.

Here’s my commitment: I am going to post here things I have on my procrastination list. My first series will be all things to do with my current house. (We’re moving when our new house is built in about seven months and keeping this house to rent.)

Here are my action steps:

1. I will complete at least one thing on my list everyday. When I run out of things to do in my house, I’ll start my next list.
2. I will report on my blog every Wednesday night what/how I did the week before.
3. I will keep a video log of my progress and put them on my YouTube channel: Adrianne Does It Today.

Wish me luck! I am breaking free of my procrastination habits and moving towards becoming a finisher! Here comes my next step: Queen of Completion!