A Quick Hello

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted on here, so I wanted to just say a quick hello to all our friends and family that visit our blog. A lot has happened that's been keeping us busy and most of it is so un-interesting that I didn't bother sharing. First, a few weeks ago Trav was on his way home from work in a bad snow-storm, hit some ice, spun around and slammed backwards into a ditch - narrowly missing a big telephone poll (on the driver's side) by a few inches. We FINALLY got to take our car into the shop to get repaired this morning, and to my delight they gave us a Scion xB for a car rental (they don't look like much on the outside, but I really like the features, great gas mileage, and roomy interior). Anyways, the first week of February Andrew and I drove out to Salem for a week to work on taxes with my boss, then the day we got home Andrew got sick with a bug he caught in Salem, passed it to me.... and just as we were getting over that Travis got sick with a nasty bug that he caught at work, then passed it on to me, and now Andrew's fighting it. Yuck, yuck, ih! Now I'm trying to get caught up on our own finances and working out our income taxes (have I mentioned that I don't like having to file in two states?), and it's not looking great. All I can say is thank goodness for the federal tax rebate coming in May!

Last week I was reading a magazine article on procrastination that really hit home to me. Lately I've been asking myself why I never seem to get anything done, and the article made me realize why - I've become a master procrastinator, and the funny part is that I never even realized it until now. I typed up some excerpts from the article for personal reference, and I've been toying with the idea of whether or not to post them on here because I only typed the parts that really jumped out at me, so they may not make a lot of sense to others. But hey, if you procrastinate like I do, maybe some of these points/ideas will help you too:

** Procrastination is the thief of time.
** People who procrastinate tend to be less healthy, less wealthy, and less happy.
** Instead of thinking about how far you are from the finish line, concentrate on starting. And if you do begin a lengthy, boring project only to find yourself browsing ebay, don’t get upset or throw in the towel. Ask yourself, “When can I start again?” Think of big projects as a series of beginnings – and remember that no failure is final.
** Run a dash. For just five minutes, do nothing but work on the task that had you stalled – then quit. By committing to a ridiculously short amount of time, you ensure that you will meet your goal without getting stressed out. Start by asking, “What’s the simplest step I can take to get things in motion?” Then aim for five minutes of work and stop when the timer buzzes. By building a light at the end of the tunnel, the dash gets you to begin, which is often the hardest part. If you do nothing more than a short dash, at least you’ll have begun.
** Ambitious to-do lists can be a form of self-sabotage that sets us up for failure. Making the list can even become a project unto itself. We trick ourselves into thinking our planning is actually doing, but it’s really just part of the procrastination. Planning substitutes for real action. To make sure your to-dos actually get done, break off tiny pieces of the mountainous job, writing down only tasks that you can accomplish in the next 24 hours.
** We have so many distractions now that are instantly available – and they’re toxic to motivation. Increase your efficiency by scheduling a daily “electronics-free hour” – no tv, phone, internet, or email for 60 solid minutes.
** Keep a small notepad handy and write down all the tasks that pop into your head. This will remove the temptation to escape from the thing you really hate by doing other things you hate slightly less.
** One of the most devastating consequences of procrastination is that it can lead you to put off living. Procrastinators are in a sense, saying, “See, I’m not having any fun – isn’t that almost as good as doing the work?” You need to set aside leisure hours first – before you schedule time to work. And if you have a hard time keeping your house clean, invite your friends over one night each week so you will have something to look forward to and gives you the motivation to keep your home tidy and get the cleaning over with quickly.
** Much of procrastination is rooted in our fears about ourselves and our abilities, and confronting those concerns can help us get past mental roadblocks. When procrastinating over a scary task, ask yourself, “What’s the most catastrophic thing that could happen?”, and then figure out how you’d cope if that scenario were realized. If you answer truthfully, you’ll come to see that no matter what happens, your life won’t be over, so don’t beat yourself up about it. By facing your fear, you allow yourself to stop worrying and start working, which makes it less likely that your worst-case scenario will come to pass.