I'm always procrastinating. I've developed it to an art form. At the end of the article she writes about how it's really self-doubt among other things. For me it is self-doubt. I let myself fall into doubt pits and it's easier to stay there than crawl back out again.

Overcoming Procrastination In Your Home Business - Elena Fawkner

Here are some action change steps from "Overcoming Procrastination: A New Look"

1. Start with clear, measurable, achievable goals. For example, I am going to spend 15 minutes each day next week from Monday through Friday writing the first draft of next week's article.

2. Break the task down into bite-size pieces. On Monday I will write the introduction, on Tuesday the first paragraph, on Wednesday the third paragraph etc.

3. Commit five minutes to getting started then DO IT! At the end of five minutes, decide whether to commit to a further five minutes, and so on. This is an excellent way to break inertia. Try it. I did, and 5 minutes turned into and hour and a half and a completed article!

4. Get organized. Create three files: (1) catch-up; (2) keep-up and (3) get-ahead. Put the long overdue activities you want to finish in the catch-up file and set aside time each day to work at the items in this file, checking them off as you go. In the keep-up file, emphasize completing priority tasks as they arise. In the get-ahead file, schedule time to initiate steps to advance your personal interests. These steps may be planning or activities.

5. Negotiate with yourself. When you are tempted to substitute a low priority activity (such as watching TV) for a priority project, make watching TV contingent upon doing part or all of the priority activity first. Then watching TV will be an enjoyable reward, rather than guilt-ridden procrastination.

Procrastination is unproductive and can even be harmful to your best interests if taken to extremes. It is not just a simple act of putting off until tomorrow what you could get done today. Studies show that procrastination is a symptom of self-doubt, self-downing, discomfort-dodging and irrational guilt. In turn, the results of procrastination can be a further stimulus for the erroneous beliefs that led to procrastination in the first place.

A Breath of January

The last day of the first month. It sounds magickal. But, so far, I've never heard of anyone else having a special ritual for this day. I've always thought January was a special month. Not just cause it's the first month of the new year.

It's named for Janus, the Roman god of portals. Each year January is our portal to a fresh start. But, I feel it's not like most Pagan holidays. Usually there is some looking back, some sorting out - decluttering. Instead I think January is a month to only look ahead. Don't start planning your Spring cleaning. Don't look at old photographs, old journals or anything with dust of the past on it.

January is like a fresh breeze sweeping in to clear away the cobwebs. Think of it as a door opening to a room that has been shut up for a year. Imagine that first current of fresh air flooding into the old air and pushing it aside, enlivening the whole place all at once. That is what January feels like to me.

January is a portal, use it, pull yourself ahead into the new year. No looking back at what was, what might have been or what never will be. Today, on the last day of January the portal is wide open. The future is there, staring you in the face. Fortune favours the bold, reach out and grab it. What ever you want to bring into your life this coming year is there, in the path, just ahead of you. If you're bold, like January, you can get there. It might take you till the end of this year, but you can get there.

Every journey starts with one single, small step.

Happy January 31st.

I like those little smiley graphics. I've stored plenty of them on my hard drive thinking to make a webpage of them some day. But, to what purpose? So, maybe I will delete them and give my hard drive a break.

Meanwhile there are a ton of links out there, as I have discovered tonight. I'm listing them in a new smiley Dmoz category, slowly but eventually.

"Life's more enjoyable if you pretend that you have an audience." Jeff Martin.

This was from a link in The Unholy Trinity's column this week. It's such a delicious quote. Made me think about why we do anything. Isn't there always some element of performance? Isn't that why we get out of bed in the morning? Isn't that the real reason we drive ourselves to look like seductive wenches even though we're just going to pick up a few things at the grocery store? That audience is why we do just about anything not necessary for our immediate survival.

Just like boys playing hockey, when they are by themselves they like to narrate the event. I listened to my brother do his hockey narration against the garage door. Back then he wanted to be called Gus. (I doubt he knew Gus was short for Augustus, I never told him.)

Anyway, do you ever do your own narration? I do. Even if I'm not thinking about it it's there, somewhere in my mind. I evaluate how I get out of the car. "She did it again, a perfect exit, keys in the pocket with that stylish flip of the key ring." Did anyone see how graceful that was? Or, countering that, did anyone see how ungainly that was, do I get a redo? Take two, getting out of the car... ok Action! Ok..., that's perfect, cut and print! The audience applauds.

It's wonderful to be admired. To be the adored one. I think we all have some fantasy of being the movie star, worshipped by millions of men. The top model, the one who leaves all men with their jaw hanging down, drooling and hoping for one scrap of our notice. That woman, the one who seduces men with just a casual smile. Look at her, everyone, isn't she ever so worthy of watching?

Certainly we have performance anxiety at some point, when there is a real audience. But, that's different. A real audience isn't under our control. You can ignore the imaginary audience or have them laugh with you over your goof ups. They always laugh with you. How could they not, you're so incredible!

Maybe you feel less alone in the world if you have an audience. Or maybe it drives you to a better performance. Whatever it is, life is more enjoyable when you're performing for an audience.

Applaud now.