Cranial Soup

Procrastinators: Beware of magical mops

2008-07-17T13:10:00.005-04:00

Some of what makes anti-procrastination tools work, is their novelty. Once that novelty wears off, you are right back where you started, procrastinating again.

A hypothetical example:

Let's say I hate mopping my floor and I always procrastinate about doing it. Then I see an ad on TV for a wonder mop, with a handle that twinkles when you push it. You stop pushing, it stops twinkling. You push it faster, it twinkles more. And even more amazing, is that it also sings! I order this mop, because it seems like it could make mopping fun.

So the mop arrives, and I can't wait to get it out of it's packaging and try it. I fill my bucket with soapy water and begin mopping. The singing & twinkling is pretty cool, and before I know it, the whole floor is clean. Great! Wonderful! Terriffic! It's working. I didn't procrastinate and I got the job done.

I like this mop so much, I am having no problem mopping my floor and keeping it clean. I am not even procrastinating about it any more. This is the best mop ever! It's like magic!

But a few months later, after the novelty of the twinkling & singing mop begins to wear off, I find myself beginning to procrastinate about mopping the floor again. What happened? This was supposed to be the best mop ever. What went wrong?

Nothing went wrong. I just had an unrealistic expectation that some wonder tool was going to make me like doing a task I hate.

The truth is that nothing can make me like mopping floors, not even a magical, singing, twinkling wonder mop.

So if you try an anti-procrastination tool and it works for awhile, but then stops working...the problem isn't the tool. It's you and how you feel about the task...your real feelings.

Instead of looking for a new tool to trick yourself into thinking that you like what you hate, work on the real problem: the task itself, how you feel about it, and why.

If you can be honest with yourself, you can begin to look for a real solution instead of tricks. If you fix the root problem, you won't need a singing, twinkling mop to get things done.

Freedom Sandwich

2008-07-05T11:30:00.010-04:00

Yesterday, on the anniversary of America's indepencence, I wanted to write a piece on freedom, but kind of got stuck.

At first I wanted to write about the countries that still are not free, like China, where bloggers are now resorting to writing backwards in order to beat censorship and report about what is really going on behind the Great Firewall.

Or perhaps focusing on who is and isn't totally free yet.

Then thinking about the US, the myth of freedom here, and the reality that we aren't totally free as some may believe, maybe focusing on why we are not free, as this report may explain.

Or go more in depth about the freedom of the press, and what responsibilities come along with it in relation to self-censorship and its ethical and moral implications, focusing on the list of censored news stories.

Or perhaps a piece on economic freedom and what organizations like The Green Children Foundation are doing to help people living in third world countries overcome poverty, while still keeping their dignity, in the form of microcredit loans.

Or perhaps how the price of oil can threaten democracy in places where the whole concept of freedom is still fairly new and still on shakey ground. The article is from 2006, when the price of oil was much lower than it is now, so most likely the situation is much worse today than it was at the time the article was written.

Or artistic and educational freedom, and focus on books that have been banned throughout history, for one reason or another.

Or psychological freedom, and how the fear of failure holds so many people back and prevents them from living up to their full potential. (Unfortunately, something I have first-hand experience with)

Or the desire for financial freedom, and the rising number of "get rich on the internet by blogging about how to make money blogging" websites that are popping up every day.

Or freedom of information, and the threat of censorship from ISP's and their desire to do away with net neutrality to boost profits, cut costs, and control what you see and do on the internet, and decide who can and will be able to profit online.

Since I couldn't make up my mind as to what direction I wanted to go with this freedom piece, I decided to give you a little slice of everything I was thinking about yesterday, just in time for lunch.

Enjoy your "freedom sandwich".

Take it slow, one bite at a time, don't eat too fast...it's ok to save some for later.

Some day I am going to _____.

2008-05-07T12:10:00.002-04:00

Too many times I hear friends make statements about things they want to do and then make stupid excuses on why they can't.

For instance, they see a restaurant they would like to try, but then make the excuse that they don't have a girlfriend or boyfriend, so they can't.

But when they do have one, they sit around banging their head against the wall coming up with ideas on what to do, where to go, etc...forgetting all those things they wanted to do that they previously made excuses on why they couldn't.

The end result is seeing movies they don't really want to see, going places they don't really want to go, doing things they really don't enjoy...or sitting at home on the couch with their date and watching TV shows they don't really like.

They never get to do those things they really wanted to do. They get into the habit of denying themselves and it causes them to miss opportunities to do interesting things.

Why does one have to wait till they have a boyfriend or girlfriend to enjoy life? Why can't you enjoy it now, doing everything you want?

If there is something you want to do, find a way to do it and don't make excuses. Just do it. Don't wait.

You don't need a boyfriend or girlfriend to share the experience with. A friend or family member will do, if you absolutely can't do it alone. You will get into the habit of seizing the opportunities every day to enjoy life, and then when you have someone else to share it with, it will come naturally.

Life should be an adventure, and you should live it, experience it, enjoy it. No more excuses.

Now, what is it that you want to do today?

I am going to _______ today. Fill in the blank while I am out having a picnic and playing my recorder in the park, all by myself. I always wanted to do that, but never did. (I hope the birds don't mind my bad playing. I am more than a bit rusty)