Today, I'm going to......

One of my favorite books is "The Synonym Finder." Where I found it, I don't know, but I'm quite thankful that I found it because sometimes it facitlitates my sounding just a little smarter than I truly am. And when I cannot find my dictionary, my trusty "The Synonym Finder" is faithfully there saying, "It's okay Gretchen. I'll tell you what that word means."

Anyway, off to the topic of the day. P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N. I've a horrible tendency to procrastinate and I'm only just now fessing up about it. There are papers which I've intended to file for months. There's a floor I should have mopped days ago. There is this college enrollment I've held off on until the very last minute. My problem with procrastination is truly starting to bother me more than ever. Before, I was merely giving myself excuses to continue down Procrastination Street. Now, I'm troubled about it and have started some self-evaluation regarding my procrastination.

"The Synonym Finder" is sitting here on my lap, opened up to page 940. Procrastination is the very first word on the page. So, I'll go ahead and list some of the synonyms for my dreaded word of the day....

Procrastination-
delay
slacken
play for time
defer
put off
postpone
table
shelve
prorogue (there's a word to use if I desire to sound a little smarter than I am)
adjourn
suspend
put aside
pigeonhole
put on a back burner
hesitate
waver
wait
tarry
linger
dawdle
dally
dillydally
idle
tread water
drag one's feet
loaf
shirk
waste time
sleep on the job.......

Wow! So, I've this pattern-this way about me.... It involves wasting time, sleeping on the job, dillydallying (my dad used to say that about me), tarrying, and playing for time. How convicting is that?!!

Anyway, I am sure that I cannot go on this way. My procrastination holds me back, it keeps me imprisoned in a life with a lot that's been left unaccomplished.

So, why do I do this? Here is what I think....
1) Habit---After years of just setting things aside, I've given very little thought to what it is I'm doing (or not doing) anymore.

2) Disbelief---I've not believed until quite recently that I could accomplish a lot of my goals; therefore, I've put off setting into action a plan to get them done.

3) Laziness---Sometimes, I've put off doing things because there were less pressing matters which were easier to deal with at the time.

4) Priorities---I'd not taken the time to think about how important the things I'd put off were.


Over the past few days, I've been thinking about my life, trying to prioritize my goals. It's been excruciatingly difficult! Why? Because I've procrastinated so much over the years. There is just a tremendous amount of stuff to catch up on, and because of the dillydallying I've done over the years, there's some back-tracking to do as well.

Well, I've fessed up now. From now on, when someone comes to my home, I may just say, "Hello, my name is Gretchen and I am a Procrastinator. I've been not putting things off for....." Seriously, somehow, I've got to stop this. Truth be known, I believe my life depends on it in some ways.

I guess I should have come up with some solution to this and had it all typed out here to be read. And then a fellow procrastinator could say, "Wow! That was edifying. Thanks for your thoughts, Gretchen. Your words have been used to motivate me not to procrastinate any more." That would have been lovely. But the truth is, I don't know that I have a solution for it other than to say, "Just Stop. Get off of your lazy bum and get that important stuff accomplished!" That's what I'm doing for myself. Hopefully, some fellow procrastaholic will share what has worked for them.

In Christ,
Gretchen