Just Do It

One of the resolutions laid out in the Happiness Project is “tackle a nagging task.” That sounds really boring, I know, but it is amazing how much my mental energy is eaten up by the unfinished tasks I have to deal with. The nagging tasks seem to at the core of my Epic Battle with Procrastination. Unfortunately, a lot of my nagging tasks are tasks I need to nag other people about. That isn’t any fun. I don’t want to be the naggy wife, mother, employee or anything else.

These little tasks seem to take up an enormous amount of brainpower and create a disproportionate amount of stress. The laundry that gets folded, but never gets put away, the pile of mail that I seem to sort through all the time, but it is still there, the birthday gifts I need to buy, the doctor’s appointments I need to make, the broken blinds in the bathroom that I need to replace … the list goes on and on. Each of these items is small and takes very little time to do, but there are just. so. many.

Most of these things are not even list worthy, but I feel like they haunt me all day long. This is what the “one minute rule” is all about, and probably the piece of my 30-day plan I have had the most trouble with. This is a serious problem for me. I will notice something that needs to be done (pick up the dirty socks and put them in the hamper, put the throw pillows back on the couch, clear all the papers off the kitchen counter, etc …) but I just notice, I don’t do it. I even say to myself “those socks need to be picked up” and go about my business. In some part of my brain, I seem to think I already did it, because the next time I walk through, I notice again “ugh! Why are the socks on the floor!?” and keep on walking. These little aggravations add up to an awful lot of stress

The naggier things like getting my kids to put their backpacks away or telling them they need to clean the litterbox or take the dog out, over and over, day after day, sap a lot of energy and make me feel like Mean Mommy at the same time. (double win!) The worst of it is that I feel like my time and energy are completely eaten up by a thousand tiny, annoying, naggy, boring tasks. I feel overwhelmed and bored all at once. It is amazing to me how much effort it takes for me to “do it now.” But the battle rages on…