I have always been a procrastinator. Ask my parents and they will remember many late nights with me typing (yes, typing!) out a report for school that was due the very next day.
Pretty much everything I do, eat, or wear depends on my mood. I am not a meal planner and usually figure out what we’ll eat for dinner during breakfast. I never lay out my clothes prior to bed, because what I feel like wearing that evening will never be the same as the next morning. And I hate making plans in advance, because by the time it comes around, I’m just not in the mood to do it (unless it’s a vacation!)
Obviously, I do not have a Type A personality; however, I do get things done. If someone is depending on me, I will follow through on my promises. If I write a checklist in my bullet journal, the tasks will get accomplished.
Just last week, our homeschool charter teacher asked for a list of curriculum we plan on using for the school year. I sorta had an idea in my head, but nothing was written down as I’ve been avoiding the start of the new year like the plague. But with her gentle request, I immediately went into action and created a chart as I did not want her to fall behind on paperwork (I remember those days as a teacher!)
As soon as I submitted it the plan to our teacher, I was motivated to do more and decided to organize our homeschool room. Once that was done, I sharpened all of our new pencils, gathered some books for the kids’ independent reading time (a.k.a. quiet time), and placed them in their buckets so they can easily grab. It felt really good to have accomplished all of that in an afternoon, and it made me realize how undisciplined I am most of the time.
Too often I wait until I’m in the right mood to do something, and this results in piles of untouched tasks eyeing me to get them done. It’s draining to know I should be doing something that I’m not, so my new mantra this year is “Action Creates Motivation” thanks to an article J.D. Roth wrote a couple weeks ago. His honestly about his lack of motivation really resonated with me since I’ve been feeling quite unproductive this summer. Sadly, I’m not the only one that has been feeling this way as the pandemic has taken it’s toll on all of our mental health.
