Do IT Now

I struggle with procrastination.  It is a lifelong habit that I have been determined to break.  But as the years pass, I have mellowed a bit and have come to accept procrastination as part of who I am.  Having accepted, I am now free to notice.  And I notice that it’s not everything that I procrastinate on.  There are some things that I do with a sense of urgency, speed and efficiency.

What’s the difference?

There are basically two types of tasks that I tend not to procrastinate on:

1. Tasks that are easy to do, and quickly done.  “I may as well just do this” I reason “So that I don’t have to remember it later”.  However, doing these tasks takes time, precious time that I could use for important things and so causes me much stress.
2. Tasks that are important to me.  They may be difficult and time-consuming, but I take such joy, pride and satisfaction from getting them done, that I can’t wait to do them.

In trying to break my procrastination habit, I have resolved to do things immediately – “Do it now”.   But I realized something recently – trying to do everything NOW is impossible.  There are some things that can wait; and some things that don’t need to be done at all.  So I developed this little mantra as a reminder:

Do IT (Important Things) now.  Do UT (Unimportant Things) later.