An open letter to Procrastination

Procrastination: I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. Because of you I am a late bloomer. And I hate it. You make me feel paralyzed. You make me feel unable. You make me feel like a loser. I hate how you play a big role in my life and I hate that you just creep up on me everyday. I hate how many times I tried to battle you and failed. I hate knowing how capable and close I am to achieving my goals and dreams but you just stand there between me and them.

You stand there mocking me with a look in your eyes about how weak willed I must be to succumb to you everyday. You’re so good at at making me self-loathe. The smirk on your face says it all.

Some people have great obstacles like lack of health, money, resources, or time and yet they rise above themselves and their scarcity whatever it may be. But here you are wasting away your years because of me. I am nothing to other people. But to you, I am your enemy.

How easy is it for me to lure you in with sleeping in, lingering in bed, watching just one more show. I relish in the idiotic ways I can make you surrender to me even without knowing.

Sometimes I even make you think that you have everything under control so what is wrong with just a little entertainment. A little venturing off the way.

The high you get from being productive and staying on task have become so foreign to you that you can’t even keep it up for more than just one day. It literally scares you and makes your heart beats faster.

Truth is I am scared of who you could be without me.

Will you be able to conquer me?

I will.

2. Plan and Follow a Morning Ritual

Hello, hello,

Well, why. It has been a while! Thank you for sticking with me.

I am doing a 30 Day Minimalism Challenge. And no, I am not jumping on the Minimalism-New Age-Crystals train. I just need to do all the things that this challenge lists.

I am skipping number 1, but I will do it at the end of the challenge.

Here is the challenge, if you would like to participate yourself.

 

Alright, on to # 2.

 

Morning Ritual.

a. get 8-ish hours of sleep and wake before 7 am. Preferably at 5 am.

b. stretch.

c. pray and read.

d. write/ journal.

e. shower.

f. read.

g. Blog and breakfast.

h. Get one big thing ticked off my to do list, before 10 am.

i. pets.

j. jog (a LITERALLY 3 minute jog, but hey, I am building up to something. Hopefully!)

k. respond.

 

 Planning CHECK

Execution Pending 

 

Productivity Made Simple

1. Decide you want to be productive
2. Place a small notebook and a pen on your nightstand
3. Wake up early and don’t linger in bed
4. Grab that notebook
5. And also grab the pen
6. Think of the EASIEST 5 tasks you need to accomplish today
7. Go do the first one
8. Cross it out
9. Finish up the entire list
10. Feel good about yourself
11. Write up another 5 Tasks
12. Step 7
13. Step8
14. Step 9
15. Step 10
16. Step 11Well you get the picture!

    Footnotes

    * This dummy proof method has been working for me lately cause I am one of those who tend to complicate things and would want to start with the BIGGEST task first and my brain would get overwhelmed and discourage me from doing ANYTHING that day (true story) and It’s not like I could do something fun and care-free either because I feel guilty and like I have pending things to do. If you’re like me and you’re brain tend to conspire against you the same way my brain does then try this method.

     

    ** Also when I first wake up my list tend to consist of of stuff my everyday morning routine like Take a shower or Make breakfast. As you can see, those aren’t tasks that I need to accomplish per se but I like tricking my brain that way as I’m crossing those tasks off of my list so I can feel motivated and continue to be productive, just like the image demonstrates.

How to Make your Morning Serene

Dear Wonderful Reader,

Have you ever felt that your day could have been so much If you had more time in the morning for yourself, instead of almost tripping on your hairbrush and spending 5 minutes looking for your keys when you’re already late. Have you ever felt that those feelings of anxiety and tardiness that we feel in the mornings often accompany us for the rest of the day making us fell…well, anxious and unproductive. I know it may seem like our mornings don’t influence our days but they do. That’s why we need to develop good habits in the morning to help us be and feel our best for the entirety of the day.

 

1. Get enough sleep.

That’s right! A good morning starts the night before.

2. Wake up early and ON TIME.

Set your alarm and make sure you give yourself enough time to do whatever you need to do. Also It helps if you change your alarm sound to a song that gives you serenity or just puts you in a good mood, instead of the typical alarm sounds that our minds associate with “kill joys”.

3. Don’t linger in bed.

Getting up right away will make you feel productive and that you have control over your mind and body. Also refrain from lingering in bed because your mind is awake at this point but your body isn’t. Our mind can start playing tricks on us like recalling unpleasant events from the day before and discouraging us about a task that we have to accomplish today. You want to wake up and put your mind to work for you, not the other way around.

4. Hydrate before you caffeinate.

Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. Set it on your night stand for easy access in the morning. Water with a lemon slice is good and the scent will help wake you up and make you feel refreshed. Then go ahead and drink your favorite cup of coffee or tea. It feels good to do something nice for ourselves in the morning so treat yourself and make something that you’ll enjoy sipping on.

5. Say Good Morning to your loved ones.

Giving or receiving little acts of love make us feel good and help remind our minds of what really matters. So show your family and pets some L-O-V-E.

6. Stretch for a minute.

We are telling our brains that it’s time to get up and start moving.

7. Set the mood.

You can create a morning playlist of audio that you find brings you serenity whether its nature sounds, worship music, music, audio books, or even motivational speakers. Just make sure that whatever you listen to has a good message behind it and be selective of the lyrics because we are trying to condition our minds for the rest of the day. Refrain from loud music. Open up one window (or all windows) and leave the rest of the room dim to let in light and fresh air without compromising serenity. It also helps to engage our other senses by lighting a candle or spraying a calming scent.

8. Caffeinate.

Drink your favorite cup of coffee or tea. It feels good to do something nice for ourselves in the morning so treat yourself and make something that you’ll enjoy sipping.

9. WRITE (Meditate).

The most important step in my opinion. This step is like having a meeting with your mind before it starts working. We are setting it on the right path and reminding it of what truly matters. Use this step to reflect on events that were unpleasant from the day before and dump all the anger, the regret, or any other toxic feelings in writing. How many of us dread going to work in the morning? How any of us have to work with people that we don’t see eye to eye with? How may of us downright have horrible bosses and mean coworkers? WRITE ABOUT IT ALL. We don’t want those people in our minds all day. The more we reflect on things that upset us, the quicker we’re going to find ways to deal with them without it affecting out joy and peace. Also you could use writing as a tool to pray by writing letters to God or to plan your day. It also helps if you read something that has a good message in the morning like The Holy Bible or any book that you find inspiring.

I use a very cool website called 750words.com to help me reflect and set my mind on the right path in the morning. It acts like a very cool journal and my favorite part is the stats it gives you after each entry because it tells you your mood and other awesome stuff.

1o. Eat breakfast.

Don’t skip breakfast! We have to fuel our bodies before expecting them to preform A1. Eat a good nutritional breakfast that you enjoy.

11. Shower and get dressed.

Shower and dress your best. Don’t save your good shirt or your perfume. Do something new everyday however small. When we look our best, we feel our best.

12. Do something good for someone else in the morning.

Its a universal law: do good, feel good.

 

P.S. It can feel like trying to control our mornings defeats the purpose of it being serene but serenity is a state of mind. Before serenity becomes second nature to us we have to work hard at developing good habits.

A few things to keep in mind:

A. Refrain from using social media in the morning.

B. Whatever you do, don’t go back to bed.

C. Keep your space clean, organized, and clutter free.

 

Get out there and be a boss!