Pep Talks, Procrastination, and Gratitude

June 18, 2010

I gave myself a pep talk this morning. I need it and it seems to have worked. I went to bed last night feeling sorry for myself. I’m in renovation mode at home so things are a mess and we’re suddenly dealing with potentially expensive repairs. I’ve had two sick children this week. I have company coming this weekend. And, my to-do list for work is a MESS. Like…a big one! I thought I’d earned the right to feel sorry for myself. But what good will that do me?

So, what did I do? I started counting my blessings, made an action plan, and then I did something productive for myself. A few months ago I was given a review copy of Alphatudes the alphabet of gratitude. This is a book that could change anyone’s outlook. I haven’t written my formal review of the book yet but it is now my desk side companion. I highly recommend counting your blessings when things feel abysmal.

One of the things I get paid to write is resumes. I see a lot of people who are having a real rough time finding work and earning money. Many of them share their personal stories on their resume questionnaire. Thinking about joblessness certainly puts things into perspective for me. Sure, some of them are doing a new resume to get a better job but many have been out of work for months or even longer and are facing serious stress because of it. When I think about that, I don’t feel as bad about my huge list of money-making tasks ahead. Getting through a long to-do list is going to be productive financially and will probably bring some more profitable future jobs my way as well.

“Make Money from Thin Air…”

A writing friend said something once that helps put things into perspective and makes me feel grateful every time I recall it. I can’t remember where she said it but Courtney Ramirez once commented to the effect that freelance writers can create money from thin air. So true! I love that I can sit down and make money by doing something I love. It’s not always an easy life but it could be much worse!

So today I made a decision to get some stuff done so I could breathe easier.

  1. I made a list of priorities to accomplish. Knowing what really needs to be done helps me focus instead of feeling overwhelmed.

  2. I am going to set timers today to stay on target and I’m going to feel good after each checkmark.

  3. I’ve chosen to to let the stress go and enjoy some r&r time this weekend when company arrives.

  4. I’ve decided to do something for me today. (I did that just before writing this post.)

I took 30 minutes and made a big checkmark on something that’s been procrastinated on my to-do list for a while. I spent $8.81 on myself and moved my old blog The Writer’s Blog to its own domain at http://thefreelancewritersblog.com. It’s not done yet but it’s moved, at least. It has been sitting on Blogspot since 2007 when I started it. I’ve been planning to eventually move it for a few years but never took the time. Less than 30 minutes, less than $9, a beautiful WordPress magical ‘import’ button… and it’s done. That feels pretty darn good. It also puts things even further into perspective and reminds me that things that feel like mountains to climb could, in reality, take you just a few minutes to accomplish. Off I go to tackle that to-do list with passion and gratefulness. Have a fantastic day!