I had a lovely conversation with my friend, Shelly Tucker, this afternoon! She reminded me of her Rule of Tens. Whenever you are faced with things you really don’t want to do, do ten things you don’t want to do, and then treat yourself to something you would rather be doing.
You can do ten minutes of a chore that you HAVE to finish, and then do ten minutes of something that’s more fun.
She said that there is a caveat. If you choose to do ten really simple things, like, picking up a paperclip that has been lying on the floor, you are obligated to do 10 times 10! It makes it worth doing the tougher stuff, don’t you think?
I love her approach to getting things done. I need to apply it to my life.
Thanks, Shelly, for the visit, your friendship, and for such good advice!
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Cop Car sent me a wonderful response to the rule of tens that tells me Shelly and I are in very good company. I’d love to print it here, but I’m sure it must be protected by copyright law.
It was written by a professor of philosophy, who is clearly an ace at procrastination. He says that we create lists of things that need to be done and organize them according to their urgency. Then, we work on something that is lower in the list, chipping away at projects until all we have left is the item we have been so assiduously avoiding.
I have done this very thing! I’ll think to myself, “I’ll just get these three little things done,” and those three turn into 20 more, and by the end of the day, the stuff at the top is still waiting for me!
Today, I got up early because I wanted to play in the studio for a bit, but this afternoon I will have to work on bills. I can not wait any longer, I have reached the limit of my creative procrastination! *G*
Buffy–You didn’t mention that the good professor had won the Ig Nobel prize in literature!