Are You Procrastinating Because of All-Or-Nothing Thinking?
Posted on August 29, 2008 by LJ
I recently caught myself in an episode of all-or-nothing thinking. I realized that although we live within 20 minutes of the ocean, we had not been to the beach at all this year. I wanted to plan a family day at the beach, but I couldn’t find a whole day in our schedules to devote to this outing.
Then it hit me: why not go some evening? We didn’t have to spend the whole day, we could spend a few hours after work or after dinner, and enjoy the ocean. There were some advantages to this plan too: free parking, no direct sun, and less people.
Not everything needs to be a big production
Here’s the point: not everything needs to be a big production. We can enjoy the same outing, but with constraints that will actually make it more fun and less hassle.
Breaking things down
So what else have I been putting off because it’s too much of an effort? Can these be broken down as well? Here’s a list of things that popped into my head:
- Scrapbooking. I have some major projects backlogged, and no large chunks of time to devote to scrapping. But by scanning a few items at a time, I can make significant headway.
- Weeding. I can’t spend an entire day weeding. But if every time I take the dog out I pull a few weeds, I will get a lot of weeds pulled this week.
- Cleaning the house. Flylady taught me to do 15 minutes a day. But since I left her nest, I haven’t been doing anything. And here’s the kicker: I don’t have to do all 15 minutes at the same time: I can do 3 5-minute sessions.
- Translating the website. I am involved in a project that I am upgrading technology and translating the pages from one language to another. I have been putting it off because it will take a good eight hours to migrate. But I don’t have to do it all at once. A few pages on every update night will get it done this month.
- Mending. There’s a backlog of mending, and I keep putting it off (and the pile keeps growing). I put it off because it is so much effort to get everything set up. But by setting it up once and working on it over a few days, I will get through the backlog.
Do you have a list of tasks that you will get to when you have enough [insert time, money, energy here]? Can you do a little bit today and see if it helps?
Photo by yoshimov
Related posts:
- Do You Make the Mistake Of Thinking Full Automation Is Simplicity?
- Using Bonsai with Getting Things Done: Thinking
- Freeing Myself from the To Do List
- Using Bonsai with Getting Things Done: Thinking Filters
- The Top 10 Things I Have Learned From Flylady #3: I Really Can Do Anything for 15 Minutes
Comments (5)





















Strangely enough LJ, your list looks a lot like mine! I will say that right now, mid-afternoon on a Friday, the kids are gone, I am watching a favorite old movie and reading blogs. Something that usually takes time and I manage to put off… the time is here and I can enjoy!
Happy Friday!
Just to let you know I’m blogging about you for Blog Day 2008 at Joeyanne Libraryanne.
Thanks for the plug! I must admit I hadn’t heard of Blog Day 2008. I will have to check out some of the blogs you mentioned.
@Megan: I actually try to sneak in a few articles every day using a Firefox plugin called ReadItLater. I queue up the list every weekend, and read articles when I can over the week.
I did manage to get the website pages translated; however, the weeds are taking over the garden. It is much nicer to blog or read blogs than pull thistles!
Anne Lamott has a great book on writing, Bird by Bird. She begins telling about a report that she (or her brother, maybe?) had to write as a young student. It was overwhelming and her father’s advice was, “Just take it bird by bird.” Your post helped me remember that wise advice. Thanks!