Out With It, On With It

I like to talk about my work, home life, projects I’m working on and all the things that keep me busy during the day. Even though I stay home nearly every day, I work on my writing (health care reform this week) and also teach fitness classes. So, I spend a minimum of an hour exercising each day even if that means getting up an extra hour to fit it in. “You get so much done!” is something I hear often, but the truth is, I’m a procrastinator.

This week, I painted the trim around my house, sorted the socks that have been unmatched for months, Googled recipes that I likely will never cook and tweaked some step choreography. I met all my editorial deadlines – that’s something I always do – but if I would just get on with it, and do what I needed to do, I’d be able to use my free time more efficiently.

I read blogs like unclutterer to find new ideas of organizing my life. I search for ideas on how to stay motivated, including avoiding things like checking my email every seven seconds or reading Facebook for updates. I am schedule-driven in a sense – I know what must get done on a given day, but I always have a hard time getting started.

Everyone puts things off – I’ve been meaning to start a diet, organize a garage sale, write a novel and do more with my free time than laying on the couch or folding laundry. With work, if I didn't hem and haw over every word, I could finish projects and have more time off. I'm confessing and professing today - I'm a procrastinator but vowing to make small improvements. Hopefully now that I’m out with it, I can get on with it.

What do you do to get motivated? Or, what are some of the rabbit trails you go down? Today, being Sunday, I’m making a pot of soup and committing to stepping away from the computer for a few hours - even if it's just to take a nap.