Anti-Procrastination Challenge: De-Clutter your Inbox

Your turn!  Any type of newsletters, advertisements, etc. that are coming to your inbox that you don't ever read are simply wasting your time when you have to click the delete button every day.  Open them all up and unsubscribe.  I like to do it all in one day even if it takes me a while.  The reason for that is because your unsubscription request can take up to 2 weeks to process.  In the meantime you'll continue to get emails from that company.  I can never remember which ones I've already unsubscribed to, so I do it all in one shot, wait a couple weeks, then do it again.

If you're just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. be sure you're subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each day's new challenge!

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Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Pinterest

It's been a while since we've done something fun for our challenge.  Let's go take a look at our Pinterest boards and choose one thing to do today, whether it's making a new recipe or craft, doing an activity with the kids, or whatever. Just do something!  If you can't complete a project start-to-finish today, I want you to at least write down whatever supplies or ingredients you might need on your shopping list so you can get started as soon as possible. 

I've been working on perfecting a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, but I can't give you the results yet because it's supposed to sit for 8 hours.  Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try it out.

If you're just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. be sure you're subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each day's new challenge! 

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Frugal Tip: Regrow Green Onions

Well, I saw somewhere on Pinterest that you can just put them in water and place them in a sunny window and they'll keep growing.  It works incredibly well!  They grow so quickly I think we could eat them for every meal and not run out!

At first I was afraid it was not going to work because the first day all the tops turned yellow and some of them wilted completely over.  Then I realized that the stalks were still nice and firm and that they were growing taller.  I just keep weeding out any that wilt and cut the yellowed tops off when I'm ready to use them.

Wow; this has saved me so much money!

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Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Do it Now!

Today's Anti-Procrastination challenge isn't so much of a one-time challenge as it is the practicing of a habit.  I call it the Do-It-Now Principle.

The idea behind the Do-It-Now Principle is to practice Anti-Procrastination on everything that you do.  There are plenty of people for whom that comes naturally, but unfortunately I am not one of those people.  I am forever convincing myself  that things will be easier if I do them later.

 Here's an example that occurred just today.  I had been out shopping all day, and when I pulled into the driveway it was already well past the children's naptimes.  I looked into the back at the jumbled mess of bags, kids, coats, diaper bags, and who-knows-what else and thought to myself, “Right now I just need to concentrate on getting these kids down for their naps.  I'll clean the van out later.” 

The only problem is that later never seems to come.  By the time everyone is down for naps and I've had a couple minutes to put my feet up, it's time to make dinner and straighten up the house.  Before I know it, bedtime is upon me and later becomes, yet again…later.  The next day I'll most likely forget all about the junk that's sitting in the van.  I'll continue to forget about it until a very inconvenient time, like when we're already late for church and we're looking for the kids' coats.  I'll then remember that they're in the van, along with a bunch of other stuff.  We'll hurriedly jump in on top of all the stuff, allowing it to get trampled under the kids' feet while they climb into the back.  I could continue to go on with the possibilities – a bottle of lotion getting squirted all over the place under a kid's foot, finding a bag of spoiled cheese (not that I've ever done that or anything), a coat that now has to be washed because it just got walked on with dirty shoes. 

What begins as an attempt to make things easier ends up creating more work and making things take longer.  And the longer you procrastinate, the worse they become. 

I am learning ever so slowly that those who always seem to have their house clean are the people who have a habit of practicing the Do-It-Now Principle.

Whatever we do, let's quit procrastinating, okay?  Let's make our lives easier by doing things now!  Will you join me?  If you're already in a good habit of doing things right away, will you cheer me on?

*By the way, I did clean out the van before I put the kids down for their naps!  Good habits are developed one decision at a time!*

If you're just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. be sure you're subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each day's new challenge!   

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Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Take a Day Off

I realize I haven't posted an Anti-Procrastination challenge for the past couple days.  I also realize that there are a lot of weekends that I don't post anything.  That's simply because I made a commitment that I would not let this blog take priority over my responsibilities as a wife and mother.  (That would be pretty dumb to blog about homemaking and be a lousy homemaker!)

I really hope, though, that on the days where I don't post a new challenge that you're still completing your own Anti-Procrastination task.  We all have different things that need to be done, and I'm sure you can think of something to do that you've been putting off.

Today is a little different, though.  I'm going to give you permission to take a day off…with one requirement.  You have to use your day off to do something you've been putting off.  I know you're thinking, “What?  Isn't that the same as an Anti-Procrastination task?”  Here's what I mean.  You need to stop procrastinating caring about people.  In my case it's the three little people that call me mom.  I can get so focused on getting everything crossed off my list, including my Anti-Procrastination task for the day, that I hear myself saying things like, “No, not right now…”  “Not today…”  “Later…” to my kids.  They want to go outside (which means I have to drop everything and go out with them since they're too little to go out by themselves) or play with playdough (which I hate because it makes a big crumbly mess)  or they want me to read to them or play with them.  There is nothing wrong with telling your kids they have to wait a few minutes while you get the dishes in the dishwasher, but do you find yourself constantly telling them “Later”?  If not now, then when?  Blink an eye and they'll be grown.  You'll be so sorry you waited to spend precious time with them.  So don't add that Anti-Procrastination task to your list today.  Instead, go read a book to your kids.  Take them outside.  Play playdough with them. 

If you don't have children or yours are grown, what people have you been putting off because you're too busy?  Why don't you take the time to make that special meal for your husband even though it's time-consuming and requires a lot of cleanup?  Write that letter to your grandmother.  Visit that lonely person in your church.  Bake those cookies for your neighbor.

We're not promised tomorrow.  Let's not get so focused on getting things done that we put off caring about people.

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Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Preserve a Memory

I have a family blog where I post pictures for the grandparents or anybody else who wants to see what we've been up to.  But…that blog is often sadly neglected.  I always have great intentions, but it gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list too many times.  For my Anti-Procrastination task today, I got it updated.

Whether or not you have a blog, keeping up with family photos seems to be an area which many people neglect.

What are you going to do about it today?  I'm  not asking you to start a month-long project updating a year's worth of scrapbook pages.  I'm challenging you to preserve A memory.  Just do one thing.  What will it be?  Getting pictures printed that have been sitting on your camera card for who-knows-how-long?  Putting together one scrapbook page?  Posting one blog post? 

I am finding that a big reason we procrastinate is because the situation looks too big and too overwhelming, so we don't do anything.  Just do one thing and enjoy it!  That's better than not doing anything at all!

 If you're just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. be sure you're subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each day's new challenge!

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