Procrastinator by Nature

The title says it all....I'm so bad at getting things done on time.  I tend to lose myself in things and always think I have more time than I really do.  I'm guilty of unloading the dishwasher while waiting for a bagel to toast.....and then burning the bagel.  Supposed to be looking up something on my bank statement?  The computer only seems to go to Facebook or Ravelry as soon as I sit down at the keyboard!

I was spending a little snow day time flipping thru magazines and I came across an article published every month for the Happiness Project.  Forgive me, I get a lot of magazines and can't remember which magazine this came from.  Anyway, I read magazines in the order in which the articles catch my eye and the Happiness Project ones are usually one of the last.  I was reading it today though, and an idea for more happiness in your life resonated with me.  The writer had an idea for something called the Power Hour.

No, it's not an hour of exercise, but I could certainly use that too.  It's an hour-long exercise in the war against nagging things.   You know what I'm talking about when I say "Nagging Things."  Every woman in the world has that list of nagging things that never get done because there are other, better things to do.  The writer suggests taking an hour a week to do these things and by doing that, your happiness level will go up.

At first I thought....it's probably hogwash.  Then I thought back to some time in the past couple of weeks at work.  My housing certificates and our occupancy permit have been framed yet sitting on top of my filing cabinet for over a year.  I keep blowing the dust off them and thinking "Someday the maintenance super will hang these for me."  He splits his time between many housing sites though, and really only has time to "fight the fires" at any of them.  So one morning I said "Well, why the hell can't I hang them??"  I brought a hammer and some nails to work and voila!  My certificates now grace my wall.  I even got an inexpensive wall clock and hung it in the otherwise bare lobby.  Residents noticed it right away and remarked at how nice it looked.  What surprised ME is how much I noticed and how good I felt getting those things done!  Ok, I'm game to try this "Power Hour" thing.

Here is my list of naggy things.  Cleaning makeup brushes.  (I have sensitive skin but never take the time to clean them.)  Organizing my closet.  (there's at least a dozen pairs of shoes, a few scarves, perhaps some Christmas wrap and I know a yoga mat on the floor in there.)  Cleaning out the car and buying a new air freshener.  (the one I bought last week although works nicely, is the same scent as the one that I bought when Will barfed in the car two vacations ago, and now I associate that scent with THAT scent.  Sorry, Febreeze.)  Going through photos and uploading them to Shutterfly.    Clearing off the living room shelf from clutter and finding a place to donate our old curtains that I have folded and piled up, despite them not fitting a single window in this house.  Taking time to figure out what's wrong with the auto soap dispenser in our bathroom instead of just leaving it there and hoping that it repairs itself.  Going thru all of the kids books and weeding out the "baby level" ones that they no longer enjoy.  And the best one:  Sitting down and learning how to use iTunes to put music on my iPod for the car, instead of not knowing how and proclaiming myself 'Too Stupid to use iTunes!"  Today, I'm picking one and spending some time on it.  Can't wait for the "happy" to wash over me.  :)