Good day, team,
Each Labor Day reminds me that there are just a few months left until the year is up. It’s a good time to review what I’ve accomplished in the past eight months and what’s left to do.
It’s a curious time of year. We are in full harvest, reaping the benefits of spring planting and summer ripening in the short season of Indian summer. The melancholy of autumn is right around the corner, the season that leads us right into the darkest time of the year, when things go underground and to sleep. I see September and October as the last big chance to show off my flowers and colors, so to speak, before the seasons change again and the window of opportunity that harvest brings is gone.
I think we all suffer from procrastination from time to time. For me, in September I realize that what I’ve been putting off all year still needs attention. Usually I avoid what I don’t enjoy. If I have a list of five things to do, it will be the ones I enjoy the most that get done first. Sometimes the fourth and fifth never get addressed at all.
I’ve taken plenty of time management classes, and they all tell me to do the things I don’t enjoy first to make sure they get done. But it’s a little like dieting. I start out eating the recommended foods and within a few days something like a potato chip creeps in and the next thing I know, I’ve lost my resolve.
So it’s a good time of year to be honest with yourself and face what you’ve been avoiding, or maybe have talked yourself out of. I friend of mine told me last week, “I was going to buy myself a new car this year, but then decided against it, although I know that the repairs on my old car have cost me more than it’s worth at this point. In fact, I just missed the August sales. I guess I didn’t really want to spend the money.” I encouraged her to give her original resolution some more thought.
This week, take a good look at where you are procrastinating in your life. What are you avoiding that requires attention? Do you remember what you resolved to do this year? Have you made any progress? Don’t wait until November is here and the holidays start to gobble up your extra time. There’s no time like the present.
Johann Goethe wrote, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
Have a great week!
Kathleen