When we were growing up, my mother would always bug us to do "first things first". Whats that supposed to mean anyway? When you're a teenager its probably homework before tv, shower before dinner, chores before going out and the list goes on.
My mother must have bugged us enough that her teachings are still ringing around my head today and I do do all "work" before play. (She reads this sometimes so...I'll have to be careful) So my question is what does "First things first" mean today? And, is it really the best approach to things?
For a few days now, I have procrastinated on doing the dishes and hanging up the laundry until after I've sat down and "wasted" some time on the internet. I find that I'm much happier to do the chores afterwards. Do a better job too because I'm not in a rush to take a break.
So, just as I'm starting to choose the battles with Aaron, I think I'll also take time to procrastinate. It just makes me a happier person to do "Second things First".
Edited 5 mins later to add:
Sheesh! What sort of example will this be for Aaron then? Oh no!....I should have thought of "Second things First" before he came along. Well, a few more days of it won't hurt.
7 comments:
What "first things first" means depends on who's talking. To my mother, it meant doing chores and homework first. To me it meant doing the things I wanted to do first. Now that I've grown into a world-class procrastinator, it means just sort of doing whatever I can to put off whatever's unpleasant.
I'm a procrasinator by nature, so, that rule doesn't apply to me... except when my mom, like yours, nagged me to death (she didn't bug, she nagged) growing up. At work, I have to really prioritize given that I juggle multiple clients and tasks, on top of being bugged by the junior staff all the time. But hey, some of my best papers I wrote in college, or best pieces of work were done at the very last minute. Fear is a good motivator as well. ;-)
Who knows what is first and second?
VE TO MIX IT UP blow off rules soemtimes.... have fun relax
I recently loaned a book to a friend that said he has a problem with procrastination. It is called "Overcoming Procrastination." I bought it somewhere around 1980. The book mark was on page 32! Who would write such a book and atually expect people to get around to reading it?
So if a man writes a book on how to be a failure and doesn't sell any copies, is he a success?
in the philippines, we call this (procrastination) the "manana habit". manana is spanish for 'tomorrow'..meaning its the habit of putting what you could do today..tomorrow.
a full day may be too long to delay chores. but an hour or two won't hurt :D
LOL! I see I;m not alone in my procrastination. Maybe we should all just refer to it as our own prioritisation criteria.
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