Wednesday, May 13, 2009

in which i beg the internets for wisdom

I confess: I'm a procrastinator.

I didn't think I was. I was a moderate in school. Not completely type A, not completely a slacker - I might wait until three days before a paper is due, but one all-nighter in a computer lab as a freshman taught me that I do not function well under imminent deadlines. I was pretty good when I worked, too, about staying on top of things. I may wait until the end of the week to file paperwork, but it always got filed. So it comes as a little bit of a shock and disappointment in myself to realize that, given no deadline or threat of destruction or embarrassment, I SUCK at staying on top of things.

I will wait until there is not a single protein source left to serve my child before I go to the grocery store. I have plants waiting to be planted on the back porch. But the garden will first need to be weeded and fertilized - which is fine - but that means I need to go pick up more soil, and that involves loading the kids up and going to the DREADED supercenter, and since I don't want to do that I haven't yet planted the hydrangeas, which I DO want to do. I've even gotten bad at bills (Brian pays the real bills, praise Jesus, but I usually am responsible for opening the mail and such) - but these stupid little THREE DOLLAR bills from medical labs will show up from FOREVER ago and I'll look at it and think, what? Didn't I mail that in? I totally meant to mail that in. I have Christmas gifts that haven't been mailed, it takes me on average six months to send off thank-you notes. And in the meantime, I think about four times a day, seriously TOMORROW I'm going to the post office.

I'm not lazy, I'm not bored. I just ... don't do things in a timely manner. What it really boils down to is that I don't enjoy taking the kids on errands, so then I just DON'T, and that plan is turning out not to be quite as effective as I hoped. It turns out that if I ignore it, it doesn't simply resolve itself over time. Who knew.

What's wrong with me?

How do other at-home moms stay on top of errands and things? I don't think I'm necessarily wasting a lot of time, though I am emphatically NOT the most efficient person in any context. And I'm not great at forward thinking - I live much more in the moment. Which is all good, really. I enjoy my life this way. But there must be a balance between total slacker and total overplanner, right? Right?

I have had this recurring dream the past few years, where I'm back at Auburn and I'm unprepared. Most of the time I'm registered for a class I didn't know existed, but now I have to go take the final or I'm going to flunk it. Only I don't know where the class is located. Or I have been skipping class until the final exam, and now I don't know anything on the test. It makes me laugh because I never had these dreams in college. If mom-me had to go back to college, though, it is completely plausible that I would just FORGET I had registered for a class. Or think, man, I really meant to go to that class, but Silas got sleepy and Asher wanted to get out the play doh and I just never made it.

Help.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

my husband does the grocery shopping on the weekend.

Nick M. said...

I have some thoughts on procrastination that I would like to share but I think I will do it tomorrow, I've still got time.

word scramble of the day: kednesis-its the procedure a woman goes through in her life when she goes from wearing hip cool tennis shoes to Ked's that are the same style as those she wore as a little girl.

Heather said...

I am a procrastinator but some things that help...

Childcare for errands. Whether this means a Mom's Day Out program, a one-day-a-week teen sitter or just doing the errands while Corey is home. I have been known to buy groceries after 10 PM to avoid taking the kids with me.

Also, sometimes, Corey and I divide up the kids. I take one and he takes one. Sometimes he will even take them to work with him for a few hours.

I used to trade childcare with a friend. I watched her kids while she went to the doc and then she watched mine while I did whatever I needed to do, etc...

You can print postage (even for packages) and the mailperson will pick the box up from your home. I have a friend who does this and loves it.

My word scramble is ausneer, which is what they call it when an Aussie looks at you in a mean manner.

Carrie B. said...

I designate certain days for certain tasks...so that I know that such and such day is going to be the day that I take care of things...and then I try REALLY hard to remember to do such and such THING on such and such DAY. =) And I ALWAYS designate a day to just stay home and do stuff at home.

Kendra said...

HA! No real comment from me...I am sitting here reading blogs while there is laundry and bills to do!

leslie said...

oh my gosh! these sentiments echo my thoughts exactly from the last TWO days! LOL

Jamie said...

So, this is where you call your friendly neighbor (a-hem) and say, "Hey! I have to go buy more soil! Can you watch the kids for a while?"
And she says, "Of course!"

So, about that child-trading schedule we've been talking about getting together forever with the ladies...sounds like a good time.

I'm going to bring you something this afternoon that might help too.