December 2008
THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET
From Rita Emmett
Author of The Procrastinator's Handbook
The Procrastinating Child
The Clutter-Busting Handbook and
soon to be released: Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress
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December Quotes to Ponder
If we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every
moment of our lives with action, when will we have the time to
make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?
Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over
the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there
is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within
ourselves to bring to life. ~~ Author Unknown
Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by
going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going
and why. ~~ Eddie Cantor
God created company so the home would get cleaned. ~~ Rita
Emmett (Most popular quote from
The Procrastinator's Handbook)
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Message From Rita
In 2 weeks, my next book "Manage Your Time to Reduce Your
Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled, and
Overwhelmed" will be sent out to book stores. The official
publication date is January 15, but it will start arriving at
book stores soon. This is so exciting.
So today, let's combine the topic of stress with all this
procrastination and clutter we've been considering in this Tip
Sheet. Here are 7 Tips to help you ease your stress and get
ready for the holidays without having a major anxiety attack.
1. Write a list of
everything you need to do for the holidays. Make it a general
list. For example: Don't list what you'll get for each person,
just write "buy gifts".
2. Next, go through your list, eliminate anything you don't HAVE
to do, & rearrange it in order of what needs to be done first.
Then hang up your list where you'll see it.
3. Then start a detailed list of the project you have to do
first. As each new project is due and you make a new list for
it, search it line by line to see what can be eliminated or
streamlined. If you serve a dinner, can you ask others to bring
dishes? If you HAVE to bake cookies (& just maybe you don't??)
can you suggest a cookie exchange? If you have too many gifts to
give, can you suggest a grab-bag where everyone selects just one
person to buy for?
4. As you go through your gift list, if you spot people who
might want to break their procrastination or clutter habits,
(get ready --- here comes a commercial) consider giving them
some of our
Learning Resources
we offer on our
web site
If people like to learn by reading, we have books.
If people like to learn by listening, we have CDs
If people like to learn by watching TV, we have DVDs.
MY OH MY, WHAT A GREAT TIP THIS IS!!
5. Don't get crazy expecting yourself, others or life to be
perfect. It's not going to happen.
6. If instead of "clutter bust the home" you wrote "get the
government to declare this home a disaster area" then start with
one room at a time. Remember that clutter busting involves
making lots of decisions, so work in one-hour bursts with a
reward at the end of each hour. Select a person or organization
who will love & cherish your stuff as much as you do, and
joyfully give to them anything you don't need or haven't used in
the past year. Yes, this even includes holiday decorations.
7. If cleaning the house is overwhelming you, take it a little
at a time. Don't try to clutter-bust AND clean on the same day,
you might keel over, Poor Thing. Just attack the clutter in the
rooms that people will see during the holidays (close all
bedroom doors). Tackle the clutter in one section of a room at a
time. When in doubt, toss it out. If you can be ruthless in
getting rid of stuff, then it won't be around to clutter you up
again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To our friends all over the world, Bruce and I, and our whole
Dream Team of Mickey, Cheryl, Brian and Stormi extend to you and
your loved ones our best wishes for a:
Vrolijke Kersttmis
Sarbatori Felicite
Joyeux Noel
Tin Hao Nian
Froeliche Wihnachten
Felice Natale
Kinga Shinnen
Glad Julen
Ichok Yilara
Boas Festas
Glaedelig Jul
Veselele Vanoche
Felice Pascuas
Sretan Bozic
Boldog Karacsonyi Unnepeket Merry
Christmas
& a Joyful, Peaceful, Loving, Healthy, Prosperous New Year!
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IF YOU WANT THE EXCITEMENT OF SEEING YOUR BOOK COMPLETED…
You read above how exciting it is to watch for my new book to
appear in book stores. If you want to have that same experience
some day, we are offering lots of help.
You have already received an announcement about,
“The Procrastinator's
Guide to Authorship” In this
new program, you receive an audio and work sheets every few
weeks, to guide you through the process of laying out,
preparing, writing, publishing and promoting your book.
In sending that announcement, we did not share your name & email address with any one. A
fellow named Daniel Hall wrote up the announcements & sent them
to us. Then Mickey, our web goddess emailed them to you.
I apologize if these announcements annoyed you, but we had no
way of knowing who of our subscribers wants to write a book. So
I hope that if it did not apply to you, that you just deleted
and forgave the inconvenience.
Our set-up can only accommodate 500 people, and these things are
flying off the shelf. There are still openings but not many. So
don't ... um ... procrastinate in signing up.
We have heard from several of you asking why are we launching a
big program like this during the holidays. Fear not. This is a
self-paced program. You aren't handing assignments in to me, and
you aren't competing with others. If you sign up now and are not
able to get started for another few weeks, you can work at your
own pace.
We have already received emails that some people who have for
YEARS wanted to write a book, have actually started already.
That thrills me because that is the whole point of this program.
To sign up NOW,
click
here
IF YOU WANT THE FUN OF JOINING US ON AN IRISH MUSIC CRUISE…
Every winter, Bruce and I leave the cold and ice of Chicago's
winters to cruise the Caribbean with Irish Festival Cruises.
For one week we are immersed in Irish dace, workshops and
concerts with some of the finest entertainers in the world of
Irish song and stories. This all combined with snorkeling,
fabulous meals, fun and more laughing in a week than most people
do all year with delightful fellow cruisers from all over the
world, makes for a sneak preview of what heaven will be like.
If you like Irish music, this will totally recharge your
batteries and keep you going for the whole year.
For more
information or call
1-800-441-HARP (4277)
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