March 2002 Anticrastination Tip Sheet

What's the opposite of a Procrastinator?
THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET
A monthly Ideas and Tips Sheet to
Help You Avoid the Procrastination Habit
From Rita Emmett
Author of THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK
MARCH 2002

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If you are receiving this email, you are either a colleague, client or
friend of Rita Emmett (or in some mysterious way, you ended up in her email
address book.)

If you are interested in receiving short, quick tips once a month to help
you avoid the procrastination habit, read on! If not, to unsubscribe send
an email to majordomo@ritaemmett.com and type: unsubscribe tips in the
body of the message, and although Rita will whine about it, we will remove
your name from this mailing list.

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QUOTE FOR THE MONTH:
Unless each day can be looked back upon by an individual
as one in which he has had some fun,
some joy,
some real satisfaction,
that day is a loss.
--- Dwight D. Eisenhower

When is the last time you had fun? that you actually felt joy?
Do you procrastinate about having fun & joy in your life?

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BUT FIRST, next month we begin our own version of Spring Cleaning with a
CONQUER CLUTTER CAMPAIGN. And along with it, our CONQUER CLUTTER CONTEST.
Send us your favorite idea or tip for conquering the clutter of your:

• office
• desk
• dining room table
• kitchen counters
• floors
• garage
• basement
• backyard
• closets
• drawers
• mind
• heart
• or anyplace else.

The sender of the top tip will receive 2 audio tapes:

1. CONQUER CLUTTER, a brand new tape on our product page, is a one hour
   interview with me on the subject of clutter. It's jam-packed with strategies
   to clear out clutter in general, as well as paper clutter, and how to keep
   that clutter from re-appearing.
2. The second tape covers the subject of procrastination.
   Send your ideas and tips to: rita@ritaemmett.com

And now let's talk about fun.

Yes, people procrastinate about tasks, errands and chores, but sometimes
they also put off having fun. We all know fun is important for our mental &
physical health and to prevent burnout, but it seems that we put off fun
"till this stress ends", or "this busy time is over" or "this crisis is
solved". But the stress, busy time and crisis never ends, does it?
During this month of the High FUN Holiday of St. Patrick's Day, once a
day or AT LEAST once a week, add some fun to your life. If you have to,
write it on your "List of things to do" or schedule it in your calendar.
Need some ideas to get you started?

15 IDEAS TO ADD FUN TO YOUR LIFE (or to start you thinking of your own
ideas)

1. Do you know a certain friend or group of friends who always get you
   laughing? Set a date to get together.
2. What did you love to do as a kid? Ride a bike? Finger paint? Whistle? Do it!
3. Be Irish on St. Pat's Day. Wear outrageous green. Drink green beer.
   Decorate the house in goofy shamrocks and leprechauns.
4. Have a green pot luck. Can't come unless you bring something green to eat.
5. Invite a gang over (or go out) to watch your favorite comedy, and laugh
   your head off. Call it an anti-burnout party.
6. If there's a live concert of your favorite music anywhere in your area,
   MAKE time to attend. (If you wait till you GET the time, it'll never
   happen.) It will nurture your spirit.
7. Learn one new great joke and tell it all month long.
8. Declare a "Day of Rest" on your day off - no commitments, no work, no
   chauffeuring people around, no housework, no paperwork. If you were sick in
   bed you wouldn't be doing these things. Well ... take the day to recharge
   your battery without waiting to get sick. Watch old re-runs on TV. Read
   trashy magazines. Do something fun.
9. Dance!
10. Start or get back to a hobby, activity, musical instrument, or sport
    that you passionately love.
11. What is something you've always wanted to do?
12. Cook a meal where the making of the meal is fun for the whole family
    (put a pizza together, chop stuff for tacos, create your own roll ups.)
13. Sing in a chorus or choir or in your living room with friends, but
    whether you have a great voice or not, sing at the top of your lungs.
14. Spend time with a child. Let him or her teach you a lesson about fun.
15. If you're an "in-the-house-person", go outside. Breathe fresh air. Walk
    in a park or in your neighborhood or at a Botanic garden. Smell the
    almost-springtime.

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NEWS FLASH:
If you live in the Chicago area, I'll be on ABC News with Janet Davies
on Sunday, March 10 at 8:20am. (Well, now that I think about it, I'll be on
whether you live in the Chicago area or not, won't I?) HAPPY MARCH.

COMING NEXT MONTH: CONQUER CLUTTER CAMPAIGN

Rita Emmett - Recovering Procrastinator
Author of THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK:
Mastering the Art of Doing It Now
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER: Keynotes & Seminars on Increasing Productivity &
Conquering Procrastination; also strategies to Prevent Burnout such as
"While You Take Care of Others, Who Takes Care of You?" and "Are We Having
Any Fun Yet?"

http://www.RitaEmmett.com

Emmett Enterprises, Inc.
2331 Eastview Drive
Des Plaines, IL 60018
Phone: 847-699-9950

So much time, so little to do. Scratch that, reverse it!
--- Willie Wonka

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