April 2005 Anticrastination Tip Sheet
What's the opposite of Procrastination?
THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET
A Tip Sheet to Blast Away the Procrastination Habit
From Rita Emmett
Author of THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK
& THE PROCRASTINATING CHILD
and to be published THIS MONTH
THE CLUTTER-BUSTING HANDBOOK
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Quote For April:
Until you make peace with who you are,
you'll never be content with what you have.
--- Doris Mortman
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Special Deal
Since we just returned from a two week cruise to the Panama Canal and
since our web goddess, Mickey left for her vacation the day we returned,
and since we leave for San Juan the day SHE returns (We couldn't have
planned this if we tried) we have not been able to work together on
setting up a new special deal for you, so we are running last month's
sale again.
There are two new Special Reports on our web
site (RitaEmmett.com).
Special Report #6:
WHILE YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF OTHERS, WHO TAKES CARE OF YOU? A Strategy to
Prevent Burnout
and
Special Report #7:
DOES YOUR PERFECTIONISM MAKE YOU NUTS?
If you buy one, you get the second one free. Isn't that a sweet deal for
you?
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
With ANY purchase from our web during the month of April, we'll send you
free "A 28 Minute Relaxation Break for Those Stress Filled Days" tape or
CD.
In addition, we'll send you "Striving for Perfection Can Drive You Nuts
(and other thoughts on coping with stress)" tape or CD.
To treat yourself to this special, go here:
E-Specials
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Message For April:
At the end of April, my book THE CLUTTER-BUSTING
HANDBOOK will hit the stores. I'm so excited. So here are more thoughts
on clutter:
As my loyal, faithful and brilliant readers already know, I believe we
accumulate clutter NOT because we're lazy, messy or disorganized, but
because we practice any or all of four --- only four --- habits.
These are the DEADLY SINS OF CLUTTER:
Save things that you never use or need
Insist on bringing home stuff that you never use or need
Never assign a place for things to be put
Set down things instead of putting them where they belong
This month, let's explore the "I" of SINS:
Insist on bringing home stuff you never use or need. To begin conquering
clutter, you must ask yourself questions. For example, HOW DO YOU BRING
"STUFF" INTO YOUR HOME?
- Have you ever walked or driven past something
that someone was discarding and you decided it was just too good to
throw away, so you brought it home?
- When someone is getting rid of junk, do they
offer it to you and you gleefully, blissfully accept it? (So now, they
are rid of their clutter and you have added to yours.)
- Have you ever bought something you'll never use
--- actually paid money for clutter --- because it was a good deal?
The questions you have to learn to ask are things
your parents probably never taught you because they simply did not have
as much stuff coming into their lives as you do.
Some people write the following questions out and wrap the paper around
their charge cards. Here are questions you need to ask in order to help
break this habit of bringing things into your life & your home that you
don't need or use.
- Do I have a place to put this?
- Will I ever need it or want it again?
- Will I ever use this?
- Am I bringing it home because I think it will
make me happy?
Well, will it?
- Do I think that I or someone else will need it
some day, but
they probably never will ... and if somebody DOES need it, I'll
probably forget I have it ... and if I DO remember, I probably
won't be able to find it anyway? (How's THAT for a great question?)
- If I add this to my belongings, can I get rid
of something similar? (buy a belt, get rid of a belt; "A tie for a
tie, a shoe for a shoe")
If you are accumulating stuff for someone else:
- Am I adding to someone else's clutter?
- How sure am I that they would want, need or
love this?
- Have I ever asked people what they would like
me to give them?
- Am I imposing my taste on other people by
giving them decorations for their homes?
If this is a purchase:
- Do I want to actually spend hard-earned money
to ADD to my clutter?
- If I'm trying to get out of debt, is this
purchase absolutely necessary?
- If I wait for three days to buy this, will I
still want this?
- Did last month's purchases truly make me happy?
Can I even remember what I bought a month ago?
Each time you refrain from an unnecessary
purchase, put that money you would have spent into savings or into a
piggy bank. Or just write down the amount you would have charged and
watch the numbers add up.
A bargain can bring you great joy when it is truly a good deal and
something you need, but when you don't need it, you simply are paying
money to add to your clutter.
Is there one purchase you can make that is NOT considered clutter?
Yes, there is.
And you've probably guessed what it is.
At the end of April, it will be time to buy (from books stores, Amazon
or my web site) some copies of THE CLUTTER-BUSTING HANDBOOK for
yourself, your family, distant relatives, friends, enemies, neighbors,
co-workers and former class mates. Ain't that a grand idea?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Please forward this to anyone you think might be
interested in receiving short, quick tips once a month to help master
the art of doing it now.
To Subscribe send a blank email to
tips-join@lists.ritaemmett.com with the word Subscribe in the
subject.
To Unsubscribe send a blank email to
tips-leave@lists.ritaemmett.com and type Unsubscribe in the subject,
and although Rita will whine about it, we will remove your name from
this mailing list.
Rita Emmett - Recovering Procrastinator
Author of THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK
and
THE PROCRASTINATING CHILD: A HANDBOOK FOR ADULTS
TO HELP CHILDREN STOP PUTTING THINGS OFF
PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER: Keynotes & Seminars on
"Blast Away Procrastination"; also "Strategies to
Prevent Burnout" and "Generate Fabulous Customer Service"
Email: Rita@RitaEmmett.com
http://www.RitaEmmett.com
Phone: 847-699-9950
So much time, so little to do. Scratch that, reverse it!
--- Willie Wonka
