March 2006 Anticrastination Tip Sheet

What's the opposite of Procrastination?
THE ANTICRASTINATION TIP SHEET
An Idea and Tip Sheet to Blast Away the
Procrastination Habit
From Rita Emmett
Author of THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK,
THE PROCRASTINATING CHILD, and
THE CLUTTER-BUSTING HANDBOOK

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Quote For March

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect. ~ Chief Seattle (born around 1786)

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Special: March teleseminar

Authorship: Seven Sure-fire Strategies to Get Your Ideas Out of Your Head and On to Paper --- FAST

Tuesday, March 28, 7:00 to 8:00 Central Time (Chicago time) $19.97 (Bonus: Afterwards, participants can download a recorded copy of the teleseminar for free)

If you don't know what a teleseminar is, Teleseminar FAQ
To register, go here

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Message From Rita

The Power Of Community

Many people can remember their grandparents going out on the front porch after dinner and having neighbors and friends wander over to chat. If there was a sorrow in the family, this little community on the porch would grieve with you and if there was a joy, they would celebrate with you.

Not so long ago, people had tons of built-in community support, ranging from extended family, to church as the center of society; from neighborhood social get-togethers or bowling or sports leagues, to stay-at-home mothers visiting over coffee.

But today's fast-paced busy-ness and transient work opportunities have created a lifestyle where it's common for people to move to a new area, and a year later they still don't know their neighbors.

So because today's life-style doesn't tend to provide community, does that mean we have to live without? Not necessarily.

My mother taught me this lesson many years ago. My parents had moved to a retirement community in Florida and then my dad died. Mom was plunged into grief surrounded by people that she didn't know.

We did all we could for her, but she refused to move back to the Chicago area for health reasons. Months passed with us bringing her "home" up north and us traveling down south.

Then one day during a phone call my mother announced, "I've procrastinated long enough. It's time to build a community." Surprised. I asked her what she was up to.

She had placed an ad in the neighborhood paper inviting widows and widowers to meet at her place Saturday evening to discuss issues such as grief and independence.

Afterwards she called, enthusiastically talking about how this great group of people came together and made plans to meet every Sunday after church to go out for breakfast. Also, one of the guys could get discounts on plays, so once a month they were going to Jupiter (FL) to see a musical.

As she started to expound about their new "International Dinner Group" I interrupted and asked, "What about grief issues?" She seemed to not know what I was talking about and kept telling me about her new gang. That group (irreverently called "The Merry Mourners") stayed together and enjoyed each other's company for over 12 years.

Sometimes we think we need a romantic partner or a family, when simply belonging to a group will do just fine.

The first Mother's Day after my mother passed away, my kids (aged 19 and 20) took me out for a lovely brunch ... and then went out to live their lives.

I was sitting alone in the kitchen feeling blue when my friend Suzie called. Her kids were grown and out of state so we decided to get together. Because the restaurants were all too crowded we went to a good ol' Chicago hot dawg stand.

We had so much fun, that the following Mother's Day, three other women joined us. And thus began our little support community of "Mother's Day Refugees".

People create all kinds of communities - to share interests, support, time, pain, joy, or camaraderie. Sometimes, the group already exists. It's just a matter of bringing people closer - like having occasional pot luck parties at work. Other times it might be rounding up all your single friends to come to your place on Valentine's day to make hot fudge sundaes, instead of sitting home alone.

If you are wishing that you had some community in your life - why procrastinate? Why not try to build a community right now?

If you have created (or heard a story of someone creating) a group when the need for community arose, write and tell me about it. I love to hear your stories.

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Rita Connections

In Chicago Area

Saturday, March 4
2:00pm Mini-seminar on CLUTTER
Free of charge
Book Stall at Chestnut Court
Winnetka, IL
847-446-8880

Wednesday, March 15
7:30 - 8:30 CLUTTER
Free of charge
Schaumburg Library
Schaumburg, IL
847-985-4000

Not In Chicago Area

Want to hear Rita talk about secrets to vaporize clutter? Daniel Hall did a great interview. You can listen to it on the web, free of charge. Go to: Secret Information Revealed

Watch for a mention of THE CLUTTER-BUSTING HANDBOOK in the March issue of Women's Day

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