Psalm 128:2 says: "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee."
Our quote for today is from Pablo Picasso. He said: "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."
Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are looking at Part 4 of Step 5: "Raise Your Energy Level."
We've discussed exercise and relaxation as methods of fighting procrastination. The third physical aspect that we will deal with is diet. It's a big subject, one we won't go into in depth, but suffice it to say that so far as fatigue is concerned one big culprit is sugar. Most of us eat many times as much sugar as we should.
Lots of people think sugar is supposed to produce energy, but it just isn't true at least not in the way they think. Every week the average American eats more than two pounds of refined sugar, much of it hidden as an ingredient in various manufactured foods (one popular brand of ketchup is 29% sugar!) If eating refined sugar really produced energy, we would be a nation of live wires and lethargy would be unknown.
It is true that low blood sugar means less energy, but the proper way to maintain the right amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood is through a balanced diet. When you zap your system with refined sugar (sucrose) you trigger the release by the pancreas of large amounts of insulin to counteract the sugar shock, and this insulin overcompensates, resulting in a much lower bloodsugar level than you originally had. And one result of this process is fatigue. It sounds complicated, but that's the way it works. (There are other undesired effects of too much sugar, including weight gain and dental cavities, but this isn't the place to go into that.)
Of course, I'm not saying that procrastination is a result of eating too much sugar. What I am saying is that one result of bad dietary practices, such as eating too much sugar, is fatigue. If you are vacillating about whether to go ahead and get a job done or whether to put it off, you will more frequently choose to put it off if you feel pooped. So poor diet doesn't "cause" procrastination, but it may tip the scales. And if bad diet becomes habitual, causing chronic fatigue, it can tip those scales dozens of times a day on matters that don't seem to be related to health in any way whatsoever.
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Acts 20:35 says: "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Our quote for today is from Dale Carnegie. He said: "The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today's work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future."
Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are looking at Part 3 of Step 5: “Raise Your Energy Level" by "Doing It Now: A Twelve Step Program for Curing Procrastination and Achieving Your Goals" by Edwin C. Bliss.
We have already talked about exercise being one of three factors that we can use in combating fatigue. Relaxation is the second factor.
Just giving lip service to the value of relaxation which we all do isn't enough. And it's not enough, either, to plop down in front of the television set for an hour or two every evening with a beer in one hand and a bowl of potato chips in the other. That may be entertainment, it may even be recreation, of sorts but relaxation it isn't!
Dr. Herbert Benson, a psychiatrist on the staff of Harvard, has made extensive studies on what he calls the "relaxation response," which is involved in transcendental meditation, Zen, yoga, and various other relaxation techniques. He found that these relaxation-producing regimens all have quantifiable physiological effects and that they have four things in common: a quiet environment, a mental device (such as a sound or word or "mantra"), a passive attitude, and a comfortable position to reduce muscular effort to a minimum.
To obtain the relaxation response, sit comfortably, close your eyes, then relax your muscles, beginning with your feet and slowly working up to your head. Breathe through your nose. Say the word "one" as you breathe in, and again when you breathe out. Continue this for twenty minutes. Open your eyes to check on the time, but don't use an alarm. Try this twice a day for several days, preferably not just after eating, and see if it doesn't make you feel calmer, more energetic, more self-assured and more inclined to tackle some of those unpleasant chores you've been putting off.
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Ephesians 4:28 says: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."
Our quote for today is from Philip Stanhope. He said: "Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."
Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are looking at Part 2 of Step 5: "Raise Your Energy Level."
Edwin Bliss writes:
When it comes to boosting your energy level, programmed exercise is only part of the story. There is also the matter of getting the kind of physical activity during the working day that will prevent fatigue.
People with sedentary jobs often get too little activity at their work and consequently become lethargic. We weren't designed to work at a desk or a machine or a computer screen for eight hours at a stretch. These prolonged periods of immobility cause the blood to stagnate in the large muscles and in the extremities. The result is a feeling of drowsiness or tiredness, so that when we are faced with an unpleasant, postponable task, the scales are tipped toward postponement rather than toward action.
Most office tasks can be done at least part of the time standing up. Now, of course, if you are an office worker you will sit most of the time, but you should use every opportunity to alternate between sitting and standing to minimize fatigue. For example, you might form the habit of standing when on the telephone. An extra-long telephone cord or a cordless phone can free you from being confined to one spot while phoning.
If you do want to sit, it's often better to sit on the edge of a desk or table rather than sitting plopped in a chair, because you don't remain in the same position for long periods. Hold conferences standing rather than sitting, when possible they tend to be shorter and more productive that way anyhow. And a standup work area can reduce fatigue. A counter, a bookcase, a file cabinet, even a makeshift work platform about elbow height anything that provides an alternative to prolonged sitting is worth considering.
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Ephesians 5:15-16 says: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Our quote for today is from Karen Lamb. She said: "A year from now you may wish you had started today."
Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are beginning Step 5: “Raise Your Energy Level.”
A person may have a clear idea of what needs to be done and a firm intention of doing it only to find that physical exhaustion causes repeated postponement. Fatigue is one of the most common causes of procrastination.
Fatigue from normal physical exertion is a natural, healthy response, but it tends to be short-lived. Once your body bounces back, you experience an abundance of energy. But chronic fatigue the kind that gives rise to procrastination is a malady, and unless it is dealt with, it will thwart your efforts to get things done.
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