July 20 • Issue #7 • Try It for the Story
A newsletter featuring activities to spark creativity and inspire adventure. For more, check out the Get Afraid Journal.
Book Update: The copy edit is done and I’m making corrections. I just need to print new proofs and finalize the design. It’s oh so close!
Worries this Week
Is anyone going to get the book?
Why is my brain composing emails at 2 in the morning?
I should’ve kept doing improv.
Are those industrial fans at the zoo blowing other people’s germs on me?
— Jed
“People don’t procrastinate just to be ornery or because they’re irrational. They procrastinate because it makes sense, given how vulnerable they feel to criticism, failure, and their own perfectionism.”
— Neil A. Fiore, The Now Habit
Activity: What have you been avoiding?
Making a decision? A phone call? Chores? What if you tried one?
Share: #getafraid
I got the card three weeks ago.
It sat on my desk as a reminder, but I kept putting it off.
I hate annual renewals for things like domain names or parking stickers. This particular card was a reminder to get my emissions test done by August 31st.
I set up a reminder in an app called Due. I love Due, because it harasses me until I complete my tasks. I mean, it’s obnoxious. It ding, ding, dings every five minutes until the item is done.
Unfortunately, I’ve gotten into the nasty habit of snoozing reminders until the next day. Especially for things that aren’t necessarily urgent.
Like getting my emissions tested.
The closest facility is half an hour away, so I usually put it off. “If I just wait long enough, I’ll have something else to do around there, and then I can do that and get my test done.”
So I waited. And waited. And another reason to travel that way never came. Which meant, I had to do that which I avoid.
During my drive I worried about the cleanliness of my car. “I can’t pass with a dirty car!” I started collecting trash. Old napkins, receipts, and gum wrappers. I don’t even chew gum often. I think it makes me look like a cow.
When I got to the emissions facility I pulled into the middle lane. It was the slowest of the bunch. I watched as new cars showed up, picked the left lane and flew right through.
I just sat there in the middle. Waiting. I don’t know why it took so long.
When I finally pulled into the testing area, the employee ran his tests and I passed! Probably because I had an air freshener that smelled like Hawaiian Punch and my floors were clean.
The tech said I could get my new license sticker in the office. I was like, “Yes! I will get a new sticker today. I’m not going to put it off!” I parked and got out. The lot was littered with expired license stickers.
Inside, the clerk rang me up and told me there was a $7.50 service charge. I was like, *shrug* “OK!”
After the fact, I realized I’d been tricked. The $7.50 service charge wouldn’t have applied if I bought the sticker online. See? If I’d just waited and done a little research, I wouldn’t have paid extra.
This is why I procrastinate!
— Jed
▷ Watch:
Procrastinators.
“Which one are you?”
📖 Read:
Turn Your Procrastination Time Into Productive Time
“Everybody procrastinates, whether or not we’re willing to admit it. The trick is to procrastinate by getting something else done.”
Notes:
Break big projects into smaller tasks.
Create a separate to-do list of low-energy, low-brainpower things.
🎵 Listen:
Decisions Decisions Decisions
Whether you're choosing spaghetti sauce or a life partner, making decisions can be paralyzing.
Reader Responses
Previous Activity: Get in the Dirt
I bought a shovel on Amazon. The delivery driver buried it in my yard.
— Fake Pearson (But this could be you!)
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