A very different approach of procrastination: Review of the book "The Now Habit"

I have no clue how I came to this book, but I'm very happy about.
Yes I know what is procrastination, yes, mostly I know when I procrastinate. Yes, I tried 100 different time management method to overcome procrastination. And I failed. Even if I have a super system, even if I can plan on master grade, the tasks don't do themself. I am who can do them.

Why time management is not enough to overcome procrastination?

All this methods are saying: fight against you, this or those way. You don't like fight with yourself, are you?

What is the difference in The Now Habit?

I agree with so much sayings in this book, it makes sense. I can't write a whole summary of the book (especially I didn't finished yet :)), but I can recite some very important statement.

- We procrastinate because of fear. It can be very different from everyone, some example: fear of success, fear of starting/finishing, not to be perfect, others judge, etc. 

- When I tell myself: "I have to" means: "I have to but I don't want to". This is a loose-loose situation: If I do it, I did against my will, if not, come the negative consequences. We procrastinate against an authority, which are ourselves. 

- When I tell myself: "I should" means: there is an ideal state, when I did the task, but I didn't yet, so this state where I am now is sux, and I'm wrong. 

- Instead of have to and should to we can talk to ourselves like this: "I choose to do this" because I have that goal what I want. Or I choose not to do and count with the consequences.

- Instead of saying: life is hard, work hard, and suffer, it says: you have to live, you have to enjoy your life, so schedule play, leisure time before you schedule work. You even don't schedule work. You need guilt free playtime for great and motivated work.

- A part of the method is to use the "Uncalendar" (I have no idea why it is called, uncalendar :)). So funny, this is exactly what I do - from myself. Time blocking appointments, sport, eating, sleeping, family time, etc. 

And all other part of the daily schedule leave open. You will see that way, what time is left for you to work. Work in work or work in any projects is important for you. What I don't do (yet): fill up the space left by tracking on what projects you worked on. It tells, only 30 minutes concentrated work count, but it might be ok for "real work" called work, but what about a housewife? On some day I don't do anything 30 minutes long. I load the washing machine, I read some emails, I just change my activities more often than 30 minutes. 

Now comes the hard part

Changing my mind to say me: I will instead of I should. I hope I will get some ideas from the book how to do that. 

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Rethinking my life

It's the last month of the year. I started preparing my planning system for the next year:
- printing?
- buying?
- planner inserts?
- planners?

My planned planning system for the next year looks like

1. my main planner will stay my purple A5 Filofax Malden, with monthly pages. I'm not sure in weeklies. I want them, but weekly and monthly is too much. Because a whole year weekly has no place in my planner, I need the monthlies for future planning. I have to figure it out. Plus in this planner: ideas, tasks (they are also ideas, like what I can do if I don't have too much energy), projects and informations.
2. I ordered a month daily planner booklet, I love it so far, and don't disturbs me, that it is separate. Why I ordered this? Because I don't want to use my time for printing and I didn't found any daily insert I would like to have. I also ordered a year day planner spiral notebook, what I got last week and it is only four month. Hahh, you should read first :D I think I will go with the one month dailies after I ran out from the 4 months, it fits into the back pocket of my Filofax. If I start to hate, that it is not an insert, I can cut it out and punch.
3. Business planner: A5 Filofax Malden. Monthly and weekly. Monthlies are not for appointments (because I don't have business appointments :)), but deadlines, planning working times, projects. Statistics, infos, etc in this planner.
4. Your best year 2016 Creative Business Planner. I started to read and fill out this planner for goal setting in my business. I placed the pages into my Filofax Clipbook, without it's monthly and weekly planning pages, I printed out my own monthlies. I can move the actual month always to the Malden.
5. My mental health is important, I will order the Powersheets, whatever it costs to me...
6. Daily Greatness Business Planner

Decisions

Last times I'm lost, what I should do, how my time should be organized. I'm a lot angry with my kids, I'm impatient. I decided, I work in December as few as possible, and spend more time with the kids and finding out what I want and at the end of course, I plan my next year. One question is if I want to write this blog and filming youtube further? On which level? As I see, I can't and want to be a "professional" planner. Too much planning in blogging is not for me, I'm more emotional. If I want write, I write, sometimes to find/make a nice picture for a blog post would be a setback in the way, so I have decide: will be a not so perfect blogpost, or there will be no? I say yes for the notsoperfect :) I hope you too!
I leave at the end, why I started to write this post at all. I got a comment here on the blog, where someone says thanks for me, and I got also a comment on YouTube on a video of mine. You might laugh: two comments can make you happy? And yes, from comments I know, writing this blog makes sense!

I'm say Hello for you. Do you hear me? Do you want me to continue?

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Planning or not planning? This is the question!

This is not really a question. I have to answer with yes. But why I ask it then?
I started planning when I realised I have ADD for 1.5 years ago. Things aren't going very well then. I forgot to go to doctor. I didn't found school related informations. I had no idea, what will happen in the school and when. It was shameful, but it was not so bad. I didn't cared too much about it. It hurted when it happened, but it happened not every day. I'm forgetful, what can I do? I lived like this.
Than I started to use a Filofax, and the life changed. I have a place for my information, I knew where to write stuff happened somewhen in the far future. I started to thinking with conscious and not just swimming with the tide. And after so long time I realized it hurts me. It hurts, because I know a lot about planning, about time management. I just can't to make it right. I procrastinate. I make the same mistakes again and again. I feel guilt. I spend a lot of time preparing me to doing something. What I do or maybe not at the end.

I'm now in a state, that I feel myself worst as before planning time. I changed, I know, I can't go back to that time, when I can just don't care about. Letting planning is not an option. I have to find a way to be more forgiving to myself. Thinking on the fact when I plan, that I have ADD, so I'm not like others. I can't correspond myself to others. This is hard.

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How to Stay on Track with Your Goals?

I catch myself again and again, that I live like a robot, doing tasks without prioritizing, only what get my attention. Even if I write them down, make a plan. I know, knowing my roles and goals are a key for doing what matters, and I even wrote then done, but tracking is somewhere lost.

What is missing?

Evaluate the progress, reflection back to the last week/month/quarter/year. To see, what I accomplished, how I'm coming nearer to my goal. Adjusting the goals if needed. Because these questions isn't built in my planning system, I don't answer them. I don't know, how much time I'm spend with these, for me important tasks - they are mostly the important but not urgent tasks, the always hardest part of the planning.
I like to see YouTube videos, and I found last week this one. That made me exciting, this is, what I need!

Powersheets from Lara Casey

Powersheets is a workbook and not a planner, don't contains calendar. But it can be with you for the whole year, and makes you to think about what you are doing.

Source: http://laracaseyshop.com/collections/powersheets/products/make-it-happen-powersheets-one-year-workbook

Plus:
- no calendar,  I have one, I'm looking for something addition to it
- nice, clear design
Minus:
- Spiral bound, I can't integrate to my planner. (It's not a big stuff dough.)
- Shipping cost to Europa is extremely high.
- No digital version available.
Result: I won't have this one.

Daily Greatness Journal

This journal is also great. I just don't need another planner. (But I ordered the Business Planner version). This contains also daily pages. What waste of paper for me! Features: daily planner, goal settings, worksheets, etc.

Source: http://dailygreatness.co/collections/all/products/dailygreatness-journal

Plus:
- if you don't use another planner yet, a great option
- nice design
Minus:
- I have a planner
- no digital version
Conclusion: I won't have this.

Create your Shining Year by Leonie Dawson

It is probably a very interesting and good planner, lot of people say, but it's too much. Color, and chaos. I just feel dizzy if I take a look on that. I also can't read the description, so no opinion, you can read everything for yourself here :)

Source: https://shiningacademy.com/2016-workbooks/

Plus:
- you might read it.
- Digital version available
Minus
- design.
Conclusion: I won't have this.

The Highlights Life Planner

This is also a planner with calendar pages. The design is also a little bit too much for me, but I can handle it. It's a digital download, so I can choose, which pages I print out.

Source: http://www.ninayay.com/2015/09/the-highlights-life-planner_28.html

Plus:
- digital
- for a while it's free!
Minus
- design
Conclusion: I will give a try, print out some pages, and place it to my Filofax.

Dream Big Life Planner

This is an actual Kickstarter Project now. Also a planner with daily pages, etc, spiral bound.

Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/croixsather/dream-big-life-planner

Plus:
- if you share, you got a download version
- undated
- very clear design, no colors!
Minus:
- maybe that it contains calendar, but because digitally also available, I can leave, what I don't need.
Conclusion: Shared and waiting for my digital download to see the pages nearer.

Which one would you choose? Can you recommend me something?

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