So we start compiling lists of things we've convinced ourselves that we'll start "next year."
New Year's is the procrastinator's dream! It's the mother of all "I'll do it tomorrow's." But instead of tomorrow, we assign it to an entirely different year.
Forget the old adage of "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after tomorrow," New Year's puts that mantra to shame!
And I have my own list, I'd imagine you do too. The list of things that I'll make an effort on "next year." Which is to say, things that I'm well aware that I'm lacking in right now, but I won't address them until some point in the future...maybe.
Frankly, I hate my list. And it's well aware of my feelings towards it.
I hate it because it's full of things that I can and should be working on right now. It looks back at me, so smug and proud of itself. Proud that it contains the items, goals, and aspirations that I could be working on right now. And laughing to itself that it has them under lock and key, assigned away to that black-hole of a time frame called "the future."
My list is a jerk.
There's no benefit to assigning them to an "I'll start on that next year" or "That's a goal for next year" or "Man it'd be awesome if that happened sometime in the next 12 months" status. But there they sit. Full of power in their potential, and completely impotent in their current limbo-like state. An awesome dichotomy of self destructive goal setting.
But hey! Maybe your list is different!
Maybe your list is full of things you currently do in some way, but want to do them better.
Maybe it really is more productive than mine. And there's a good chance of that.
Maybe it's not a page out of your "put it off to next year" book. Maybe it has great things in it.
Maybe your list isn't a jerk. Maybe he really wants to help you out, instead of hold you back. Maybe he's not full of procrastination and self deception.
So, what do you have on your list?
And better yet, is there any reason you're not working on them already? Getting a nice jump-start on that new year? Maybe having an extra 2 days will make all the difference. ;)
