It seems a lot of us are suffering from being "out of sync", "out of balance" and just plain old "can't get it all done." This post is about some of what I've learned about time management, procrastination, the evil of perfectionism and the woes of not knowing where to start, what to do, or when to do what.

Here is Part I:

Act! Now. Today. This very moment. Now, wait a minute, I hear in chorus from those of you reading this post. Are you crazy? On what?! When?!! How?!! Read on!

Let's start with what. The "what" or "where" doesn't really matter - just begin! Instead of beginning, we waste time trying to figuring out the perfect place to start, the best method, which step first, whether we'll have enough time, how far can we get, what we'll do if we do it wrong, or get started in the wrong spot. Whoa, enough already! Just begin!

Be willing to begin imperfectly! When you think about it, what do we begin perfectly? Very little, it's just that we have more faith in other beginnings and so we do not mire them in guilt, worry, perfectionism and procrastination. Need a plan? Okay, make one, but don't mistake it for a start. Plans are good, even desirable, but they are worthless if we do not begin! Nor do they guarantee against misadventures, mistakes, detours, or interruptions. If we are willing to accept that a beginning, no matter how imperfect, is better than no beginning, we take a huge step forward.

If not now, when? There's always going to be obstacles to the flow, interruptions to the process, detours that will come up, unforeseen. Accept that, and begin anyway! Why wait for that perfect, uninterrupted block of time we all wish for, dream of and pine for when you know it's not likely to happen?! Consider that if we worked on our drawing skills for just 5 minutes a day, at the end of one year we would have worked on them over 30 hours! Unrealistic, you say? 5 minutes a day for 5 days a week and you'll still have over 21 hours!

How many opportunities do we let go by that we could be accomplishing something because they're imperfect - not enough time, there are other people around, it's too late, too early, too hot, too cold, it's raining, it's dark, it's light, too tired, too stressed, too [fill in the blank]. We procrastinate by confusing needs with wants. Do we need to do this thing OR do we want to do this thing? It comes down to acting on the imperfect choice.

To be continued tomorrow!