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Rich Rewards

Written by Esther

After two days of gale winds I ventured outside to access the damage in my garden. Nothing much to worry about. A panel of the fence had succumbed to the winds, some flying flowerpots were landed on the wrong place, some bended plants.

My willingness to go outside was richly rewarded by the sight of the first flowering snowdrop! I squealed with delight. At last, I have snowdrops in my garden, what a treat. You must understand that having snowdrops was more than fleeting fancy. It was a childhood wish. My grandmother had a picture hanging on the wall depicting snowdrops in the forest amidst a white blanket of snow. To my eyes, a flower in the snow was an exotic concept. Growing in the temperate climate of Greece, experiencing snow was a novelty, let alone seeing plants flowering in the snow.

Here I am now, cherishing my little snowdrops! What a reward a few bulbs can bring. And hope. Those early flowering bulbs are a sure harbinger of spring. And to think that I almost let my procrastination win. Surely, in all my enthusiasm I bought the bulbs in late August. It wasn't until the ending of October that I finally found he courage to fight the dragon of procrastination and actually go out and plant the bulbs. I am glad I did. Back to your lair dragon! I defy you! My snowdrops are the proof!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After a lifetime of fighting dragons that listen to the name, procrastination, here are a few tips I gathered with every wound, theirs and mine.

*Most probably, you think that a job that needs be done will take hours. Surprise yourself with a timer. Time the duration of your work and you will be happy to realize that 10 or 20 minutes are hardly hours.

*Don't fight the procrastination dragon to be captured by the perfectionism dragon. I had a long bed to fill with winter plants. I only did one third of it and I am proud of it. Had I waited for the perfect moment to fill a perfect bed with perfectly arranged bulbs, I wouldn't have snowdrops now.

*Schedule time in your calendar to tackle a job you don?t fancy. Treat it as you would treat any other appointment. Flylady regularly announces Anti-Procrastination Wednesdays.

*What are a few minutes in comparison to eternity? Thinking philosophical helps put time in perspective. *Implement interval working. Once you have straighten the bedrooms/done the bills/call that difficult customer, you can take some time-off doing something you really enjoy.

*Break the job in manageable bites. When the laundry basket overflows with clothes for ironing, hide it in the closet. Take only a handful of clothes. Iron them and put them away. Take another handful. This way you have the extra satisfaction of finishing a lot of little jobs and you will not become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. This also means that should something interrupts your ironing, you won?t have clothes all over the place.

*Set yourself free. Lets be frank about it. Procrastination burdens our soul and torments our minds. For your emotional well-being?s sake, tackle that monster and experience instant weight-loss! Honestly, you will feel like walking in the air.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I 'll go to sort out my filing cabinet. www.naturallynice.blogspot.com