I know we’ve all heard it, the old adage advising us “Don’t put of until tomorrow what you can do today”. It’s generally good advice, until it comes to something we don’t actually want to do, then it’s met with a groan and I hear “Blah, blah, blah” where the advice should be.
Now in fairness to myself, I do tend to subscribe to the “Work before play” mantra. I get up and go to work, even on the days that I don’t want to or my bed is incredibly comfortable. I make sure my chores are done and my home is happy to come back to before going to a concert or other outing. Laundry done and bed made with fresh sheets before heading out of town, because sleeping in your own bed once you’re home again is nice- but sleeping on fresh sheets on your own bed is even better.
There are some things that are more challenging to get up the oomph to do though: going to the doctor, going to the dentist, having difficult conversations, car repair/maintenance, going to the gym, etc. These things get even more apparent and burdensome as you postpone them. That twinge in your knee or back that keeps nagging and not going away, sends a little reminder every time it says hello. That tooth that only hurts when you do __, has started rebelling against other things as well. The conversation you’ve been putting off, only seems to grow heavier on your heart, as you kept to yourself hoping it would resolve on its own. The noise your car is making… I’m sure it’s fine, besides the light on the dash gives it a certain ambiance. As for the gym, you know you want to feel and look better, but it’s always so busy and your day was long and you’re tired and you’re stressed, and, and… you don’t go.
I am actively working on these lovely tasks that are so much easier to procrastinate on than say laundry- eventually I will run out of socks. I’ve been going to the gym, even when I don’t feel like it- especially when I don’t feel like it. Each and every time, I have felt better afterwards, which I hope will eventually become motivation.
For about 9 months-ish, my power steering has been iffy. Sometimes it works just fine and others it’s been a built in arm exercise. Soon enough it became one of those things that just was, I didn’t give it much thought until either someone else was behind the wheel or it took a few tries to get out of a parking space. Even then, I’d stick my tongue out, grab on and laugh as I cranked the wheel feeling it in my arms each time.
There are some things on a car one shouldn’t monkey with, breaks being one of the biggies. So I’ve been having some work done to my precious chariot, first the front breaks and rotors and later this week the rear (as well as some belts and things). I did not mention to my mechanic the power steering because it had honestly slipped my mind as a thing to mention as it was just something that was. He mentioned last week as he was finishing up that my windshield wiper fluid was about half gone and that I should consider adding some power steering fluid to that reservoir as well. He left and the kids and I went on about our weekend.
This morning I had to laugh at myself, or rather with myself. You see, yesterday at work during a brief break, I finally took the time to add the power steering fluid to the reservoir. It honestly took longer to find the cap I dropped than it did to open the reservoir, pour in the fluid and close it back up- there was no contorting of the hands, not even a little engine gook on my fingers.
Driving home (and then to the gym) yesterday, I didn’t notice a huge difference. I was more focused on traffic and the thoughts in my head than the affects of adding the fluid. This morning, however, after a nice and rainy night sleeping with the windows open, I couldn’t help but notice how smooth it was. Taking a corner no longer required my biceps nor my tongue sticking out, and I laughed, genuinely laughed all alone in my car.
All it took was maybe two minutes and $4.47 to fix something that had been inconvenient for the amount of time it takes to grow a baby. So silly. So simple. And so easy to procrastinate.
As I drove into work, appreciative of the little things, I wondered how many other things that are minorly inconvenient could be solved just as easily. Heck, even the bigger things are much like the gym- maybe not entirely enjoyable while you’re doing it, but goodness does it feel better after!
Here’s to knocking things off the list!
S
Sabrini Says 