a heap of tasks so numerous and complex that it is like playing pick-up-sticks
Oh, absolutely. You've really put your finger on the meaning of procrastination, for me. And it gets worse the worse my anxiety gets, because as soon as I've fixed task A to start on, I begin to panic about the consequences of not starting with task B or task C, and have to play flash games for another half-hour to calm myself down again, achieving nothing...
If there are answers, I haven't found them, I'm afraid.
Same here, really. I try not to let work overwhelm me to that level, and when it does begin to I have to whip myself into shape and create a plan of what to work on first, how much time I should devote to it versus the other things I have to do, and how much it really is worth getting my mind twisted up and anxious about. The higher the anxiety level it has for me, the higher up it is on the list. But, yeah, I know it's not always so black & white like that. Sometimes I miss having a roommate to just swing around in my chair to and say "hey! let's go on a really long walk around the city!"
Hope you are able to find the key-straw and root it out quickly!
Alas, no key-straw yet, but some top level prioritising (a euphemism for deciding which tasks can be set aside until tomorrow!!!). I think the higher the anxiety level, the more chance there is that I will put it off! N.B. the to-do list is going to be incorporated into the first real new-style journal page :) And, yes, I think that roommates are good for that sort of thing, and - I suspect - better than spouses, who are too close to the situation.
yes, that's a good point. but i think that the problem is much more acute (and indeed chronic) in women. observation of my husband shows me that he is better at prioritising - and that includes some tasks dismissed as irrelevant, and that when he does a task he concentrates on that one until it's done. whereas i, well, you should have seen me yesterday afternoon with my e-mail running, marking and updating my markbook, typing up exam questions, and all the time wishing i was at home doing crochet. because that's another thing, not only - as you so cleverly observe - are we unable to switch off the clamour of the rest of the list, but all the things we wish we were doing are queuing up and complaining at the backs of our heads too. *sigh* ;)
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Oh, absolutely. You've really put your finger on the meaning of procrastination, for me. And it gets worse the worse my anxiety gets, because as soon as I've fixed task A to start on, I begin to panic about the consequences of not starting with task B or task C, and have to play flash games for another half-hour to calm myself down again, achieving nothing...
If there are answers, I haven't found them, I'm afraid.
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Hope you are able to find the key-straw and root it out quickly!
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N.B. the to-do list is going to be incorporated into the first real new-style journal page :)
And, yes, I think that roommates are good for that sort of thing, and - I suspect - better than spouses, who are too close to the situation.
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