Craig Constantine

What if I just did the thing?

Another interpretation is that everyday life, for most people, is an untapped gold mine. Certain undone tasks represent huge gains, waiting just a short time away, behind one session of elbow grease. Even ten or fifteen minutes of directed effort, judiciously applied, can improve your life far more than the wages you earn for the same period.
~ David Cain, from Fix Three Broken Things

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It’s interesting to note that I only just read this, this evening… after fix a table on my patio today. Yesterday, I grouped together a pile of errands—four different stops with multiple “I need…” for different chores and repairs at each stop. The table is a hulking cedar and steel pipe beast. I need some wood putty, and spar varnish. Today, I got out the sander and mixing little work sessions, with other things, I worked through various sandpaper grits, wood putty iterations, and 3 coats of spar varnish. I did an “80%” jobs at every step of the way. By tomorrow it will be completely dry and ready for use again. I use it every day spring through fall, and this couple hours of work will now yield—probably—3 more seasons of unfussy use.

I also used the rest of the little can of varnish to slap a coat on the garden gate.

What’s next?

Meta on distraction

August 9

This is the moment that ruins our focus. It’s the moment that causes our procrastination and avoidance. It’s the moment that ruins our best habits and our best intentions.
~ Leo Babauta, from The Moment That Ruins Our Focus

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Picture me looking slowly, suspiciously around… because I’ve been deep in the procrastination on writing recently. And finding a quote-and-bookmark like the above, while you’re wrestling with your own procrastination is textbook meta.

In this specific case, Babauta is talking about email, and that’s never a problem for me.

But when it comes to writing, what am I actually running from? How do I let go of the feeling that I should be writing? I’ve built this trap where I now need to put together one of these issues, every week. Apparently, forever. I’m not sure that’s good. I’m not sure that’s bad.

I’m triggered, now what?

October 9, 2022

The more fun your work, the less likely it is to set off these triggers. You won’t struggle to focus—tasks will attract your attention because they’ll be far less tedious, frustrating, challenging, and so on. There are a lot of strategies for overcoming procrastination. But making a project more fun disables a bunch of procrastination triggers at once, while also making your work more enjoyable. It’s a great strategy.
~ Chris Bailey from, How to stop procrastinating by making your work more fun – Chris Bailey

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Great little article from Bailey with great points about the really common things that trigger procrastination, and some ideas on how to beat each one. What’s been working for me for a while is something inspired by Yoda’s comment that, “named your fear must be, before banish it you can.” I can tell when I’m procrastinating; perhaps not always, but definitely often. At the point of realization, I play the name–game: “Craig, what exactly is it that you don’t want to do?” Then like the school guidance counselor always trying to talk me out of sabotaging myself into detention, “Are you sure that’s the thing? Be specific.” Upon realizing I’m still in their office, “I don’t think you’re as sure as you think you are. Can you explain it to me like I’m 5 years old?” Until eventually, it’s so blinding clear what I need to do (or skip, or change, or screw up 3 minutes of courage, or whatever) that I just freaking stomp that procrastination.