Productivity and procrastination

My parents, and every roommate I've ever lived with will attest that I am one of the largest procrastinators they have ever met. I am notorious for leaving things to last minute, however one of the things that I have learned over the years is to be productive. 

I know that this sounds crazy, but hear me out. In college we learn to do the most amount of work in the shortest time possible. This is being productive, those late nights where you buckle down and do it? Productivity.

Everything we do, all of our actions, they become our habits. Therefore I try to do the same thing everyday that is going to help me be more productive. For me it means making the bed. What? That's going to help you with your homework? Yep. Cleaning the house, making dinner, making your bed? Those are all productive things, and if you remember way back in middle school objects in motion tend to stay in motion. This holds true for habits, and actions, and productivity. If you are productive, you tend to stay productive. 

For me the difference between my procrastination, and what other people often think of is the fact that I ultimately am a productive person. This isn't something that's come naturally, but I've become cognizant of this and have tried to change my natural habits. 

The things we want? We have to fight for, and make a conscious effort to go after. So go ahead, watch one more episode of Game of Thrones, I'm not going to judge you, just make sure that you'll be responsible and productive with the time you're given. And remember it can all start with making your bed every morning. 

Things come in threes ~ Finding the good

Have you ever noticed that things come in threes?

It's an old wives tale, that in my small town back home seems to hold true to.

However, it's not just the old ladies who see it, I've seen in with everything in my life, or almost everything. Recently I had three groups of three bad things that happened in my life. Deaths, illnesses, health scares, you name it. I was sitting at eight for about a week and was getting pretty antsy. I didn't think I could handle more bad news, more loss, more sorrow. 

Something I think we forget is that it isn't just bad things that happen in threes. Good things can come in threes too. I believe that you will never just get the bad, all bad has to come with some good. You just have to find it, and in some cases that literally means you have to make the choice. I was tested this week, I had to make a choice I almost made myself sick over it, and that was completely unnecessary. Try as I might, those moments when I think that I'm chilling out and a becoming laid back human who lets life take me where it wants to? Yeah, well throw a decision in there and I'm right back to high anxiety Kaite. 

You have to choose the good, choose happiness, whether that means a job offer you've wanted or basking in a sunny day after rain. Go out there and choose to find the good. I did and obviously it was a step in the right direction because the universe threw two more things back at me, good things mind you. I have a summer internship in the field I love, I have a place to stay (and a friend from home as a roommate), and I won the student government position for the next school year that I'd been campaigning for. 

I'm excited and now that my life has settled a little, I'm trying to figure out what is going to happen next. Because life is never smooth sailing, it has highs and lows, and that to me is the beautiful thing. Tragedy really does make the good things seem that much better. 

Another thing this has taught me? You have to actively pursue what you want. I don't know if everything would have worked out if I hadn't taken that first step, that first decision. Everything happens for a reason, and we don't always get to know why. 

So my PSA for the day? Go find the good. Find it and when you find something you want, go after it. Life has a funny way of paying you back for things like that. 

Fake it, Till you make it

We've all been there. Start of something new, and with the new comes the unknown. With the unknown comes confusion, and often frustration. 

I can't tell you how frustrated I get when hooking up a new printer, or when you look at the excel spread sheet for making a new budget. 

This doesn't always have to be the case. At this point in our lives we are constantly in a state of flux. The only thing guaranteed in life is change, and when that change leads us to a new job or internship, fake it till you make it. Seriously, we aren't going to learn everything overnight or know what is going on, but if you are confident in yourself everything seems to fall into place. 

Take a breath and move forward. 

A few days ago I got a phone call from the front asking me if I was comfortable giving a tour of the Capitol. I received tour training yesterday. Meaning while I knew the way around, it didn't mean I knew all the dates, names, and stories that make up the tour.

I gave the tour and had a wonderful time. Turns out even if I didn't know every date, every name, I still knew a lot more than I thought I did and what I didn't know I was honest and they were totally okay with that.

This is an important lesson I've learned a few times, but recent I was reminded. It's okay if you don't know everything, but if you try you are going to get so much farther than you'd believe. People give more chances to those who try, to those who actually go out of their way to try to do better. Want to wow those around you? Go out of your comfort zone and say yes too early, make mistakes but learn from them and you will do better so much faster than you believed possible.

My piece of advice today?
Fake it, till you make it.


Has this ever happened to you guys? Let me know!