Monday Motivation, 5.16.2022

Written by: Kaitlyn Gwaltney

Every Monday, The Rogers-Long Team meets for one of its two weekly meetings. The Monday meeting always ends with “Monday Motivation” in which a few minutes are spent listening to one team member presenting a quote, a quick reading from a book, a scene from a movie, or anything else they find motivating to provide a “spark” to the whole team on a Monday morning.

Why is it that almost every time it is my rotation for Monday Motivation I find myself writing this on Sunday evening? I know my turn is coming weeks in advance, have a one-week reminder prior to, as well as receive a day before reminder from Queen Dawn. Yet here I am on Sunday evening after putting our daughter to bed writing this.

Most of us procrastinate in some form. Whether we are delaying those larger tasks or the smaller items on our “to-do” list, we can all relate. Even after we criticize ourselves for doing this, we still do it. But why? Is it poor discipline? Are we just bored? Or maybe you’re on the other side of the fence. Some people receive multiple compliments of success & praise and can misinterpret that as a sign they no longer need to focus on their time management. Unfortunately, the more we procrastinate, the more we adapt to this habit for the next project. This doesn’t have to be habitual. One bad day doesn’t equal a bad week. Chalk it up as a bad day and move on.

Here are five tips on how to quit procrastinating that I read online a few weeks back that I thought might be helpful:

1. Structure your time. Schedule your appointments and activities for the day. This will cut down on the amount of free time that you spend mindlessly scrolling social media or watching your favorite tv show. Try using a timer to monitor how much time you’re actually spending ‘plugged in’ to your to do list.
2. Figure out why you procrastinate. This may take some reflection but you owe it to yourself to be honest about what it is you’re procrastinating from.
3. Learn to tolerate/enjoy your work. Simple -find ways to make your work fun!
4. Incentivize your productivity. Make a chart of small rewards to give yourself once you’ve completed a task. Even if it’s something small, it will still feel good!
5. You’re not going to like this change – do it anyway. Your brain is used to your current habits and will try to reject new ones. Accept it and power through it.

I read an analogy of comparing our daily habits and thoughts to small drops of water in an ocean that you are sailing in. The waters may get rough and you will hit a few storms, that’s life. Of course, it’s easier to just let your ship get tossed around during the waves of our bad habits. But it is your duty to captain your ship and get back on track. You are not your habits and thoughts. Figure out a way to check off the tips above and have a productive day!

Kaitlyn Gwaltney, a Realtor with The Rogers-Long Team since 2016, previously worked in the medical field for 6 years before deciding to shift her compassion and dedication toward helping others in a different direction. The RLT excitedly brought Kaitlyn on to work with buyers and sellers due to her humility, inner drive to succeed, and her fun-loving attitude. Kaitlyn & her husband Matthew live in Midlothian with their daughter Lily.